OHL Alumni Central

Kris Vernarsky played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1998-99 to 2001-02, all with the Plymouth Whalers. In his second and third season, the Whalers made it to the Robertson Cup finals. Vernarsky currently stands 12th on the Whalers on the all-time games played list with 238. He is also tied for 11th on the Whalers all-time play-off games played list with 55. During his Ontario Hockey League career, Kris represented the United States at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Tournament twice.

Vernarsky was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round of the 2000 NHL draft, 51st overall. He has appeared in a total of 17 NHL games, all with the Boston Bruins. 14 games were during the 2002-03 season and three were the following year.

Kris spent some time in the AHL with the Providence Bruins but has been a mainstay in the UHL/IHL since 2005-06. In the lifespan of the most recent version of the IHL (2007-2010), Vernarsky is forever placed in the top 20 for IHL career games, goals, assists and points.

With the demise of the IHL and the Port Huron Icehawks, the team Vernarsky has played with for the past three seasons, Kris finds himself starting the 2010-11 season with the Wheeling Nailers of the East Coast Hockey League.

Kris Vernarsky’s profile page has yet to appear on the Wheeling Nailers official website, but the site can be found through this link.

Check out this previous post on Cory Stillman, another OHL Alumnus left without a job by the demise of the Port Huron Icehawks.

Sean Brown played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1993-94 to 1995-96. Until midway through his final season, Brown played for the Belleville Bulls. He was traded to the Sarnia Sting to finish off his OHL career.

In 1995, Brown was a first round pick of the Boston Bruins, 21st overall. He did play for the Bruins but not until after being traded back to Boston from the Edmonton Oilers. In all, Sean Brown played 437 games in the National Hockey League with Edmonton, Boston, New Jersey Devils and Vancouver Canucks.

No stranger to the penalty box, the big defenseman sat out 515 minutes in 149 regular season OHL games as well as 122 minutes in 34 OHL playoff games. In the NHL, Brown sat out 909 minutes in the 437 games. In 2007-08, he was the most penalized player in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He sat 206 minutes in just 53 games for the Nurmberg Ice Tigers. This was a continuation from the season before when in just 3 playoff games with the DEG Metro Stars of the DEL, Brown had 64 minutes in penalties.

The upcoming season will be his fifth in Europe since leaving the NHL. The first two seasons were in the DEL and the past two have been played with Klagenfurter AC (EC-KAC) of Austria’s Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (EBEL). The team won the Austrian Championship in 2008-09. Sean is signed on for the 2010-11 season with Klagenfurter again.

Check out Sean Brown’s profile page on the Klagenfurter official website.

The Buffalo Sabres will face the Boston Bruins in the opening round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. The series will feature 13 Ontario Hockey League Alumni. The Sabres have 9 OHL grads which equals the Colorado Avalanche for most in the league among playoff bound teams. The Bruins are second from the bottom with just 4 OHL alumni.

The players are listed below and, as usual at OHL Alumni Central, click on each player’s name to view their profile page on their team’s official website.

Buffalo Sabres

Raffi Torres was a fan favourite and fortified sniper in Brampton with the Battalion from 1998-99 to 2000-01. Drafted by the New York Islanders in the first round, fifth overall in 2000, Raffi played sparingly for the Islanders in his first two pro seasons before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers. Since 2003-04, Torres has been a regular in the NHL with Edmonton, Columbus and Buffalo.

Tim Connolly played two seasons in the OHL with the Erie Otters, 1997-98 and 1998-99. Like teammate Raffi Torres, Tim was drafted in the first round, fifth overall by the New York Islanders, but the year earlier, 1999. Tim played two full seasons with the Islanders right out of junior before being traded to the Sabres.

Craig Rivet played for the Kingston Frontenacs for three seasons, starting way back in 1991-92. Craig was a third round pick of the Montreal Canadiens and played with the Habs until the trade deadline in 2007 when he became a San Jose Shark. Rivet became a Sabre at the start of the 2008-09 season and is now captain of the squad.

Derek Roy was an offensive powerhouse and leader for the Kitchener Rangers from 1999-00 to 2002-03. His OHL career culminated in a Memorial Cup championship. Derek was a Buffalo draft pick and has been in the Sabres system since graduating from junior.

