OHL Alumni Central

Is Great Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League just using Ontario Hockey League grads for their fists? The EIHL typically has more than a few OHL alumni among the top ten scorers in the league. This year, there are just two in the top 20 with approximately 10 games to go in the regular season. These two, Mike Ramsay and Corey Neilson, fall in the 16th and 20th position. Ramsay, a player who was used sparingly by the Peterborough Petes over two partial seasons and Neilson, a 35 year old defenseman who last played for the Barrie Colts in 1997.

Yet, when it comes to time spent in the box, seven the OHL can lay claim to seven of the top 20, including three of the top five. Derek Campbell is the highest, sitting in second place with 209 PIM in just 44 games, a 4.75 PIM/GM pace. However, he doesn’t hold a candle to league leader Chris Frank of the Cardif Devils who has 286 PIM in 42 games – a 6.81 PIM per game pace!

It’s not that the British Isles are developing better talent. Just three of the top 20 point getters are from Great Britain and one includes Corey Neilson. Neilson is Canadian born but has since gotten his UK citizenship. For the most part, it’s just the way it goes in European hockey. It’s a transient hockey world and by next year at this time, OHL boys could be clogging the scoring race.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the players involved:

Top Scorers:

Mike Ramsay is tied for 16th wit 47 points in just 33 games, not bad for a guy who totaled just 5 goals with the Petes. Ramsay played with Peterborough for parts of the 2001-02 and 2002-03 season. He moved on to the QMJHL where he achieved greater success. This is Mike’s first year with the Sheffield Steelers of the EIHL.

Corey Neilson is in his sixth year with the Nottingham Panthers and truly leads by example. Neilson has also been the coach of the team for the past four years. The defenseman has 45 points in 45 games to rank him at the edge of the top 20. Ironically, his 81 PIM actually tied him for the 20th in that race, as well. Corey played in the Ontario Hockey League from 1993-94 to 1996-97 with the North Bay Centennials, Detroit Whalers and Barrie Colts.

Top Bad Boys:

Derek Campbell sits in second with 209 PIM in 44 games as a member of the Hull Stingrays. This his sixth year in the EIHL and first with Hull. Campbell played four years in the OHL from 1997-98 to 2000-01 with the Belleville Bulls, Owen Sound Platers and Kingston Frontenacs.

No surprise to Kitchener Rangers fans, Adam Keefe holds down the number 4 spot with 164 PIM in 41 games with the Belfast Giants. Keefe is in his first year in the EIHL and already has a ‘A’ on his jersey. Adam played in the Ontario Hockey League from 2000-01 to 2004-05 with the Sudbury Wolves and Kitchener.

A position behind Keefe is Colt King with 135 PIM in 41 games with the Sheffield Steelers. This is Colt’s first season in the EIHL. He played in the OHL from 1999-00 to 2003-04 with what seems like half the league. King wore the OHL jersey’s of the Guelph Storm, North Bay Centennials, Saginaw Spirit, Oshawa Generals, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Sarnia Sting.

Frantisek Bakrlik is tied for 12th with 90 PIM in 48 games. It’ll be interesting to see how many regular season games Bakrlik ends up playing. The Fife Flyers are his third team this season in the EIHL and it looks like he’s picked up a few extra games due to scheduling differences at the time of each of his trades. Frantisek played in the OHL in 2000-01 and 2001-02 with the Barrie Colts and Sarnia Sting. This is his first year in the EIHL.

Darryl Lloyd is in 15th with 88 PIM in 37 games with the Belfast Giants. Lloyd is in his first season in the EIHL and is currently injured. Darryl played three seasons with the Windsor Spitfires from 2001-02 to 2003-04.

Drew Bannister falls in 17th spot with 84 PIM in 40 games with the Braehead Clan. Bannister will turn 38 in a few months and began his OHL career way back in 1990. He played four seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds from 1990-91 to 1993-94. A second round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992, Bannister has 176 NHL games under his belt, including playoffs. This is his second year in the EIHL and first with the Clan.

Just a minute behind Bannister is Sylvain Cloutier of the Hull Stingrays. Cloutier has 83 minutes in 41 games. This is Cloutier’s fifth EIHL season and third with the Stingrays. Like Corey Neilson with Nottingham, Sylvain is also the coach of the team and is in the third year of that position. Cloutier played three years in the OHL with the Guelph Storm from 1991-92 to 1993-94. A veteran of seven NHL games, all with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1998-99.

With Great Britain broken down into it’s individual countries (England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales), Canadian players outnumber any other nationality in Great Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League. According to EliteProspects.com, there are currently 57 Canadians, topping England which has 55. Therefore, it’s not all that shocking that three of the top ten and four of the top twenty in penalty minutes are Ontario Hockey League grads (all numbers are as of October 27, 2011).

Derek Campbell of the Hull Stingrays is no stranger to the penalty box but has also contributed nearly a point per game in his 260+ EIHL games since joining the league for the 2006-07 season. Campbell played four years in the Ontario Hockey League from 1996-97 to 2000-01. He played his first two with the Belleville Bulls, his third with the Owen Sound Platers and his final season with the Kingston Frontenacs. He currently leads the EIHL in PIM with 88 in 13 games. He also has 10 points in that time.

Colt King sits tied for third with 64 PIM in 14 games with the Sheffield Steelers. This is Colt’s first season in the EIHL after seven years in North America with teams in the ECHL, UHL, CHL and AHL. King played five seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1999-00 to 2003-04 with the Guelph Storm, North Bay Centennials, Saginaw Spirit, Oshawa Generals, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Sarnia Sting. Colt played this past season with the Rapid City Rush of the CHL, wearing the ‘A’ on his jersey. Like Campbell, he also can help out in the offensive department, scoring five and assisting on four, so far this season.

Adam Keefe is another newbie to the EIHL. Keefe sits in seventh with 55 PIM in 14 games with the Belfast Giants. Adam played five seasons from 2000-01 to 2004-05 in the Ontario Hockey League with the Sudbury Wolves and Kitchener Rangers. He brings a ton of American Hockey League experience to a league that is producing a higher quality game each year.

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Darryl Lloyd is also new to the EIHL. In his first season with the Belfast Giants, Lloyd currently sits in 18th position with 36 PIM in 14 games. Darryl has spent the past five years in the ECHL with the last two as a member of the Kalamazoo Wings. Although providing a physical presence, Darryl also contributed 51 points in 72 games in 2010-11. Lloyd played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2001-02 to 2003-04, all with the Windsor Spitfires.

Of course, Canadians are also in the top 20 scorers in this exciting league. Among them are Ontario Hockey League grads. Stay tuned to OHL Alumni Central as we profile these players in the near future.

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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