OHL Alumni Central

Back in 1974-75 and 1975-76, Greg Hotham played for the Kingston Canadians. Three decades later, both of Greg’s sons, Andrew and Scott, also played in the Ontario Hockey League. All three are blue liners.

The Toronto Maple Leafs selected Greg in the fifth round of the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft, 84th overall. Between 1979-80 and 1984-85, Greg played in 230 regular season NHL games with the Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins. He retired from the American Hockey League after the 1989-90 season, after playing 513 regular season games with the New Brunswick Hawks, Baltimore Skipjacks and Newmarket Saints (all three are extinct now).

The oldest Hotham son, Scott, played in the Ontario Hockey League from 2001-02 to 2004-05. He began with the North Bay Centennials and moved with the club to Saginaw, where he played one game with the Spirit in 2002-03. After that game, Scott went back to Canada to play for the Mississauga IceDogs. The following season, he was traded early again, this time to the Barrie Colts.

Scott Hotham went undrafted and spent the four years post-OHL with St. Mary’s University. Hotham entered the world of pro hockey in 2009-10, mostly with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades but also playing nine games with the Rochester Americans of the AHL. In 2010-11, he played for Lillehammer in Norway’s Get-Ligaen. This season, he is playing in Austria’s Erste Bank Hockey League (EBEL) for Olimija Ljubljana.

Andrew Hotham’s career has paralleled brother Scott’s in several ways. Both played for the Barrie Colts (at the same time) and Saginaw Spirit (not at the same time) in the Ontario Hockey League. Both played four years with St. Mary’s. Both had a cup of coffee with the Rochester Americans.

Andrew played in the Ontario Hockey League from 2003-04 to 2006-07 with the Barrie Colts, Erie Otters and Saginaw Spirit. He played with St. Mary’s from 2007-08 to 2010-11, joining the Americans after the CIS season had ended. With St. Mary’s, Andrew was an All-Canadian First Team All-Star in his final three seasons and was the Atlantic’s Most Valuable Player for 2010-11, This season, Hotham is playing for the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL.

The Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs have been around at the major junior level since the 1973-74 OMJHL season. They began as the Canadians, changed to the Raiders for a season and have been called the Frontenacs since 1989-90.

The furthest Kingston has made it in the Robertson Cup playoffs is the semi-finals. The team has never played in the finals for the OHL championship. The Frontenacs have just one division title to speak of, in 1994-95 when they led the Eastern Division. This season, 2011-12, Kingston has found themselves in a position where it would take a miracle to qualify for the post-season. Currently in last place, 14 points behind the next team, it’s a long uphill battle.

Yet, despite the numbers, Kingston can produce professional hockey players with currently 90 alumni still playing around Planet Hockey in 2011-12. To be put on this list, a player needs to play just one game with the Frontenacs. More than a lot of teams, there are a number of players on the list that did just play a handful of games with the team. Amazingly, 25 players that have appeared with Kingston are now taking advantage of the CHL’s great scholarship program and are playing for various teams throughout the CIS.

Frontenacs alumni are playing in 23 different leagues in 14 different countries. Eight players are currently in the National Hockey League. Three well-known players from the early 1990′s are still rolling along: David Ling, Tyler Moss and Craig Rivet.

Information below is current as of January 10, 2012.

Changes are abound for Sundays at OHL Alumni Central. Out is Sensational Sunday Search For Sites and in is OHL Alumni Classics. SSSFS was a good idea but didn’t focus on what this site is all about, OHL Alumni. Classics will once a week bring you great articles on graduates of the Ontario Hockey League that have retired from active hockey and whose stories are great but not readily known.

Kevin Conway

Kevin Conway played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1980-81 to 1983-84. His first season consisted of only nine games with the Oshawa Generals. His second and third were played with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and his final season started with two games with the Sault before finishing the season with the Kingston Canadians.

After two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, Conway had played just 45 regular season games while scoring seven goals and adding nine assists for 16 points. In his third and fourth season, Kevin’s offense exploded with seasons of 122 and 130 points.

In 1982-83, his 122 points placed him ninth in Ontario Hockey League scoring. The Greyhounds lost out to the Oshawa Generals in Robertson Cup finals. As a side note, that season was the first for the Guelph Platers and was also the first for the North Bay Centennials after moving from Niagara Falls where they were known as the Flyers.

In 1983-84, Conway was traded to the Kingston Canadians after just two games with the Greyhounds, despite contributing three goals in those two games. Despite the Canadians finishing last in the Leyden Division, Kevin’s 130 total points was good enough for sixth in the league. His 20 penalty minutes helped him win the William Hanley Trophy as the Ontario Hockey League’s Most Sportsmanlike Player.

Despite the numbers, Conway went undrafted by an NHL club. Kevin played one season in the old IHL, split between the Toledo Goaldiggers and the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, before moving to Great Britain and finding his calling as a hockey legend.

Conway put up rediculous numbers playing in the BNL. In his first season, he popped in 129 goals and added 98 assists for 227 points in just 35 games! These numbers would be topped in 1987-88 when he scored 151 goals in addition to 112 assists for a combined total of 263 points. This feat was done in just 31 games, 2 with the Durham Wasps and 29 with the Telford Tigers. He still found time to spend 108 minutes in the penalty box.

In all, Conway reached the 100 goal plateau four times in the BNL and the 100 point mark nine times. He played at various levels of British ice hockey until the end of the 2007-08 season.

Kevin represented Great Britain at the World Championships five different times. His 66 points as a member of the national team is second on the all-time list. His contribution to hockey in Great Britain had him elected to the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005.

The oldest Ontario Hockey League graduate still active in the world of hockey? We think so. Todd Elik has recently turned 44 years young and has just finished his 22nd second in professional hockey for his 18th professional hockey team, HK Acroni Jesenice.

Elik played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1983-84 to 1985-86. Todd’s first season was played in Kingston with the Canadians. His second season was split between the Canadians and the North Bay Centennials. His final season was spent with the Cents. 1986-87 was spent with the Canadian National Team.

Todd’s first season in professional hockey was spent with the Colorado Rangers of the IHL. His 44 goals and 100 points were good enough to lead the team but were not enough to earn him rookie of the year, which was shared between Ed Belfour and John Cullen.

Elik’s NHL career spanned 448 games with the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Edmonton Oilers, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins. Todd made the jump to European pro hockey in 1997-98 and has since remained in the either the Swiss National A, Swiss National B and Austria’s Erste Bank Eishockey Liga.

This past season, Todd played his first season with HK Acroni Jesenice of the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. Jesenice is a town in the Northwest corner of Slovenia on the border with Austria. The team plays out of the 4,000 seat Dvorana Podmežakla. The team finished 9th in the 10 team league this past season. Elik played like a 20 year old with 37 points in just 29 games. He has been well over a point-per-game player since moving to Europe.

Check out Todd Elik’s profile page on the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga official website.

Elik is also found at the HK Acroni Jesenice official website.

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