OHL Alumni Central

About as far from Brampton and Ottawa as you can get in the world of hockey is Temirtau, Kazakhstan. Just a “Detroit to Montreal’s” distance from Mongolia and China, this city of 180,000 didn’t even exist before 1905. The team plays out of the ten team Kazak league and features two Ontario Hockey League grads on the roster.

Levente Szuper started his 2011-12 season in the Central Hockey League with the Arizona Sundogs. This ‘hockey vagabond’ is no stranger to the wide world of ice hockey. Since playing two seasons in net for the Ottawa 67′s in 1998-99 and 1999-00, Szuper has played in Canada, the United States, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Sweden and Austria. He has played on the world stage with his native Hungary on a yearly basis.

Levente was a fourth round pick of the Calgary Flames at the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, 116th overall. He spent three seasons with Calgary’s AHL affiliate, the Saint John Flames, and one season split between the AHL’s Worcester IceCats and the ECHL’s Peoria Rivermen before starting his world tour. He has been a member of championship teams in the Ontario Hockey League, Germany’s DEL and the AHL. With Hungary, he has won a handful of medals and individual accolades at the World Championships (D1). He played a role with the 1998-99 Ottawa team that was crowned Memorial Cup champions.

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Kurt MacSweyn has been on a similar world journey since leaving the Ontario Hockey League after the 2001-02 season. Kurt was an original Brampton Battalion, playing in the franchise’s first year, 1998-99. He spent four years with the club before heading off to University  at St. Mary’s. After three years getting educated, MacSweyn spent the 2005-06 season in the ECHL with the Idaho Steelheads before heading to Europe, and beyond. Kurt has played in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy and Australia. 2011-12 is his first season with Temirtau.

Arystan Temirtau currently sits in fourth place in the ten team league, 38 games into their 54 game regular season schedule. In 2010-11, the team finished fifth and exited the post season after the quarter-finals. The Kazak league would best be described as a minor league to the KHL. The team plays out of the 2,700 seat Muz Aydin Sport Palace.

Well over halfway into the 54 game Erste Bank Eishockey Liga schedule, Ontario Hockey League grad John Hughes is atop the Austrian league’s scoring race. Hughes has a slim lead with 49 points as a member of Olimpija Ljubljana. Last season, he was fifth in points while leading the league in assists.

John Hughes with Olimpija Ljubljana.

John played in the Ontario Hockey League for four seasons from 2004-05 to 2007-08. He was the first overall pick by the Belleville Bulls at the 2004 OHL Priority Selection. He played with Belleville until a trade sent him to the Brampton Battalion during the 2006-07 season. Hughes finished his OHL career with 283 points in 256 regular season games.

Undrafted, Hughes made his way to Europe immediately upon leaving the OHL. This is John’s second season with Ljubljana. He has also played for teams in Finland in Germany. The team is sitting in fifth place in the eleven team EBEL in what well could be Ljubljana’s best showing in the Austrian elite league.

Joining John Hughes on Olimpija Ljubljana are two defenseman that also played their junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League. Jamie Fraser played four seasons in the OHL from 2002-03 to 2005-06. His first two years were spent with the Brampton Battalion and his final two were with the Sarnia Sting. Undrafted, Fraser spent five years from 2006-07 to 2010-11 in the North American minors, mostly in the American Hockey League. He did get to play one NHL regular season game in 2008-09 with the New York Islanders. 2011-12 marks Fraser’s first year playing in Europe.

Scott Hotham is in his second year playing in Europe after playing for Lillehammer in Norway’s Get-Ligaen in 2010-11. Hotham played four years in the Ontario Hockey League from 2001-02 to 2004-05 with the North Bay Centennials, Saginaw Spirit, Mississauga IceDogs and Barrie Colts. Scott followed up his junior career with four years with St. Mary’s of the CIS. In his first year of pro hockey, 2009-10, he split his season with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL and the Rochester Americans of the AHL. Scott’s brother and father also are graduates of the Ontario Hockey League.

I remember being at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto a few years back and being a little confused during a game between the Marlies and the Rochester Americans. It was Oreskovic versus Oreskovich and I, quite frankly couldn’t remember which one was which.

Phil Oreskovic

Phil Oreskovic and Victor Oreskovich are both grads of the Ontario Hockey League, played in the league at the same time for two years and are listed at exactly the same height and weight.

Phil Oreskovic played four years in the Ontario Hockey League from 2003-04 to 2006-07. He played the bulk of his OHL career with the Brampton Battalion, moving over to the Owen Sound Attack at the trade deadline in his final season. The stay at home defenseman was the fifteenth overall pick of the Battalion in the 2003 OHL Priority Selection.

Oreskovic was taken by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, 82nd overall. He appeared in ten games with the National Hockey League club in 2008-09, his only NHL experience to date. After three years as a regular with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, Phil was moved to the Hershey Bears for 2010-11. So far in 2011-12, he’s played a scattering of games for the South Carolina Stingrays of the East Coast Hockey League.

