OHL Alumni Central

The Coventry Blaze of Great Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League will have two Ontario Hockey League grads on the roster for 2011-12. As mentioned in an earlier article, Mike McLean is taking his first step across the pond to play with Coventry. Just a few days ago, it was announced that Peterborough Petes alumnus Dustin Wood will be playing the point for the Blaze.

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Also, another Ontario Hockey League alumnus, Neal Martin seems to the be the first to be honoured on the Coventry Blaze Wall of Fame. Inducted June 9, 2011, Martin was a standout defenseman for the club for four seasons from 2004-05 to 2007-08. Martin last played pro hockey with AaB in Denmark. He played in the OHL for four seasons from 1992-93 to 1995-96 with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Sudbury Wolves. After three years of bouncing around the North American minors, Martin left for Europe, never looking back. Along with Great Britain and Denmark, Neal also played in Germany and Austria.

Dustin Wood spent the past two seasons in the Asia League with Anyang Halla. Both seasons, the team was league champion, although this past season they were co-champs after play was suspended due to the Earthquake/Tsumani. Wood played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1998-99 to 2001-02, all with the Peterborough Petes. He was team captain in his final season. Wood was destined to start the 2011-12 season with HC Ceske Budejovice in the Czech Extraliga but things fell through. He will start with Coventry in a couple of weeks after the paperwork is processed.

Mike McLean played in the Ontario Hockey League for parts of five seasons with the Oshawa Generals and Guelph Storm. After playing for nine different teams in the North American minors between 2007 and 2011, he makes the journey to Great Britain in search of stability. A Central Hockey League all-star last season with the Quad City Mallards, McLean totalled 51 points in 55 games.

After a great season in the Central Hockey League with the Quad City Mallards, Ontario Hockey League grad Mike McLean is off to Great Britain to play in the EIHL with the Coventry Blaze.

Mike McLean with the ECHL's Dayton Bombers in 2008-09.

Mike McLean played in the Ontario Hockey League from 2002-03 to 2006-07. His first year consisted of just two games with his hometown Oshawa Generals. His second season started with the Generals and saw him end up with the Guelph Storm after eleven games. McLean was a mainstay with the Storm until the end of the 2006-07 season.

Undrafted by an NHL club, McLean has spent the past four seasons playing for eight different clubs in three different leagues. He was a point per game man with the Dayton Bombers of the ECHL in 2008-09 with 46 points in 47 games. This past season, Mike was tied for the points lead on the Quad City Mallards of the Central Hockey League with 51 in 55 games. The player he was tied with played eleven more games. McLean played in the CHL All-Star game in 2010-11. The Mallards finished seventh out of nine teams in the Turner Conference and made a quick exit from the first round of the playoffs.

McLean’s arrival in Coventry is highly anticipated. The Blaze finished sixth in the ten team Elite Ice Hockey League this past season and lost to the Belfast Giants in the first round of the playoffs. The team plays out of the Skydome Arena in Coventry which seats just 3,000 for hockey. Since 2002-03, the Coventry Blaze have been regular season champions five times and have been playoff champs twice.

Ontario Hockey League grad Brian Lee is continuing his European tour with a stop in Italy for the 2011-12 season. Lee has signed on with Vipiteno of Italy’s Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio Serie A2.

Brian Lee played five seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2000-01 to 2004-05, all with the Erie Otters. In just his second season with the Otters, Brian helped the team from the blue line as the won the Robertson Cup with a 4-1 series victory over the Barrie Colts in the playoff finals.

After that run to a 2002 Memorial Cup appearance, the Anaheim Ducks took an interest in Brian and selected in the third round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, 71st overall.

After graduating from the OHL, Lee played three years in the North American pros, bouncing around from teams in the ECHL and AHL. His most stable season was 2007-08, his last in North America, when he played 72 games with the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder and contributed 34 points.

In 2008-09, it was off to Europe. Brian played for Briançon in France’s Ligue Magnus. The following year, Lee found himself playing for the Coventry Blaze in Great Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League. Coventry was the EIHL champion in his first year. This past year with Coventy, Brian wore the A on his jersey.

Greg Chambers as a Basingstoke Bison.

Greg Chambers was a 40 goal scorer in two of his three Ontario Hockey League seasons. The NHL shunned him but Great Britain cherishes him. Greg played three seasons with the Peterborough Petes from 2000-01 to 2002-03. He led the Petes in total points for the 2001-02 season and was just slightly overshadowed by Eric Staal for the team lead in 2002-03.

Chambers played one season in the ECHL with the Pensacola Ice Pilots in 2003-04 before heading to Europe. He played a season in Italy’s LIHG before settling down in Great Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).

Greg spent his first four seasons with the now defunct Basingstoke Bison of the EIHL. This past season was his first with the Coventry Blaze and he contributed 75 points in 51 games while helping the Blaze to the EIHL title.

For the past three seasons, Chambers has represented Great Britain at the D1 World Championships. In 2007-08, he lead all scorers in the tournament with 11 points. In 2008-09, while helping Great Britain to a bronze medal, Greg led the tournament with six assists. This past world championship, 2009-10, Chambers had the distinction of being the most penalized player in the tournament.

Greg has signed on for the 2010-11 season with the Coventry Blaze. This upcoming season looks to be a fantastic season for the EIHL as more and more imports find their way to Great Britain and mix with some great local talent. The Blaze are looking to be one of the front-runners again. Word is, ice hockey is taking over as the country’s most popular sport.

Check out Greg Chambers’ profile page on the Coventry Blaze official website.

Above photo courtesy of BRLD @ Flickr.

Derek Campbell with the Coventy Blaze of the EIHL.

Derek Campbell played in the Ontario Hockey League for four years from 1997-98 to 2000-01. His first two seasons were spent in Belleville with the Bulls, his third with the Owen Sound Platers and his fourth with the Kingston Frontenacs. He was part of a Belleville Bull team that would win the Robertson Cup in 1998-99 and make an appearance at the Memorial Cup.

Derek went the university route after his OHL career was over, playing three seasons with St. Thomas University. He played sparingly with 5 different teams in three different North American leagues in 2004-05 and 2005-06. He found his place in Great Britain’s EIHL in 2006-07 and has been in the league since.

His first season in the EIHL was played with Manchester Phoenix followed by two seasons with the Newcastle Vipers. This past season was spent with the Coventry Blaze. Derek has brought a great deal of offence to the league as well as a high degree of toughness. He was a big part of the Blaze being league champions this season.

Derek has signed on to play out our summer in Australia with the Sydney Ice Dogs of the AIHL. Derek puts the Ice Dogs into instant contender status and is potentially the man who can crack the scoring records set last season by fellow OHL alumnus, Brad Smulders.

What Derek also brings to the AIHL in general, is another piece in the credibility puzzle. The teams in the AIHL are only allowed to dress four imports per game. With the quality of those imports getting better and better each season, it will help to bring up the quality of the local talent.

The official website of the Sydney Ice Dogs can be found here.

Derek is also featured in this previous post: 1998-99 Belleville Bulls

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