OHL Alumni Central

Making it to the finals in Italy’s Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio (LIHG) is uncharted territory for HC Fassa. This past season, the team finished tied for seventh in the nine team league and exited early in the quarter-finals. The team has so far signed three Ontario Hockey League grads to help bring more success in 2011-12.

Jamie Vanderveeken played parts of four seasons on the blue line in the Ontario Hockey League from 2002-03 to 2005-06. He began his career playing just five games for the Guelph Storm in 2002-03. Vanderveeken played a full season with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors in 2003-04 before splitting his 2004-05 season three ways between Toronto, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Ottawa 67′s.

With the Ottawa 67′s, Jamie would get the chance to play in the Memorial Cup in 2004-05. The London Knights won the Robertson Cup and were also Memorial Cup hosts. Ottawa made the tournament as the Robertson Cup finalists. In an ironic twist of fate, Vanderveeken was traded to London for the 2005-06 season and was once again on the Robertson Cup finalists as London was beat out by the Peterborough Petes.

Undrafted, Jamie has spent most of his professional hockey career in the Central Hockey League, winning a championship with the Rapid City Rush in 2009-10. This past season, he was traded by Rapid City to the Arizona Sundogs mid-season.

An opponent of Jamie Vanderveeken at the 2005 Memorial Cup and a teammate of his with the London Knights in 2005-06, Trevor Kell is leaving the New Jersey Devils organization after four years to experience hockey in the Italian Alps. Kell played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2003-04 to 2006-07. His first three years were spent with the Knights and his final season saw him in a Sarnia Sting uniform.

Trevor was picked in the fifth round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, 131st overall but has been in the Devils organization throughout his professional hockey career. Each season, he has split his time between the ECHL and AHL affiliates of the NHL Devils. Each season, he spent more and more time with the AHL club. This past season, he was captain of the ECHL’s Trenton Devils.

Matt Piva played in the Ontario Hockey League from 2004-05 to 2008-09. He began his OHL career with the Oshawa Generals and along the way wore the jerseys of the Toronto/Mississagua St. Michael’s Majors and Niagara IceDogs. He spent 2009-10 with the University of Western Ontario Mustangs of the OUA before taking the 2010-11 season off.

HC Fassa plays out of Canazei, Italy, a city nestled in the Italian Alps. The team plays out of the 3500 seat Stadio del Ghiaccio Gianmario Scola.

Ontario Hockey League grad Peter Campbell led the Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio Serie A2 in total goals for the second season in a row. 2010-11 was Campbell’s second season in the second division of the LIHG with Eppan-Appiano. He scored 41 goals and totalled 74 points in 32 league games, up from 33 and 72 in 31 over the 2009-10 season.

Campbell played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1996-97 to 1999-00 and really showed his goal scoring brilliance during the 1998-99 season with the Owen Sound Platers when he popped in 45. Peter’s 88 points with the Platers that season were topped only by the late Dan Snyder.

Peter began his OHL career with the Sudbury Wolves and played there for two seasons before moving to Owen Sound for one season. His final season in the league began with the Belleville Bulls but after just nine games, he was moved to the Erie Otters.

Undrafted by an NHL club, Campbell spend just two years in the North American professional leagues, most the Central Hockey League, before heading to Europe. Since, Peter has played in Great Britain, Germany, Denmark and Italy. With Ravensburg of Germany’s Oberliga (tier 3) in 2005-06, Peter scored 50 goals in 52 games and totalled 104 points.

Peter was an all-star in Great Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League in 2007-08 while playing mostly with the Belfast Giants. With Belfast, he lead the team in goals with 34 and totalled 78 points in just 43 games with the Giants.

Campbell is slated for a return to Eppan-Appiano for the 2011-12 season.

Val Pusteria lost out to Asiago in the playoff finals in Italy’s Lega Italiana Hockey su Ghiaccio. However, it was a member of the losing team and an Ontario Hockey League grad selected as the LIHG’s 2011 Player of the Year.

Matt Kelly won the award while leading the team from the blueline. He netted nine and helped out on 24 others for 33 points in 34 regular season games. He continued at a point per game in the playoffs.

Kelly played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2002-03 to 2005-06, all with the Belleville Bulls. Undrafted, he played three seasons in the East Coast Hockey League with the Victoria Salmon Kings before heading to Italy.

Last season, 2009-10, Matt made a splash in his first season with Val Pusteria. Kelly led all LIHG defensemen in assists and points with 36 and 43.

As of now, Matt is unsigned for the 2011-12 season. Rumours in February had him going to Germany’s DEL but nothing came of it. It’s certain that Italy wants him back.

In 2008, he was one of PETA’s 16 finalists for the Sexiest Vegetarian Next Door contest. At 6’3″ and 245 lbs., Kingston Frontenacs grad Chris Allen is not exactly the image people think of when the word vegetarian is brought up and he is proof that meat is not a necessary part of a professional athlete’s diet.

Chris played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1994-95 to 1997-98, all with the Kingston Frontenacs. In his second season, he competed in the first ever CHL Top Prospects Game and scored the first goal (assisted by Daniel Briere) in what has become an annual tradition. In his final season with the Frontenacs, Allen was both a CHL and OHL First Team All-Star. His 38 goals and 94 points led the league’s defensemen and he was awarded the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the OHL’s top defenseman.

Allen was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the third round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, 60th overall. He played one game for the Florida Panthers in 1997-98 and 1998-99. The rest of his time in North America was spent bouncing around teams in the AHL, ECHL and UHL.

Chris has put his passport to good use since 2004-05. He has played in Finland, Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Korea, England and now Italy. After starting the season with Telford of Great Britain’s EIHL, he switched to Peterborough in the same league. He has now signed on with Merano of Italy’s Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio Serie 2.

Chris Allen’s profile with Merano can be viewed by clicking his name on their roster page.

Check out this article on Chris Allen at the Animal Liberation Front website.

Brad Bonello's profile picture with Dortmund earlier this season.

In four Ontario Hockey League seasons, Brad Bonello went to the Robertson Cup finals twice. His first go was with the Erie Otters in his first OHL season, 2001-02. The Otters beat the Barrie Colts in five games to earn a trip to the Memorial Cup. In 2004-05, as a member of the Ottawa 67′s, Bonello once again appeared in the Robertson Cup finals, this time losing in five to the London Knights. The 67′s made the trip to the Memorial Cup anyway since London was the host. Unfortunately, Brad does not own a Memorial Cup ring.

Bonello played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2001-02 to 2004-05. He played two and a half with the Otters before being traded to the Peterborough Petes during the 2003-04 season. He played his full final year with Ottawa. In that final season with Ottawa, Brad finished with 66 points, tied for second on the team with Julian Talbot at only two points away from Mark Mancari for the team lead.

Undrafted, Brad spent the better part of four seasons in the North American minor pro leagues. In those four years, Bonello bounced around among ten different teams in four leagues before ending up the 2008-09 season in Great Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League with the Edinburgh Capitals.

Bonello spent last season with just one team for the first time since his 2004-05 season with Ottawa. With HC Fassa of Italy’s Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio, Brad played 34 games and contributed 27 points.

He began this season with Dortmund of Germany’s Oberliga but only played three games. A December 28th deal brought him back to the LIHG with Alleghe.

Check out the Alleghe official website.

Brad Bonello is joined on Alleghe by the following players (click on names to check out previous posts on these players at OHL Alumni Central):

David Bowman

Adam Dennis

Looking for a good hockey read? Check out the new book review page at OHL Alumni Central.