OHL Alumni Central

The Central Hockey League has completed its 2011-12 regular season schedule and the playoffs have begun. During the regular season, there were three Ontario Hockey League grads among the top 20 scorers in the league.

Just the facts:

• Bobby Chaumont, Damian Surma and Colin Chaulk finished 17th or better in CHL scoring for 2011-12.
• Chaumont and Chaulk both tested the European market in 2010-11 but returned to the CHL.
• The 3 are grads of the Sudbury Wolves (Chaumont), Plymouth Whalers (Surma) and Kingston Frontenacs (Chaulk).
• The CHL is a 14 team league with a 66 game regular season schedule.

Bobby Chaumont of the Fort Wayne Komets finished tied for ninth spot in the CHL with 66 points in 66 games on 24 goals and 42 assists. Chaumont played four years with the Sudbury Wolves from 2001-02 to 2004-05. After a year with the Braehead Clan of Great Britain’s EIHL in 2010-11, Bobby returned to the league that has mostly been his home since 2006-07. The Komets finished first in the Turner Conference and second overall in the CHL during the regular schedule.

Damian Surma played one less game than Chaumont and finished with one less point, placing him eleventh in the CHL. 2011-12 was Surma’s first full season with the Dayton Gems after coming over from the Evansville Icemen mid-season in 2010-11. Damian played four years with the Plymouth Whalers from 1998-99 to 2001-02.

Surma was a member of Team USA at the 2001 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships, held in Russia. USA finished out of medal contention that year. Damian was a sixth round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, 174th overall. He has played just two NHL games to date, with the Hurricanes in 2002-03 and 2003-04. Damian’s Gems didn’t fare so well in 2011-12, finishing sixth in the seven team Turner Conference and out of the post season.

Colin Chaulk finished 2011-12 tied for seventeenth with 61 points on 22 goals and 39 assists over 60 games with the Fort Wayne Komets. Colin, with exception of a couple trips to Italy, has been a member of the Komets since 2002-03. In that time, the franchise has competed in the UHL, IHL and the CHL. Chaulk played four years for the Kingston Frontenacs from 1994-95 to 1997-98.

Maybe not as strong as in other European leagues in 2011-12, but the Ontario Hockey League presence was felt in Norway’s Get-Ligaen. Two OHL grads placed among the top 15 for points and a third finished 29th. What is really impressive is the OHL alumnus that finished 15th, played less than half the regular season games due to injury and was on a pace that was .70 per game more than the league leader.

Just the facts:

• Kenny Corupe finishes 6th in Get Ligaen scoring with 55 points.
• Justin Donati was on a 2.43 points per game pace before being injured.
• Brandon Buck finishes 29th with 42 points in his 1st year in Europe.
• Corupe’s and Donati’s teams finished tied for 2nd during the regular season.
• The Get Ligaen consists of 10 teams, mostly in southern Norway.

Kenny Corupe finished in sixth with 55 points over 45 games with Lorenskog. Corupe was a full 21 points behind the league leader, Ryan MacMurchy. Kenny played three years in the OHL from 1997-98 to 1999-00 with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors and Owen Sound Platers. The 55 points equals his total with the Majors over 68 games in 1998-99. 2011-12 was his first season in Norway and Lorenskog has him under contract through the 2013-14 season.

Justin Donati placed 15th with 51 points in just 21 games for Valerenga. Unfortunately, a hit to the head knocked him out of action for the season. He was on pace for a 107 point season which would have easily placed him first, 30 points higher than the next in line. 2011-12 was his first year in Norway after leading the ECHL in scoring with 94 points as a member of the Elmira Jackals in 2010-11. In 2009-10, he finished second in the league with 104 points, ten behind brother Tyler.

Donati played in the Ontario Hockey League for four years, from 2003-04 to 2006-07. Justin wore the jerseys of the Oshawa Generals, Toronto St. Michael’s Majors and Sudbury Wolves.

It is unclear where he will play in 2012-13. His Valerenga team finished tied for second overall in the ten team Get-Ligaen regular season, behind only the Stavanger Oilers. The team Valerenga was tied with? Kenny Corupe’s Lorenskog squad.