After starting his second season with University of Notre Dame in the NCAA in 2005-06, Victor Oreskovich returned to Canada and played the rest of the season and all of 2006-07 with the Kitchener Rangers. He put up decent numbers in his only full OHL season, scoring 28 and totalling 60 points in 62 games. 

Oreskovich came to the Ontario Hockey League already an NHL prospect. Victor was taken in the second round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalance, 55th overall. He has appeared in the NHL with the Florida Panthers and Vancouver Canucks. Currently a member of the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, Oreskovich has appeared in one game with the Canucks, so far this season.

Victor Oreskovich

An Ontario Hockey League grad was the Southern Professional Hockey League’s most valuable player in 2010-11, the SPHL’s seventh season of existence. Matt Auffrey led the first year Augusta RiverHawks to a second overall finish and a trip to the President’s Cup finals. Augusta bowed out to the Mississippi Surge in three games (best of five series).

Matt Auffrey of the Augusta RiverHawks.

Matt Auffrey played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, 2005-06 and 2006-07. His first season was spent in a Kitchener Rangers uniform after coming across the border from the University of Wisconsin. In his second year in the OHL, Auffrey played with Kitchener, the Brampton Battalion and Kingston Frontenacs. he scored a respectable 24 goals in his first season and 27 in his second.

Matt came to the OHL already an NHL prospect of the Anaheim Ducks. Auffrey was taken in the sixth round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, 172nd overall. Since leaving the Ontario Hockey League, Matt has played in the AHL, ECHL, IHL and SPHL.

With Augusta in 2010-11, Matt was the team captain and led in offense. His 49 assists was the second most in the league and his 70 points ranked third. In the playoffs, he was fifth in scoring. His efforts were good enough to be selected the SPHL’s MVP as well as being a member of the First All-Star Team.

In Augusta’s second season in the SPHL, they currently sit in first place overall in the nine team league. Chugging along at a point per game pace, Auffrey has a lot of help in the offensive department this year with four players ahead of him in team scoring.

The SPHL has grown in stature since 2004-05 and would seem to be a healthy hockey league. Some interesting rulebook differences to be found in the SPHL include 3 on 3 overtimes and no limitations on stick blade curves.

Well, that was probably the longest article title in the history of OHL Alumni Central…

The reigning champions of the Czech Republic Extraligy, HC Ocelari Trinec, are looking for a repeat with the help of four Ontario Hockey League alumni. Three were members of the team in 2010-11 and one is a new arrival from the Albany Devils of the American Hockey League. Two of the four are products of Stan Butler’s Brampton Battalion.

Lukas Havel is an original Brampton Battalion, playing three years with the club from 1998-99 to 2000-01. Havel averaged 20 goals per season with the Battalion, scoring 19 in the inaugural season when goals were hard to come by. In his final season of OHL play, Lukas played for the Czech Republic at the IIHF World Juniors, earning a gold medal.

Undrafted, Havel returned to his native Czech Republic and has been there since, with exception of a two year stint in the Slovak Extraligy. In 2010-11, his first with Trinec, Have played just five games after being a regular with HC Slavia Praha (Prague) the year before.

Martin Lojek also played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Brampton Battalion. Lojek played from 2002-03 to 2004-05. Like Lukas Havel, Lojek also played for the Czech Republic at the World Juniors. In 2005, Martin earned a bronze medal.

After his first season with Brampton, Lojek was taken by the Florida Panthers in the fourth round of the 2003 OHL Entry Draft, 105th overall. He played in Florida’s system until the end of the 2007-08 season, mostly with the Rochester Americans of the AHL but he did get into five NHL games during that time. In 2008-09, Martin made the return to his native Czech Republic. He has been with Trinec ever since.

Peter Hamerlik spent three seasons between the pipes in the Ontario Hockey League from 2000-01 to 2002-03, all with the Kingston Frontenacs. Hamerlik played the bulk of the games in net for the Frontenacs over the three years and backstopped Slovakia at the 2002 World Juniors.

Peter came to Kingston already a prospect of the Pittsburgh Penguins, having been drafted in the third round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, 84th overall. He re-entered the draft in 2002 and was taken by the Boston Bruins in the fifth round, 153rd overall. Hamerlik played for a handful of ECHL teams between 2003 and 2005 while reaching his highest level in North American hockey with the Providence Bruins of the AHL.

Hamerlik returned to Slovakia for the end of the 2004-05 season. He has been with Trinec since the start of the 2009-10 season, playing in Russia and Belarus along the way.

Rob Davison is the new guy and the only Ontario Hockey League grad playing for Trinec that is Canadian. Davison played three seasons in the OHL with the North Bay Centennials from 1997-98 to 1999-00.

Rob was drafted after his first OHL season by the San Jose Sharks in the fourth round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, 98th overall. He has appeared in 225 total NHL games with the San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks and New Jersey Devils. He spent the past season solely in the American Hockey League with the Albany Devils where he wore the ‘A’.

This is not Davison’s first tour of duty overseas. In the lockout season of 2004-05, Rob played for the Cardiff Devils in Great Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League.