OHL Alumni Central

In a disappointing move yesterday, the European Ice Hockey Federation has banned Canadian born players from playing in the European elite leagues for the 2011-12 season unless they have dual citizenship with the country they’re playing in.

This decision has major implications for the hundreds of Canadian born players playing hockey professionally throughout Europe. These players are scrambling to find homes for the 2011-12 season. The Asia League of Hockey that has housed a handful of Canadians in recent years in expected to see a major influx of talent.

The reason given for the decision is that Europe is sick of sending their best players to play in North America in exchange for North America’s ‘seconds’. One major official was reported as saying, “If they’d just send a couple of star players once in awhile this wouldn’t happen. Maybe a Rick Nash, Corey Perry or even that Ovechkin guy.”

Early word from Slovenia is that they won’t go with the ruling. Plans are already in the works for a ‘Super League’ in the small country situated just east of Italy. If this comes to fruition, the Slovenia based teams of Jesenice and Ljubljana would pull out of neighboring Austria’s Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. If that were to happen, it is believed that the two other non-Austrian teams in Croatia and Hungary would follow suit and join in the ‘Super League’.

This decision can only be seen as a devestating development for hockey in general in Europe. Certain leagues that rely heavily on Canadian players to put fans in the seats are saying that this will be the end of profitable hockey.

Stay tuned for more news and enjoy this April 1.

The New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia Flyers will face off in the first round of the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs. Appearing in the series will be 12 Ontario Hockey League alumni, 6 from the Devils and 6 from the Flyers. The Devils feature 4 OHL grads that played at least part of their careers with the Kitchener Rangers. The Flyers are represented best by graduates of the Peterborough Petes system with 2.

Here are the 12 OHL grads playing in this series. As always, click on each player’s name to view their profile page on their current team’s official website.

New Jersey Devils

Martin Skoula played two seasons with the Barrie Colts, 1997-98 and 1998-99. A first round pick of the Colorado Avalanche, Martin played 5 seasons with the Avs before moving on to Anaheim, Dallas, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and the Devils. He came over from the Penguins at the trade deadline this season.

David Clarkson began his OHL career in 2001-02 with the Belleville Bulls. In 2002-03, David was traded to the Kitchener Rangers. He was a Ranger until the end of the 2004-05 season when his OHL career came to an end. Clarkson is now in his 4th season with the Devils.

Mark Fraser was a solid, stay at home, defenseman for the Kitchener Rangers in 2004-05 and 2005-06. Mark is in his first full season with the Devils, after appearing in 7 games with the big club in 2006-07.

Patrick Davis played in the OHL from 2003-04 to 2005-06. He played for the Kitchener Rangers until midway through his final season when he was traded to the Windsor Spitfires. Patrick has appeared in 9 regular season games with the Devils over the past two seasons but is on the roster going into the playoffs.

Andrew Peters played in the OHL from 1997-98 to 1999-00. His first two seasons were with the Oshawa Generals and his last was with the Kitchener Rangers. Andrew is in his first season with the Devils after 5 with the Buffalo Sabres.

Jamie Langenbrunner played two seasons with the Peterborough Petes in 1993-94 and 1994-95. Jamie came over from the Dallas Stars during the 2001-02 season and is now the captain of the Devils.

Philadelphia Flyers

Ryan Parent played for the Guelph Storm from 2003-04 to 2006-07. A first round draft pick of the Nashville Predators, Ryan has been in the Flyers organization since graduating from the OHL.

Mike Richards was a Kitchener Ranger from 2001-02 to 2004-05. A first round pick of the Flyers, Mike is in his 5th season with the team and wears the captain’s ‘C’.

Chris Pronger played two seasons with the Peterborough Petes way back in 1991-92 and 1992-93. His NHL career has taken him from Hartford to St. Louis to Edmonton to Anaheim to Philadelphia. This is his first season with the team.

Lukas Krajicek was a Peterborough Pete for three seasons from 2000-01 to 2002-03. Originally a first round pick of the Florida Panthers, Lukas has played in Florida, Vancouver and Tampa Bay before being traded to Philadelphia during the 2009-10 season.

Daniel Carcillo was a tough customer right from the start when he began his OHL career with the Sarnia Sting in 2002-03. He played with the Sting until midway through the 2004-05 season when he was traded midway through the season to the Mississauga IceDogs. 2004-05 was his final season in the OHL. A Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick, Daniel would see his first NHL action with the Phoenix Coyotes before becoming a Flyer during the 2008-09 season.

Jeff Carter played four seasons in the OHL with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds from 2001-02 to 2004-05. A first round pick of the Flyers, Jeff has been a powerhouse for the team from the moment he graduated from the OHL.

Since so much about OHL Alumni Central focuses on Ontario Hockey League grads that are playing minor pro are not necessarily bringing in the big bucks, we thought we’d pass this article on. It’s about what happens when the hockey career ends and how players need to prepare themselves for the inevitable.

Check out the article here.

On February 16, the 2010 Olympic Hockey Tournament begins. OHL Alumni Central will update the stats of all OHL graduates throughout the tournament.

Currently, here is the full list of OHL alumni filling roster spots:

Belarus

Sergei Kostitsyn

Canada

Drew Doughty

Chris Pronger

Rick Nash

Corey Perry

Mike Richards

Eric Staal

Joe Thornton

Czech Republic

Josef Vasicek

Finland

Currently no OHL grads on rosters.

Germany

John Tripp

Latvia

Arvids Rekis

Kaspars Daugavins

Herberts Vasiljevs

Norway

Mathis Olimb

Russia

Fedor Tyutin

Slovakia

Peter Budaj

Andrej Sekera

Branko Radivojevic

Sweden

Currently no OHL grads on roster.

Switzerland

Yannick Weber

USA

Dustin Brown

Ryan Callahan

Patrick Kane

Jamie Langenbrunner

Bobby Ryan

Tim Gleason

Olimb playing in Germany for Augsburg of the DEL

Mathis Olimb spent only one season in the OHL, split between the London Knights and Sarnia Sting, missing out on the Knights’ Memorial Cup win.

Onward to the DEL in Germany, Mathis did go. He spent two seasons with Augsburg Panthers before switching Vastra Frolunda HC Goteborg of the Swedish Elite League this season.

Mathis finds himself as the only representative of the OHL on Norway’s Olympic Hockey team that will play at the 2010 winter games in Vancouver. At 5’9″ and 165 lbs., he will surely not even be close to the biggest skater on the ice.