Finishing tied for 29th was Brandon Buck of Sparta Sarpsborg with 42 points in 45 games. Buck played with the Guelph Storm for three seasons from 2006-07 to 2008-09.

Gerald Coleman of the Alaska Aces.

Among the ECHL goalies in 2011-12, with a minimum of 1,440 minutes played (24 games), four of the top six and seven of the top fourteen in terms of goals against average were grads of the Ontario Hockey League. The player with the the best GAA, and the only one below the 2.00 mark, played his OHL days with the London Knights.

1. Gerald Coleman of the Alaska Aces finished the season with a 1.93 GAA in 27 games. Coleman split the season between Alaska and the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League. Gerald played three seasons with the London Knights from 2002-03 to 2004-05. He was a seventh round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003 and had his only NHL experience with the club in 2005-06.

3. Philipp Grubauer of the South Carolina Stingrays finished third with a 2.22 GAA in 43 games. Grubauer played three years in the Ontario Hockey League from 2008-09 to 2010-11 with the Belleville Bulls, Windsor Spitfires and Kingston Frontenacs. A 2010 fourth round pick of the Washington Capitals, Grubauer spent his pro rookie season with the ECHL affiliate in South Carolina.

4. Adam Courchaine, Coleman’s partner with the Alaska Aces, finished third with a 2.37 GAA in 34 games. Courchaine played in the OHL from 2007-08 to 2009-10 with the Ottawa 67′s, Sarnia Sting and Erie Otters. This was Adam’s second year with the Aces and he was called up to play three games with the AHL’s Providence Bruins this season.

6. Chris Carrozzi finished sixth with a GAA of 2.41 in 30 games. He started the year with one game as a member of the Colorado Eagles and played the other 29 with the Ontario Reign. Carrozzi was also called up to play one game with the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps. Chris played four years in the Ontario Hockey League from 2006-07 to 2009-10 with the Toronto / Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors. He was a sixth round pick of the Atlanta Thrashers at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

12. Andrew Engelage of the Utah Grizzlies recorded a 2.63 GAA in 51 games. Engelage played three years with the Windsor Spitfires from 2006-07 to 2008-09. 2011-12 was the second year with Utah for Andrew.

13. Patrick Killeen finihsed with a 2.69 GAA in 36 games with the Wheeling Nailers. Killeen played four years with the Brampton Battalion from 2006-07 to 2009-10. The sixth round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008, played his second season with Wheeling. He also played five games for the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins.

14. Jason Missiaen recorded a 2.71 GAA in 40 games with the Greenville Road Warriors. Missiaen played with the Peterborough Petes from 2006-07 to 2009-10. After a year in the QMJHL with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, 2011-12 was Missiaen’s pro rookie season. Jason was a fourth round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2008.

Two OHL grads had the GAA but not the minimum number of games. Daren Machesney of the South Carolina Stingrays recorded a 2.28 GAA but only played 20 games with the South Carolina Stingrays. Thomas McCollum played just 15 games with the Toledo Walleye and recorded a 2.62 GAA. Machesney played for the Brampton Battalion for three years from 2003-04 to 2005-06. McCollum played in the OHL from 2006-07 to 2008-09 with the Guelph Storm and Brampton Battalion.

With the ECHL’s Kelly Cup playoffs underway, the final totals from the regular season are in. The race for the ECHL Leading Scorer Award was won by Dustin Gazley of the Elmira Jackals with just 85 points. It was the second lowest point total by a league leader, behind just John Spoltore’s 84 points in 1999-00. A far cry from the ECHL record of 161 set by Trevor Jobe in 1992-93.

Just the facts:

• 5 players with OHL experience were among the top 20 point producers in the ECHL.
• 2011-12 was one of the lowest offensive productions in ECHL history.
• Wes Goldie became the all-time leading ECHL goal scorer.
• Tyler Donati, ECHL top scorer in 2009-10, finished tied for 16th.

Five Ontario Hockey League grads were among the top 20 in the ECHL. Four are very familiar names while one played just 10 games with the Ottawa 67′s before switching to the QMJHL.

