OHL Alumni Central

Ontario Hockey League grad Max Spiridonov was recently traded to his tenth KHL team in eleven years. Spiridonov began the season with 16 games for Metallurg Magnitogorsk, where he contributed six points, and was moved to Ak Bars Kazan. In the process, he moved from ninth in the KHL’s East Conference and out of a playoff spot and into fourth in the East, destined for the post season.

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Max played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the London Knights, 1996-97 and 1997-98. In his second season with London, Spiridonov earned the Jim Mahon Trophy as the highest scoring right winger in the league with 54 goals and 99 points. It was enough to get a late round look from the Edmonton Oilers. Max was taken in the ninth round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, 241st overall.

For three years after leaving the Knights, Spiridonov played on a handful of teams in the IHL, AHL and ECHL. In 2001-02, he returned to his native Russia and, with exception of a half season spent in Switzerland, has been there since.

Max’s 10 RSL/KHL teams:

• Salavat Yulayev Ufa
• Amur Khabarovsk
• Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
• Severstal Cherepovets
• Dynamo Moscow
• Metallurg Novokuznetsk
• Barys Astana
• Dinamo Minsk
• Metallurg Magnitogorsk
• Ak Bars Kazan

In 2002-03, with Amur Khabarovsk, Max led the RSL in goals with 21. In 2003-04, he played 19 games for the ill-fated Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. The only team Spiridonov has played two full seasons with is Barys Astana in 2008-09 and 2009-10. He wore the ‘A’ for Astana in the second season.

After missing the entire 2010-11 season due to injury, Ontario Hockey League grad Matt Foy returns to the game with the Stockton Thunder of the East Coast Hockey League. Stockton is an ECHL affiliate of both the San Jose Sharks and Edmonton Oilers.

Foy played just one season in the Ontario Hockey League, 2002-03, with the Ottawa 67′s. He made the best of that one season, teaming up with Corey Locke to rip up the league. Locke and Foy finished one-two in OHL scoring with Locke totalling 151 points and Foy 132. Although Locke took the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the league leading scorer, Foy was awarded with the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy as the OHL’s top scoring right winger. He was named to the CHL Second All-Star team.

Matt came to the 67′s already a prospect of the Minnesota Wild. Foy was taken by the Wild in the sixth round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, 175th overall. He spent five years in Minnesota’s system, mostly with the American Hockey League’s Houston Aeros, however he did get into 56 NHL games. Matt led the Aeros in goals (27) and points (50) during the 2006-07 season.

When injury set in, Matt played just four games in 2008-09 with the AHL’s Peoria Rivermen and seven the following season with the Central Hockey League’s Arizona Sundogs. Foy claims to be 100% healthy now and hopefully this will be a successful return to the game.

Now a full season removed from leading the Ontario Hockey League in goals during the regular season, Bryan Cameron returns for his second season with the Abbotsford Heat of the American Hockey League. Cameron played 60 games with the Calgary Flames affiliate this past season, along with seven for the Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL.

Bryan played five seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2005-06 to 2009-10. He was a member of the Belleville Bulls until his final season when the Barrie Colts picked them up in anticipation of a long playoff run.

Over his five years, Cameron played in 76 playoff games. Compare that number to Ryan Ellis of the Windsor Spitfires who has played in 62 and Dylan Hunter of the London Knights who played in 72. Starting from his second year in Belleville, Cameron played on teams that at least made it to the Conference Finals. The 2006-07 Bulls fell to the Sudbury Wolves in the Eastern Conference Finals; The 2007-08 Bulls lost in the Robertson Cup finals to the Kitchener Rangers; The 2008-09 Bulls bowed out to the Brampton Battalion in the Conference finals and the Hamilton Spectator winning 2009-10 Barrie Colts went down in the finals to the Windsor Spitfires.

In 2008-09, Cameron won the Jim Mahon Trophy as the league’s top scoring right winger. His 37 goals and 44 assists for 81 points are the lowest totals of any Jim Mahon Trophy winner. Bryan led the OHL with 53 goals in 2009-10 and was awarded the Leo Lalonde Trophy as overage player of the year. In his final two seasons in the OHL, Cameron was selected as a First Team All-Star.

