OHL Alumni Central

Slovakia will have three OHL grads on the roster for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Peter Budaj, currently of the Colorado Avalanche, will be between the pipes for the Slovaks. Peter played in the OHL with the St. Michael’s Majors from 1999-00 to 2001-02.

Andrej Sekera is currently a Buffalo Sabre in the National Hockey League. Just 23, Andrej is the youngest player on the Slovak team. Sekera played in the OHL with the Owen Sound Attack from 2004-05 to 2005-06.

Branko Radivojevic is currently in Russia’s KHL with Spartak Moscow. Branko played in the OHL with the Belleville Bulls from 1998-99 to 2000-01. In his final season, he was third in league scoring with 104 points. In his first season, the Bulls won the league championship and were awarded with a trip to the Memorial Cup.

To read posts on other former OHLers on 2010 Olympic teams, click on the country of your choice: Russia, Norway, Latvia, Germany, Czech Republic, Belarus, United States, Canada.

In order to fill the void made available by injuries to Paul Martin and Mike Komisarek, the USA Olympic hockey team has picked up Windsor Spitfire Graduate, Tim Gleason. Read this post to find out what other Ontario Hockey League alumni are on the 2010 USA Olympic team.

Originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the 2001 draft, Gleason spent time with the Los Angeles Kings before moving to his present team, the Carolina Hurricanes, in 2006-07.

Gleason played for the Spitfires from 1999-00 to 2002-03.

Despite the fact that many Russians have played in the OHL in recent years, there is only one OHL grad that will play on Team Russia at the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Fedor Tyutin was a member of the Guelph Storm for the 2001-02 season. That season, he had 19 goals and 40 assists for 59 points in 53 games. He was drafted 40th overall by the New York Rangers and went on to play 4 seasons for the team before moving on to Columbus in 2008-09, where he remains today.

Check out these other posts of OHL grads going to the Olympics:

Latvia, Norway, Germany, Czech Republic, United States and Canada.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Calgary Flames were involved in a blockbuster trade involving 7 players, one an OHL grad. The trade has Dion Phaneuf, Fredfrik Sjostrom and Keith Aulie heading to Toronto in exchange for Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers and Ian White.

Matt Stajan played with the Belleville Bulls from 2000-01 to 2002-03 and has been in the Leafs’ organization since.

His stats, as graciously provided by HockeyDB.com, are as follows:

The Lake Erie Monsters are an AHL team that plays out of the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The Monsters are the latest incarnation of professional hockey in Cleveland. The previous AHL franchise here was the Barons that lasted from 2002 to 2006. Before that, the IHL’s Lumberjacks lasted from 1992-2001. The city had short lived franchises in the 1970′s, both in the NHL (Barons) and the WHA (Crusaders).

The team is the AHL affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche and currently has four ex-OHLers on the roster. Current details on each of the players listed below can be found on the roster page of the team’s official website.

Randy Rowe played for the Belleville Bulls from 1997-98 to 2000-01. In his final year, 2000-01, he recorded 102 points. He split last season between the Monsters and their ECHL affiliate in Johnstown.

Brian Willsie was a Guelph Storm from 1995-96 to 1997-98. Brian spent a few years as a regular in the NHL. He was originally drafted 146th overall by the Avalanche in 1996. He spent time with the Avalanche before moving on to the Washington Capitals and Los Angeles Kings. In 2008-09, he returned to the Avalanche organization splitting that season half and half with the Monsters and only playing 4 games so far this season with the big club.

Tom Zanoski played with the Owen Sound Attack from 2001-02 to 2003-04. He split the 2003-04 season with the Mississauga Ice Dogs and finished off his OHL career in 2004-05 with the Dogs.

Kevin Montgomery was one of many players snatched from U.S. Collegiate hockey by the Hunter brothers in London. Kevin spent his time in the OHL with the Knights from 2006-07 to 2008-09. Each season in junior, he joined the Monsters for their playoffs after the Knights were eliminated from the OHL bracket.

To see the article on OHLers in the 2009-10 All-Star Classic, click on this.

On the right is London Knight grad, Kevin Montgomery.