OHL Alumni Central

Jason Jaspers played in the Ontario Hockey League for three seasons from 1998-99 to 2000-01, all with the Sudbury Wolves. Over the three years, Jaspers put in 116 regular season goals and finished third in OHL scoring in 1999-00 with 46 goals and 107 points, behind Sheldon Keefe of the Barrie Colts and teammate Norm Milley.

Jaspers has been playing in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) since 2006-07. His first three seasons were with Adler Mannheim (Mannheim Eagles). Last season he moved over to the Kolner Haie (Cologne Sharks) and has recently signed a contract through 2012 with the club.

Jason was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in the third round of the 1999 NHL draft, 71st overall. From 2001-02 to 2003-04, Jaspers played a total of nine games with the Coyotes, spending the rest of his time in the AHL with the Springfield Falcons. His best season with the Falcons was his last, 2005-06, when he scored 29 goals and added 37 assists in 77 games.

In the upcoming 2010-11 DEL season, Jason is joined by another Ontario Hockey League grad, Ryan Ramsay, who we featured just recently in this post.

Check out Jason Jaspers’ profile page on the official Kolner Haie website.

The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) is Germany’s elite hockey league and, next to maybe the KHL in Russia, may be Europe’s highest quality league. The DEL is a haven for OHL alumni who didn’t make the cut in the NHL and didn’t want to play in the North American minors. Currently, there are 5 former OHLers in the DEL’s top 20 scorers. Click on the names below to be taken to their profile page on their DEL team’s official website (will open in a seperate window).

Bob Wren is currently with Ingolstadt ERC and is 3rd in league scoring. Bob played with the Detroit franchise of the OHL from 1991-92 to 1993-94. The team was named the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors in 1991-92 and the Detroit Junior Red Wings for Wren’s last two seasons.

Wren had an amazing 145 points on 57 goals and 88 assists in 1992-93 which placed him second to Donald Audette of the Owen Sound Platers. Audette had 62 goals and 100 assists for a whopping 162 points. In his final season in the OHL, Wren’s scoring was down but he still mustered 109 points. He had a 100 point season in the AHL with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks in 1997-98. His best season in Europe was with Vienna of the Austrian League, racking up 86 points in only 49 games in addition to 172 PIM. Bob played a total of 5 NHL games, 4 with Anaheim and 1 with Toronto.

Herberts Vasilijevs is currently with Krefeld Pinguine and is 8th in scoring. Herberts played one season with the Guelph Storm in 1995-96 where he averaged just over a point per game. Herberts played a total of 51 NHL games, split between Florida, Atlanta and Vancouver. He has been with Krefeld since the 2005-06 season and will be representing Latvia at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Jason Jaspers is currently played for Kölner Haie (Cologne Sharks) and is 13th in scoring. This is Jason’s first year with Cologne after 3 seasons with Adler Mannheim. Jason played with the Sudbury Wolves from 1998-99 to 2000-01. His best season with the Wolves was 1999-00 when he was 3rd in league scoring with 107 points, behind only Sheldon Keefe and teammate Norm Milley. Milley, coincidentally, is also in the DEL’s top 20 scorers. Jason played a total of 9 games in the NHL, all with the Phoenix Coyotes. Jaspers was also part of the 2001 Team Canada World Junior team that took home bronze.

Norm Milley is currently with Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg and is 16th in scoring. Norm played his OHL career with the Sudbury Wolves from 1996-97 to 1999-00. He was second in OHL scoring 2 seasons in a row, 1998-99 and 1999-00. In 1998-99, he finished with 120 points and was second to Peter Sarno. In 1999-00, he finished with 112 points and was second to Sheldon Keefe. Norm played 29 NHL games between Buffalo and Tampa Bay and is in his second season with Wolfsburg.

Steve Walker is currently with Eisbären Berlin (Berlin Polar Bears) and is 20th in scoring. Steve played a total of 25 games over two seasons with the Owen Sound Platers in 1990-91 and 1991-92. In 1992-93, he scored an amazing 151 points on 75 goals and 76 assists in only 48 games for the COJHL Barrie Colts. The Colts went undefeated in the regular season and would become and OHL franchise the next season. Steve has been a mainstay with Berlin since 2000-01. His best season in the DEL came in 2007-08 when he notched 85 points in just 53 games.