OHL Alumni Central

David Bowman, #81 in red, playing for Alleghe in Italy.

Ontario Hockey League grad David Bowman has entered his second season with Alleghe of Italy’s Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio (LIHG). The stocky defenseman played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2000-01 to 2003-04, all with the Windsor Spitfires.

Bowman progressed offensively each season with the Spitfires with seasons of 20, 28, 32 and 43 points from the blueline. In 2001-02, David helped the team over-achieve and reach the Ontario Hockey League Western Conference Final before bowing out to eventual Robertson Cup champions, the Erie Otters.

Undrafted, Bowman played a season in the East Coast Hockey League after graduating from the OHL. He played 71 games and contributed 21 points in his only season of professional hockey on North American soil to date. David played 14 games with the Dundas Real McCoys of the OHA Senior A league in 2005-06 before heading off to university for the 2006-07 season.

Bowman spent three seasons playing for the University of New Brunswick from 2006-07 to 2008-09. In his first and final seasons with UNB, the team won the Canadian University championships.

This past season, 2009-10, was his first in Italy and he put in strong blueliner numbers for Alleghe with 16 points in 40 games. Last season Bowman was teammates with former OHLer Andrew Archer and this season he will team up with Ontario Hockey League grad, Colin Chaulk.

Check out David Bowman’s profile at the LIHG official website.

Check out Alleghe’s roster page at their official website.

David Bowman appears in this previous OHL Alumni Central post regarding the graduates of the Windsor Spitfires active in pro hockey during the 2009-10 season.

Ryan Martinelli has finally broken away from London, Ontario and will be playing in Italy for the 2010-11 season. He won’t be far from family, though, as father Barry has become the Coach and General Manager of the team Ryan has signed on with.

A London, Ontario native, Martinelli played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, all with the London Knights, from 2004-05 to 2006-07. Ryan played a small role as a rookie in the Knights run to the Memorial Cup in 2004-05. Over his three seasons he played an outstanding 45 OHL playoff games.

Not drafted, Martinelli went on to play for the University of Western Ontario in London for the next three seasons. Always a defensive defenceman in the OHL, Ryan was nearly a point per game man in the university system over the past two seasons.

Martinelli has signed on with Valpellice of the Liga Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio (LIHG) Serie A1 in Italy. Before the season has even started, Ryan leads the league in one category. With his signing, Martinelli immediately became the league’s tallest player at 6’5″. His contract with Valpellice is for the following season only.

Son and father can both be found on the roster page of the Valpellice official website.

If you haven’t yet checked it out, the OHL Alumni In Europe For 2010-11 early bird version is available for download free.

Matt Kelly with the ECHL's Victoria Salmon Kings.

A couple of Belleville Bulls alumni will be playing together in Italy for the 2010-11 season with HC Pusteral of the Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio (LIHG).

Matt Kelly enters his second season with the Pusteral Wolves. Matt played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2002-03 to 2005-06, all with the Belleville Bulls. The defenseman played three seasons in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) with the Victoria Salmon Kings before heading to Italy. Additionally, Kelly has a total of ten games in the American Hockey League (AHL), all with the Manitoba Moose. Matt lead the LIHG in 2009-10 with the most assists and points by a defenseman.

Tyler Doig played in the Ontario Hockey League for four seasons from 2003-04 to 2006-07. His first season in the OHL consisted of just one game with the Barrie Colts. The following two and a half seasons were spent with the Guelph Storm. In his final Ontario Hockey League season, 2006-07, Doig was traded to the Belleville Bulls mid-season. Tyler played 25 regular season games and 15 playoff games with the Bulls. In his final season, he contributed 80 points in 61 regular season games as well as 17 points in 15 playoff games with the Bulls.

For the three seasons since leaving the OHL, Tyler Doig has played for three different ECHL teams (Columbus Inferno, Reading Royals, Charlotte Checkers) and two different AHL teams (Toronto Marlies, Hartford Wolf Pack). Pusteral is looking forward to Doig’s consistent offensive abilities.

The team plays out of Bruneck which is located in the far northeast of Italy, very near the border with Austria. 83% of the population speak German and only 15% speak Italian. The team plays out of the Leitner Solar Arena which seats just 2,100 for hockey.

Read the article on Tyler Doig’s signing that appears on the team’s official website (sorry – only in Italian and German).

Check out Matt Kelly’s profile page on the team’s official website.