OHL Alumni Central

Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) is nearing the halfway point of its 52 game 2011-12 season and three Ontario Hockey League grads can be found among the league’s top four point-getters. All three players are members of Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg. Wolfsburg is currently placed fourth in the fourteen team league. Last season, Grizzly Adams was first overall during the regular season and lost in the playoff finals.

Matt Dzieduszycki is currently tied for first in the league, with another member of Wolfsburg, with 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points in 23 games. Matt played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, 1999-00 and 2000-01, with the Barrie Colts. He has been playing in the DEL since the 2006-07 season. He spent his first year with EV Duisburg then followed up with four years with the Hannover Scorpions. This is Dzieduszycki’s first season with Grizzly Adams.

Sitting alone in third place with 24 points is Tyler Haskins. Just one goal differentiates Haskins from Dzieduszycki. Haskins played five years in the Ontario Hockey League from 2002-03 to 2006-07. He began his OHL career with the Guelph Storm and was traded to the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors nine games into his second season. His final year in the OHL was spent with the Saginaw Spirit, where his 60 regular season assists placed him eighth in the league. Haskins was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the fifth round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. 2011-12 is Tyler’s second year in the DEL and second with Wolfsburg.

With one point less than Tyler Haskins, Norm Milley sits tied for fourth with four other players. Milley played four years with the Sudbury Wolves from 1996-97 to 1999-00. In 98-99, he was second in points to just Peter Sarno. He surpassed the 50 goal and 100 point plateaus in both his final two seasons with Sudbury. Norm was a second round pick of the Buffalo Sabres at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. In all, Milley played 29 NHL games, all with Buffalo. 2011-12 is his fourth in the DEL and fourth with Wolfsburg.

 

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Currently, the #4 seed Hannover Scorpions are playing the #8 seed Augsburger Panthers in Germany’s DEL playoff final. There are three Ontario Hockey League alumni on the Scorpions. Click on the names below to view each player’s profile page on the Hannover Scorpions official website. The site is in German but you can use our German Hockey Language Guide to help navigate.

Matt Dzieduszycki has one of the hardest to spell names in OHL history and played in the league for two seasons with the Barrie Colts, 1999-00 and 2000-01. Matt was part of the 2000 Colts team that won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL playoff champions. Matt is in his fourth season in the DEL and his third with Hannover.

Levente Szuper is part of the tandem of OHL grads that guards between the pipes for the Scorpions. Levente played two seasons in the OHL with the Ottawa 67′s, 1998-99 and 1999-00. Szuper has been around since leaving the OHL, playing in the ECHL and AHL in North America as well as playing in Italy, Sweden and Austria as well as Germany. This is his first season with the Scorpions.

Travis Scott played three seasons between the pipes in the OHL from 1993-94 to 1995-96. His first two seasons were spent with the Windsor Spitfires and his final season was with the Oshawa Generals. His NHL experience is limited to one game with the Los Angeles Kings in 2000-01 when he played just 25 minutes, allowing 3 goals on 13 shots. Travis has been in Europe since the start of the 2005-06 season. This is his first with Hannover.

Check out the previous post on Hannover’s opponent in the DEL final, Augsburger Panther.

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The 1999-00 Barrie Colts were the bad boys of OHL hockey. In only their fifth season in the Ontario Hockey League, the Colts won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as playoff champions. They would come up short of a Memorial Cup victory, however.

Sheldon Keefe was the league scoring champion with 121 points and teammates Denis Shvidki and Mike Danton would also make it into the top 10. Keefe also won the Jim Mahon Memorial Award for the top scoring right winger. Goaltender Brian Finley won the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award for playoff MVP.

There are currently 7 players from the 1999-00 Colts roster that are still active in professional hockey. Interestingly, 5 of the 7 players were in their OHL rookie season that year. This does not include Mike Danton’s return to University hockey but we hope he will return to the professional ranks in the future.

Where available, click on the player’s names below to view their profile page on their current team’s official website.

Denis Shvidki was the team’s second highest point getter in the 1999-00 season, his second with the Colts, with 106 points. He played two seasons in the OHL, both with Barrie. Denis has played 76 games in the NHL scattered over 4 seasons and all with the Florida Panthers. Currently, he is with Karpat of the SM-Liiga in Finland, although his season consisted of only 4 games.

Michael Henrich (to view his profile, click the ‘Senior’ drop-down box and click on ‘Roster’ – scroll across until you find him) started his OHL career with the Colts in 1996-97 and finished in 1999-00. A sniper with 41, 38 and 38 goals in his final three seasons with the team. He was a first round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 1998, 13th overall. He has never played a game in the NHL and has never been able to reproduce his OHL scoring ability until this season. With Asiago HC in Italy, Michael maintained nearly a 2-point per game pace.

Matt Dzieduszycki was in his first of two seasons in the OHL with Barrie during the 1999-00 season. Matt is now in his 4th season in Germany’s DEL and his third with the Hannover Scorpions.

Blaine Down played for the Colts from 1999-00 to 2001-02. Down has been in Europe for the past 4 seasons, 1 in Italy, 1 in Denmark and two in Switzerland. Currently, he is with ZSC Lions of the Swiss-A league. ZSC is out of Zurich and is done for the 2009-10 season after bowing out in the quarter-finals of the league’s playoffs. To view a previous post on Blaine Down, click here.

Tim Branham played in the OHL from 1999-00 to 2001-02. His first two seasons were with the Colts and his final season was with the Guelph Storm. Branham was a 3rd round pick of the Vancouver Canucks in 2000 but has never played a game in the NHL and has, for the most part, been a career ECHL player since graduating from the OHL. Currently he is on the Injured Reserve list for the Reading Royals of the ECHL.

Aaron Power enjoyed a 4 year career with the Barrie Colts from 1999-00 to 2002-03. After 5 seasons, mostly in the ECHL, Aaron left for Europe. He spent last season in Germany’s Bundesliga 2 and this season he played for HC Fassa in Italy.

Eric Reitz played three seasons in the OHL with the Colts from 1999-00 to 2001-02. Drafted very deep in the 2000 draft by the Minnesota Wild (6th round, 170th overall), Eric was able to put in 48 games in the NHL with the Wild and the New York Rangers. He is currently playing in Russia’s KHL with Sibir Novosibirsk. His profile page on the KHL official site can be found here.