OHL Alumni Central

Thomas Dolak played one season in the Ontario Hockey League, 1997-98. He began that season with three games in a Kingston Frontenacs uniform before heading north to North Bay and playing 48 more games with the Centennials. In those 51 games, Dolak totalled 45 points.

Thomas, born in the Czech Republic, played his pre-OHL hockey in Germany and has represented the country twice in international play. Dolak was a member of Germany’s under 20 team at the world junior championships in 1999 and played for Germany in the World Championships in 2000.

After his one year in the Ontario Hockey League, Dolak returned to Germany and has played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) since. 2011-12 will mark his fourteenth year in the league and will be played with the Hamburg Freezers, a team Thomas last played for in 2002-03.

For the past eight years, Dolak has played for the Hannover Scorpions, winning a DEL championship with the club in 2009-10. That season, his 53 points in 56 regular season games placed him tied for 17th in the league. He added 11 points in 10 playoff games on the way to the championship.

This past season, Thomas contributed 46 points in 51 regular season games as the Scorpions finished fifth in the 14 team DEL. Hannover bowed out of the playoffs in the quarter-finals. Dolak’s 46 points placed him 21st in the league.

Other than Hannover and Hamburg, Dolak has also played for the Kassel Huskies and Munchen (Munich) Barons in the DEL. He played in the DEL All-Star game as a member of the Huskies in 2000 and as a member of the Scorpions in 2004.

After two consecutive years helping the Salzburg Red Bulls win the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga championships in Austria, Ontario Hockey League grad Andre Lakos is moving on. Lakos will start the 2011-12 season with Kolner Haie of Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Lakos will join OHL grads John Tripp, Charlie Stephens, Jason Jaspers and Jonathan D’Aversa on the Cologne Sharks team that finished ninth in the fourteen team DEL in 2010-11 and were an early first round exit from the playoffs.

Andre Lakos as a member of Salzburg Red Bulls of Germany's DEL.

Lakos played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, 1997-98 and 1998-99. His first year was spent on the point with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors and his last season was in a Barrie Colts jersey.

Andre was a third round draft pick of the New Jersey Devils in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, 95th overall. He spent three years with New Jersey’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Albany River Rats, from 1999-00 until midway through the 2001-02 season when he was shifted to the Utah Grizzlies of the AHL.

2002-03 marked the Austrian’s return to his home country. He played two seasons with the Vienna Capitals of the EBEL. With all the NHL players coming to Europe during the 2004-05 lockout season, Andre made a return to North America, playing one season with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. The following season, it was back to Austria.

Along the way, Lakos has played stints in Sweden’s Eliteserien and Russia’s KHL. Through the years, Andre has been a regular on Austrian national teams, playing in the World Juniors, World Championships on several occasions and even playing in the Olympic Games in 2002.

Andre provides a great amount of offense from the blue line, something uncharacteristic in European hockey. Not surprising when you picture a 6’8″ 238 lb. behemoth barrelling down on opposing teams defense. Coincidentally, Lakos becomes the league’s tallest and heaviest player. Kolner should be the team to watch in the DEL this year, at least for OHL fans.

The Iserlohn Roosters of Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) finished out of the playoffs in 2010-11 for the third consecutive season. The Roosters finished 12th in the fourteen team league, five points out of the basement. Their possible solution for improving in 2011-12? Bring in some North American veterans with plenty of NHL experience.

The Roosters have just signed three players with plenty of NHL experience, two of which are Ontario Hockey League grads. All three probably won’t dazzle like Sidney Crosby, but all three have grit, size and leadership qualities that Iserlohn is definitely looking for.

Jeff Cowan

Jeff Cowan has 434 NHL regular season games under his belt, but has spent the last three years in the American Hockey League, most recently with the Toronto Marlies. Originally undrafted, Cowan has played for the Calgary Flames, Atlanta Thrashers, Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks.

