OHL Alumni Central

For Ontario Hockey League grad Rob Schremp, 2010-11 seemed looked like the year he’d finally crossed the mountain and became a full-fledged National Hockey League regular. However, Schremp has left the NHL and North America behind to play for MODO of Sweden’s Elitserien for the 2011-12 season.

Rob Schremp as a member of the AHL's Springfield Falcons.

Schremp played four season in the Ontario Hockey League from 2002-03 to 2005-06. He began his career with the Mississauga IceDogs and won the Emms Family Award as OHL rookie of the year in his first season, playing along side fellow American born player, Patrick O’Sullivan.

In 2003-04, after just three games with the IceDogs in which he average two points per game, Rob was traded to the London Knights. He scored 28 goals and totalled 90 points with London that season. The following year, he increased his point total to 90 on 41 goals and added another 29 points in the playoffs as the Knights won the Robertson Cup and Memorial Cup.

2005-06 was by far Schremp’s most productive in the Ontario Hockey League. His 57 goals, 88 assists and 145 points in just 57 games were all league highs. He won the Eddie Powers Trophy as the league’s top point-getter but was denied the Red Tilson Trophy as MVP which went to Wojtek Wolski of the Brampton Battalion.

In both his final two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, Schremp played for Team USA at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. In both years, USA was denied the podium, taking fourth place in both tournaments.

Rob was taken by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, 25th overall. In his first pro season, he played just one regular season with the Oilers while spending the rest of his time in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. The following season, he doubled his total of NHL games with two. He was the ninth leading point-getter during the 2007-08 season, contributing 67 for the Springfield Falcons.

2008-09 saw him double his NHL games from the previous season again. He played four games for the Edmonton Oilers, registering his first NHL points with three assists. A trade to the New York Islanders organization in saw him finally play a significant amount of games with 44. He produced 25 points for the Islanders, including seven goals in those 44 games.

This past season, Schremp started out with the Islanders, playing 45 games. He finished the season with the Atlanta Thrashers, playing 18 more games.

Mike Duco played five seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2003-04 to 2007-08, although he played just five games in 2003-04. Duco played his entire OHL career with the Kitchener Rangers and ended his time in junior with a Robertson Cup as OHL playoff champions and a trip to the Memorial Cup.

The 2007-08 Kitchener Rangers hosted the 2008 Memorial Cup and made it to the final game. Unfortunately, the Spokane Chiefs won the final, 4-1. The tournament capped a fine season for Mike, scoring 32 goals during the regular season and totalling 22 points in 20 playoff games.

Duco went undrafted by an NHL club but signed with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League. Despite a ten game stint with the NHL’s Florida Panthers in 2009-10 and two games in 2010-11, Mike has spent all his pro career with Rochester.

2011-12 will bring a change in scenery for Duco. Mike has become property of the Vancouver Canucks and will most likely play the upcoming season with their brand new AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. Prior to the upcoming season, the Manitoba Moose had been the AHL affiliate for the Canucks but with the rebirth of NHL hockey in Winnipeg, things have changed.

Ontario Hockey League grad Evan McGrath will remain in Sweden’s tier 2 Allsvenskan for the 2011-12 season, but has switched teams. This season, 2010-11, was McGrath’s first season in Europe and he led Västerås is points with 43 in 49 games and placed 16th in the league. In 2011-12, Evan will play for Oskarshamn.

Evan McGrath played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2002-03 to 2005-06, all with the Kitchener Rangers. In his final season, McGrath placed fifth in the OHL in total points with 114 on 37 goals and 77 assists. He was a member of the 2002-03 Rangers team that won the Robertson Cup as OHL playoff champ and won the Memorial Cup.

After his second season in the Ontario Hockey League, McGrath was taken by the Detroit Red Wings in the fourth round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, 128th overall. He spent the better part of four seasons with Detroit’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. He was wearing the ‘A’ on his jersey during the 2009-10 season when Grand Rapids traded him to the Syracuse Crunch at the trade deadline.

With the Owen Sound Attack in uncharted waters as far as that franchise is concerned, it’s fitting that the head coach, two assistants and the general manager were all Canadian Hockey League players at one time and three are graduates of the Ontario Hockey League.

The Attack were the top team in the Western Conference during the 2010-11 regular season and are squaring off against the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors in the Robertson Cup final. Both teams are assured entry to the Memorial Cup tournament as Mississauga is the host.

Head Coach Mark Reeds played three years with the Peterborough Petes from 1977-78 to 1979-80. In just 54 games in his final season with the Petes, Reeds put up very respectable numbers with 34 goals and 45 assists for 79 points. Mark saw NHL action between 1981-82 and 1988-89 with the St. Louis Blues and Hartford Whalers. In 1989-90, Reeds went to Italy and contributed 131 points in just 44 games with HC Flemme Cavalese.

Reeds is in his fourth season as head coach of Owen Sound. He has been in the coaching biz since 1992-93 when he started out as the Assistant Coach of the IHL’s Peoria Rivermen. When the Rivermen made the switch to the ECHL for the 1996-97 season, Mark made the switch to head coach. He has been a head coach with the Rivermen, Missouri River Otters and Kalamazoo Wings before coming to Owen Sound.

Assistant Coach Brad Tiley played three seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds from 1988-89 to 1990-91. Over his playing career, Brad saw 10 NHL games with the Phoenix Coyotes and a pair with the Philadelphia Flyers. He played actively until the 2008-09 season and appeared on teams in the IHL, AHL, DEL (Germany), EBEL (Austria) and the Asia League (Japan). This is Tiley’s second season with the Attack.

General Manager Dale DeGray played for the Oshawa Generals from 1979-80 (1 game) to 1982-83. DeGray saw NHL time in the 1980′s with the Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings and Buffalo Sabres. After several years in the IHL, DeGray’s playing days ended after the 1997-98 season. Dale is in his fourth year as GM in Owen Sound after spending five years as a scout for the NHL’s Florida Panthers.

Assistant Coach Terry Virtue played in the WHL from 1988-89 to 1990-91. Virtue skated in five NHL games over his career, four with the Boston Bruins and one with the New York Rangers. Terry’s lengthy hockey career, mostly spent in the AHL, came to and end after the 2006-07 season. He spent three years as assistant coach of the WHL’s Tri-City Americans before coming to Owen Sound for the 2010-11 season.

Another Ontario Hockey League great has decided to hang up the blades. At 39 years old and with 19 NHL seasons under his belt, Adam Foote has announced his retirement.

Foote played three seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds from 1988-89 to 1990-91. In his final season, he was name an OHL First Team All-Star while leading the Greyhounds to a Robertson Cup victory and a Memorial Cup berth.

Adam was selected by the Quebec Nordiques in the second round of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, 22nd overall. With exception to six games played in the AHL in his first professional season, Foote has been one of the NHL’s premier defensemen since.

Other than three years played with the Columbus Blue Jackets, 2005-06 to 2007-08, Foote has remained with the Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. In total, Adam played in 1153 regular season and 170 playoff games in the NHL. He was the alternate captain to Joe Sakic in the four years leading up to his hiatus in Columbus. With Columbus, he was team captain for the three seasons. He got his ‘A’ back upon his return to Colorado and when Joe Sakic called it quits two years ago, Foote was named team captain in his place.

Foote was part of two Stanley Cup winning teams with the Avalanche. In 1996, Colorado swept the Florida Panthers. In 2001, it took seven games to defeat the New Jersey Devils. Adam also won gold with Team Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and the 2004 IIHF World Cup. In total, Foote was on Team Canada for three Olympic Games and two World Cups.