Steve Montador played in the OHL for four seasons starting in 1996-97. He began his junior career with the North Bay Centennials but was traded to the Erie Otters in his second season. His final season was spent in Peterborough with the Petes. Steve began his NHL career with the Calgary Flames and has also played with Florida, Anaheim and Boston before becoming a Buffalo Sabre at the start of this season.

Andrej Sekera played two seasons with the Owen Sound Attack, 2004-05 and 2005-06. Sekera was drafted by the Sabres before playing a single Ontario Hockey League game and has been in Buffalo’s system for his whole professional career.

Adam Mair played four seasons for the Owen Sound Platers from 1995-96 to 1998-99. Mair was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs and played very sparingly for the Leafs then the Los Angeles Kings before becoming a regular with Buffalo in 2002-03.

Patrick Kaleta played for the Peterborough Petes for four seasons from 2002-03 to 2005-06. A late pick of the Sabres in 2004 (6th round, 176th overall), Patrick has used his toughness to stick with the NHL team.

Matt Ellis played four season with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors from 1998-99 to 2001-02. Used sparingly but the Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Kings early in his career, Matt played his first real full season in Buffalo with the Sabres this season.

Boston Bruins

Daniel Paille played for the Guelph Storm for four seasons from 2000-01 to 2003-04. A first round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2002, Daniel played with the Sabres until two games into this season when he was traded to the Bruins.

Marc Savard was a two-time OHL scoring champ with the Oshawa Generals over his four year career from 1993-94 to 1996-97. Marc has enjoyed a nearly 800 game NHL career with the New York Rangers, Calgary Flames, Atlanta Thrashers and Boston. An enormous part of the team’s offense, Savard will likely remain on injured reserve with a late season head injury.

Shawn Thornton played for the Peterborough Petes for two seasons, 1995-96 and 1996-97. A seventh round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Shawn didn’t see his first NHL action until 2002-03 as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks. After a season in Anaheim with the Ducks, this is Shawn’s third season with the Bruins.

Dennis Wideman began his OHL career with the Sudbury Wolves in 1999-00 but was traded during the next season to the London Knights. Dennis played with the Knights until 2003-04, establishing himself as one of the premier defensemen in the league. Drafted way down in the 8th round of the 2002 draft by the Buffalo Sabres, Wideman became an NHL regular with the St. Louis Blues in 2005-06 and was traded to the Bruins the next season.

Great Britain’s EIHL, because it is a fairly transient hockey league, has an award for Best Newcomer of the Year as opposed to Rookie of the Year. That is why two Ontario Hockey League alumni who’ve been around the pro hockey circuit for a number of years can be up for the award this season.

In this post, we’ll feature Cameron Mann of the Nottingham Panthers. Tomorrow, tune in to find out who the other former OHLer up for the award is. Hint – he’s a former Kitchener Ranger…

Cameron Mann was a Peterborough Pete from 1993-94 to 1996-97. His best season was 1995-96 when he lead the Petes to a J. Ross Robertson Cup victory as league playoff champion and a berth in the Memorial Cup. The Petes hosted the Memorial Cup but would bow out to Grandby in the final. Despite the losing effort, Cameron was named tournament MVP and filled the right wing position on the all-star team.

His 102 points that season was good enough for 6th in the league. His 27 goals and 43 points in 24 playoff games that season was nothing short of extraordinary. Mann was awarded the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy for the league’s highest scoring right winger.

Despite being picked in the 4th round by the Boston Bruins in the 1995 NHL draft, Cameron became a top Bruin prospect in his final two seasons in the OHL. He would play in the NHL but only a total of 93 games between the Bruins and the Nashville Predators.

In 2003-04, Cameron left North American for Germany’s DEL where he would play 4 seasons with Inglestadt. After a season in Finland he returned to Germany for one more season before moving the Nottingham.

In his first full season in the EIHL, Mann put up great numbers with 32 goals and 31 assists for 63 points in 49 games.

To view Cameron Mann’s profile page on the Nottingham Panthers official website, click here.