Paul McIlveen is the guy with just 10 OHL games under his belt. Paul finished 11th in the ECHL with 67 points as a member of the Utah Grizzlies. McIlveen played his ten games with Ottawa in 2004-05 before having a successful QMJHL career with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

Mathew Sisca finished 12th with 66 points. In his first year of professional hockey, Sisca started the 2011-12 season with the Bakersfield Condors and ended up with the Cincinnati Cyclones. Mathew played in the Ontario Hockey League for four years from 2007-08 to 2010-11 with the Niagara IceDogs, Guelph Storm and Saginaw Spirit.

Michael Pelech finished a point and a position behind Sisca. Pelech started the 2011-12 season with the Toledo Walleye and ended up a teammate of Mathew Sisca’s with the Cincinnati Cyclones. Michael played four years in the OHL from 2005-06 to 2008-09 with the Kitchener Rangers and Toronto / Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors. This was his third year in the ECHL. Originally, Pelech was a sixth round pick of the Los Angeles Kings at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Wes Goldie of the Alaska Aces finished 16th with 61 points. Goldie became the all-time ECHL goal scoring leader in March and ended the year with 370 career ECHL goals in 697 regular season games. Wes played in the OHL from 1995-96 to 1999-00, mostly with the Owen Sound Platers. His first season in the OHL consisted of two games with the London Knights.

Tyler Donati of the Chicago Express finished tied with Wes Goldie for 16th spot. His 61 points were a far cry from the 114 he produced with the Elmira Jackals in 2009-10, when he led the league. Donati played in the OHL from 2003-04 to 2006-07 with the Oshawa Generals, Toronto St. Michael’s Majors and Belleville Bulls.

Andy Chiodo of Klagenfurter AC.

An Ontario Hockey League alumnus, John Hughes, led Austria’s Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (EBEL) in points during the 2011-12 regular season. The OHL was also represented quite well between the pipes. Three OHL alumni were among the top ten goaltenders in the EBEL for GAA.

Just the facts:

• Michael Ouzas and Adam Munro finish in the top 10 in their first season in Austria’s EBEL.
• Ouzas replaced Chiodo with the 2003-04 Toronto St. Michael’s Majors.
• Munro and Chiodo have NHL experience.
• 2002-03 was the only year that all three played in the OHL at the same time.

Michael Ouzas finished third in the EBEL with a GAA of 2.31 while playing 21 of Medvescak Zagreb’s games. Michael’s partner with Zagreb, Robert Kristan, was first overall with a 2.21 GAA over 27 games. Zagreb finished second in the eleven team EBEL, a distant nine points behind first place EHC Linz. Zagreb was a semi-final exit from the playoffs while Linz won the championship.

Ouzas played four years in the Ontario Hockey League from 2002-03 to 2005-06. He was well-travelled in the OHL, beginning his career with the Barrie Colts and playing with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors and Mississauga IceDogs before finishing with the Owen Sound Attack. He was OHL Goaltender of the Year in 2004-05 with Mississauga. This is Ouzas’ first year in the EBEL after two years with the University of New Brunswick and three years in the ECHL.

Adam Munro placed seventh with a 2.76 GAA, playing 38 games with Szekesfehervar. Munro’s team finished the regular season in third, seven points behind Zagreb. Szekesfehervar was an early quarter-final exit from the post season.

Munro played five years in the Ontario Hockey League from 1998-99 to 2002-03. Most of his OHL career was spent with the Erie Otters but a trade sent him to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds early in his final season. Adam was the 29th overall pick at the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, going to the Chicago Blackhawks. He played 17 games with the Blackhawks over a three year span from 2003-04 to 2005-06.  His European journey has taken Munro to Switzerland, Russia and Italy with this being the first year in the EBEL.

Andy Chiodo rounded out the top 10, finishing in tenth with a 2.89 GAA over 24 games with Klagenfurter AC. Chiodo’s partner with Klagenfurter, Rene Swette, placed sixth with a 2.51 GAA over 25 games. The team finished fifth during the regular season and lost in the playoff finals to EHC Linz.

Andy played three years with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors from 2000-01 to 2002-03. Twice entered in the NHL Entry Draft, Chiodo went 166th overall to the New York Islanders in 2001 and 199th overall to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2003. His only NHL experience to date comes in the form of eight games played with the Penguins in 2003-04. 2011-12 was Andy’s second year with Klagenfurter and he will return for the 2012-13 EBEL season.