Jeff played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1993-94 to 1995-96. He began his OHL career with the Guelph Storm and finished off by playing for the Barrie Colts in his final year. With the Colts, he showed his scoring abilities with 38 goals in 66 games. He was team captain with Barrie.

Jassen Cullimore

Jassen Cullimore is one of very few left playing in pro hockey that started in the Ontario Hockey League in the 1980′s. Cullimore played four seasons with the Peterborough Petes from 1988-89 to 1991-92. He played for Team Canada at the 1992 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships where Canada tanked with a sixth place finish.

Cullimore was selected in the second round of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, 29th overall. He has put in 812 regular season NHL games to date with the Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers. He spent this past season split between the Chicago Blackhawks and the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs.

Jassen was used sparingly in his first season with Peterborough as the won the Robertson Cup as Ontario Hockey League playoff champs. The same was true when he played for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003-04 when they won the Stanley Cup. Iserlohn is hoping he’ll bring some of that winning experience to Germany.

Mike York

The other former NHLer, but not OHL grad, signed by Iserlohn is Mike York. York played NCAA hockey before embarking on a 579 game NHL career with the New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes and Columbus Blue Jackets. York spent this past season in Finland with Pelicans of the SM-Liiga. He played for Iserlohn in the NHL lock-out season of 2004-05.

The Iserlohn Roosters went to the Deutsche Eishockey Liga finals in 2009-10. This season, the Roosters are struggling just to make the playoffs. Iserlohn has a trio of Ontario Hockey League grads on the roster, doing their best to help the Roosters advance.

Manny Legace is among the league’s top goaltenders with a 2.47 goals against average and a .919 save percentage in 35 games. Legace played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1990-91 to 1992-93, all with the Niagara Falls Thunder. Legace was taken by the Hartford Whalers in the eighth round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, 188th overall. Manny had a decent NHL career with the Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues and Carolina Hurricanes before making his debut in Germany this season.

Pat Kavanagh played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1996-97 to 1998-99, all with the Peterborough Petes. Kavanagh was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, 50th overall. Pat saw fourteen games in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks and the Flyers. Kavanagh currently sits third on the Roosters in total points and is in his fourth season in the DEL.

Kris Sparre played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2005-06 to 2007-08, split between the Barrie Colts and the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors. Sparre is in his second season with Iserlohn.

These Ontario Hockey League grads can be found on the roster page of the Iserlohn Roosters official website. This is a great one stop page to also view the DEL standings.

Ontario Hockey League grad Colin Beardsmore is now well into his eleventh season in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Beardsmore is in his first season back with Nürnberg Ice Tigers after a three year stint from 2005-06 to 2007-08. Colin has also played for the Iserlohn Roosters, Augsburger Panthers, Kölner Haie, Kassel Huskies and Adler Mannheim.

Beardsmore played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1995-96 to 1997-98. He started his first year with the Detroit Junior Whalers and moved to the North Bay Centennials at the trade deadline. The following season began with the Centennials and saw him move over to the Owen Sound Platers after 40 games. The timing of the trade allowed Colin to play 70 games in 1996-97 when the league only played a 66 game schedule. Beardsmore remained in Owen Sound for his final season in the Ontario Hockey League.

Taken by the Detroit Red Wings in the seventh round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, 189th overall, Colin never saw an NHL game. Such was life as a late draft pick of the powerful and deep Detroit Red Wings of the mid to late 1990′s. He spent his first season in professional hockey with Detroit’s ECHL affiliate Toledo Storm with 17 games of call-up time with the AHL’s Adirondack Red Wings.

After a year in the Canadian university system with University of New Brunswick in 1999-00, it was off to Germany for the 2000-01 season. Colin will come close to cracking the 600 career DEL game plateau this season.

Check out Colin Beardsmore’s profile page on the Nürnberg Ice Tigers official website.

Joining Colin on the Ice Tigers this season are the following Ontario Hockey League alumni:

Rob Leask

Jan Platil

Patrick Ehelechner