Stefan Ruzicka on the right with fellow OHL grad, Branko Radivojevic.

Stefan Ruzicka is now entering his third season in Russia’s KHL. The native of Slovakia and Ontario Hockey League grad has become a mainstay of HC Spartak Moskva (Moscow) and is under contract through the 2011-12 season.

Ruzicka played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, 2003-04 and 2004-05, both with the Owen Sound Attack. He was the third overall pick in the 2003 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft. Over 62 games, his 34 goals, 38 assists and 72 points in his first season were all league bests among rookies. The following season, his point total dropped to 70 points while once again appearing in 62 games with the Attack.

Stefan was taken by the Philadelphia Flyers in the third round of the 2003 NHL draft, 81st overall. From 2005-06 to 2007-08, Ruzicka split his time between the NHL club and the American Hockey League’s Philadelphia Phantoms. In all, he played in 55 NHL games and 166 games in the AHL before jumping continents to play in the KHL.

Five times to date, Ruzicka has represented his homeland, Slovakia, on the international stage. In 2002 and 2003, he appeared at the Under-18 IIHF World Hockey Championships. In 2003, he contributed eight points in seven games as the Slovaks made it to the finals before losing out to Team Canada and, therefore, taking the silver medal. His eight points placed him 11th among tournament scorers and one point behind the great Evgeny Malkin.

In 2004 and 2005, Stefan played in the Under-20 IIHF World Hockey Championships. He contributed at a point per game pace over both tournaments with the team reaching the quarter finals in 2004 and sweeping the relegation round in 2005. In 2009, he played for the men’s version of Team Slovakia at the World Hockey Championships.

Check out Stefan Ruzicka’s profile page on the HC Spartak Moskva official website.

Stefan and well over 600 other Ontario Hockey League grads can be found on the OHL Alumni Central Big List. Stay tuned to The Big List to find where all your favourite grads are to be found in the great big world of professional hockey.

Vityaz Chekhov (Chekhov Warriors) are by far the most penalized team in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). They have also proved to be one of the least successful. Four Ontario Hockey League graduates are on Chekhov’s roster as of the start of the 2010-11 season. Three are returning after appearing on the team least season.

Of the three returning players, Chris Simon is surprisingly the least penalized and a fine producer of offence. As team captain, Simon sat out 110 minutes in 30 regular season games. He added 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points. Brandon Sugden played just ten games and sat out 122 minutes. Brandon was one of the main instigators in the now infamous brawl that ended a Vityaz game after just over three minutes of play and brought the team a hefty fine from the league. Josh Gratton played a slightly cleaner game than Sugden, sitting only 112 minutes in 11 games.

The newcomer to Chekhov Vityaz is goaltender Kevin Lalande. Lalande played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2003-04 to 2006-07, all with the Belleville Bulls. Kevin was picked by the Calgary Flames in the fifth round of the 2005 NHL draft, 128th overall. Lalande has spent his pro hockey career mixed between the ECHL and AHL. This past season, 2009-10, Kevin played in the American Hockey League with the Syracuse Crunch, appearing in 56 games and putting up great numbers with a 2.86 GAA and a .912 save percentage.

Chris Simon played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1988-89 to 1991-92. His first three full seasons were played with the Ottawa 67′s and after two games in his final season, he was moved to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. The Greyhounds won the Robertson Cup that season as the Ontario Hockey League’s playoff champion. Simon was also a member of the 1995-96 Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup winning season.

Simon was taken in the second round of the 1990 NHL draft, 25th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers. Chris went on to a 782 game NHL career split between the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Calgary Flames, New York Islanders and Minnesota Wild.

Brandon Sugden played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1995-96 to 1997-98. He played his first season with the London Knights during their incredibly futile three win season. His second season was split between the Knights and the Sudbury Wolves. Sugden’s third season was split between the Wolves and the Barrie Colts. Sugden was drafted in the 1996 NHL draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fifth round, 111th overall. Brandon spent time on teams in the ECHL, IHL, AHL, QSPHL and LNAH before making the move to Russia last season.

Josh Gratton played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2000-01 to 2002-03. Gratton’s first season was spent with the Sudbury Wolves. His second was split between the Wolves and the Kingston Frontenacs and his third was split between the Frontenacs and the Windsor Spitfires. Although undrafted, Josh has played 86 games in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers and the Phoenix Coyotes.

Check out each players profile page at the Vityaz Chekhov official website:

Kevin Lalande

Chris Simon

Brandon Sugden

Josh Gratton

These guys are on The Big List

Hockey Cards?

Martin Skoula with the Minnesota Wild.

Martin Skoula played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, 1997-98 and 1998-99, both with the Barrie Colts. The big blueliner from the Czech Republic provided the Colts with plenty of offence, contributing 44 points in 66 games in his first year and 59 points in 67 games in his second.

Skoula wasn’t offence only for the Colts. He led the Ontario Hockey League with a +58 plus/minus in his senior season. In his rookie season, he was selected to the CHL’s All-Rookie Team.

Martin was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the 1998 NHL draft, 17th overall. He played with the Avalanche for five seasons and won a Stanley Cup with the team in 2001.

Throughout his NHL career, Skoula has played for the Avalanche, Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils for a combined total of 776 games. He has represented the Czech Republic on the world scene as a junior, in the 2002 Winter Olympics and at several other international tournaments.

Martin has just signed on with Avangard Omsk in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) after a season split between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils where he only appeared in a combined total of 52 regular season games and four in the play-offs with the Devils.

Skoula will join fellow Ontario Hockey League alumnus Brendan Bell in Omsk for 2010-11. Brendan was featured in a recent post here at OHL Alumni Central. Avangard Omsk is better known as the team that former NHL legend Jaromir Jagr plays for.

To see the article on Avangard Omsk’s official website announcing the arrival of Martin Skoula, you can check it out here. The website is only in Russian.