Bryan was taken by the Los Angeles Kings in the third round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, 82nd overall. He was later signed as a free-agent by the Calgary Flames and began his professional hockey career in the Flames organization.

It was a bit of a ‘six degrees of Bryan Cameron’ situation in Abbotsford for the 2010-11 season. Playing for the Heat were Greg Nemisz who played for Windsor against Cameron at the 2010 Robertson Cup finals, T.J. Brodie who played with Bryan for the Barrie Colts in 2009-10 and Matt Pelech who played with Bryan on the Belleville Bulls for the 2006-07 season. Other Ontario Hockey League grads on the Heat included John Armstrong (Plymouth Whalers, Peterborough Petes) and Chris Breen (Saginaw Spirit, Erie Otters, Peterborough Petes).

His six goals in 60 games with Abbotsford in his AHL rookie season, suggest a different role for the OHL sniper. Time will tell if his goal scoring abilities will once again reveal themselves or if he’s destined for a the role of the energy man / checker.

Ontario Hockey League grad Dino Ciccarelli was recently inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and for good reason. Despite never hoisting the Stanley Cup or any other major NHL award, Dino’s name is littered throughout many all-time NHL scoring categories.

Ciccarelli played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League (OMJHL at the time) from 1976-77 to 1979-80, all with the London Knights. The highlight of Dino’s junior career was his second season when he led the league in goals with 72, two more than Wayne Gretzky and three more than Bobby Smith. In the points category, Ciccarelli finished third with 142 points, 40 behind Gretzky and 50 behind Smith in a record setting season. Neither Smith nor Gretzky played right wing so Dino was awarded the Jim Mahon Trophy as the highest scoring right winger.

A broken leg during the 1978-79 season and a stature than was thought to be too small for the era kept Dino out of the draft. Despite that, he went on to a 21 year NHL career with the Minnesota North Stars, Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.

Ciccarelli topped out at 55 goals and 106 points in 1981-82 with the North Stars. The point total was good for third in the league. Ironically, he finished behind the same pair from the 1977-78 season. Bobby Smith finished eight points ahead of Dino and Gretzky finished with twice as many points with 212.

Where Dino Ciccarelli sits on the NHL’s all-time lists:

Regular season power play goals – 232 – 8th

Regular season shots on goal – 3706 – 25th

Playoff goals per game – .528 – 13th

Playoff powerplay goals – 34 – tied with Wayne Gretzky for 3rd

Playoff game winning goals – 13 – tied for 15th

Regular season goals – 608 – 16th

Regular season points – 1200 – 45th

Playoff goals – 73 – 13th

Check out these OHL grads featured previously as OHL Alumni Classics:

Eddie Shack

Jamie Storr

The Gardner Brothers

Doug Shedden

Darren Pang

Ontario Hockey League grad Norm Milley currently leads Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg of Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga in assists (20) and points (25). He sits 23rd in the DEL in total points. Milley is in his third year with the club and has now signed on for two more.

Milley played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1996-97 to 1999-00, all with the Sudbury Wolves. His career totals were exceptional at 167 goals and 368 points in regular season play. In his final two seasons in the OHL, he finished second in league scoring. In 1998-99, his 52 goals and 120 points put him ten points behind Peter Sarno of the Sarnia Sting. The 120 points was good enough to earn him the Jim Mahon Trophy as the top scoring right winger in the OHL. In his final season, his 52 goals and 112 points put him nine back of Sheldon Keefe of the Barrie Colts. In 1999-00, his 52 goals were tops in the league.

In his first season, Norm made the CHL All-Rookie Team. In his final season, he was selected to the CHL’s First All-Star Team. Milley was also twice an OHL all-star, making the second team in 1998-99 and the first team in 1999-00.

Milley was taken by the Buffalo Sabres in the second round of the 1998 NHL draft, 47th overall. Norm appeared in 29 games with the Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning from 2001-02 to 2005-06. After a 549 game AHL career, he jumped to the DEL and Wolfsburg for the 2008-09 season.

Milley is joined on Wolfsburg by former OHLer, Tyler Haskins (read previous post on Tyler). Tyler played with the Guelph Storm, Toronto St. Michael’s Majors and Saginaw Spirit.

Check out Norm Milley’s profile page at the Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg official website.