OHL Alumni Central

Vaclav Meidl played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2003-04 to 2006-07. He began his OHL career with the Plymouth Whalers after being drafted 3rd overall in the 2003 CHL import draft and was traded to the Saginaw Spirit midway through the 2005-06 season. Meidl played eight games with the Oshawa Generals during the 2006-07 season before returning to his native Czech Republic.

Vaclav’s most productive season in the Ontario Hockey League was his first with 14 goals and 42 points in 67 games. His numbers dropped each successive season after that. Meidl was a member of Team Czech Republic at the 2006 IIHF World Under-20 Championships. The team lost to the United States in the quarter finals.

After his first season with Plymouth, Meidl was drafted in the third round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators, 81st overall. Vaclav’s professional career since leaving Oshawa in 2006-07 has been a split between the Czech Republic’s Extraliga and Extraliga 2.

This past season, 2010-11, Vaclav played six games with the Extraliga’s HC Kometa Brno and 39 with the Extraliga 2′s HC Havlickuv Brod. With Brod, Meidl contributed 33 points on 15 goals, his best professional output to date. He is set to return to Brod for the 2011-12 season.

The KHL regular season has come to a close in Russia for 2010-11 and Traktor Chelyabinsk finds themselves in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, 11 points out of a playoff spot. Chelyabinsk is the current club of Ontario Hockey League grad, Vitaly Yachmenev.

Yachmenev played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, 1993-94 and 1994-95 and took the league by storm. In his first season, he led the league with 61 goals and was named not only the OHL’s rookie of the year but the CHL’s rookie of the year as well. He helped the North Bay Centennials to a Hamilton Spectator Trophy as regular season champs and a Robertson Cup as the OHL’s playoff champions. Vitaly added 32 points in 18 playoff games for the Centennials. The team’s luck ran out at the Memorial Cup, going 0-3.

The following season, Yachmenev scored 53 for the Centennials while adding 52 assists for 105 points in 59 games. The 105 points was good enough for ninth in the OHL. He helped Russia to a Silver Medal at the IIHF Under-20 World Hockey Championships. Vitaly was also awarded the William Hanley Trophy as the Ontario Hockey League’s Most Sportsmanlike Player. The award is representative of the way Yachmenev has played the game throughout his career. His highest penalty minute total came in 2005-06 with just 30 in Russia’s Super League.

After his first season with North Bay, Yachmenev was drafted surprisingly low, going in the third round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, 59th overall to the Los Angeles Kings. Vitaly put in  almost 500 games in the NHL with Los Angeles and the Nashville Predators before skipping to Russia for the start of the 2003-04 season. Unfortunately, the goal scoring ability that he showed with the Centennials never really resurfaced and he topped out with a season of 19 goals with the Kings.

In his eighth season in Russia, Yachmenev scored just four goals and added 12 assists in 43 games for Chelyabinsk. His current contract expired at the end of this season.

Vitaly spent the year playing with another Ontario Hockey League grad, Alexander Buturlin, on Traktor Chelyabinsk.

Check out Vitaly Yachmenev’s profile page at the KHL official website.

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Scott Lehman as a member of the AHL's Chicago Wolves.

Scott Lehman played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2002-03 to 2005-06, all with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors. The tough defenseman sat out 603 minutes in the penalty box over 244 career regular seasons games in the OHL. He was a team leader in that category over his final three seasons. Yet, in his final season, Lehman set up 50 goals in 68 games for the Majors.

Scott was all smarts off the rink, winning the Bobby Smith Trophy as the Ontario Hockey League’s Scholastic Player of the Year for the 2003-04 season. Twice, 2002-03 and 2003-04, Lehman’s Majors went to the Eastern Conference finals before bowing out, in 2003 in seven games to Ottawa and in 2004 in six games to Mississauga.

The Atlanta Thrashers chose Lehman in the third round of the 2004 NHL draft, 76th overall. To date, Scott has played one game in the NHL, with the Thrashers during the 2008-09 season. Lehman is currently property of the Nashville Predators and playing in the East Coast Hockey League with the Cinncinati Cyclones, after starting the season with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League.

Until this season, Scott has played his pro hockey career split between the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League and the Gwinnett Gladiators of the East Coast Hockey League, both affiliates of the Atlanta Thrashers. In his rookie season, he was one of only three players on the Gladiators to play the full 72 games schedule. That total was in addition to three games played with the Wolves.

Check out Scott Lehman’s profile at the Cincinnati Cylones official page by clicking on his name at the roster page.

Scott joins fellow Ontario Hockey League grad Dylan Hunter on the Cincinnati Cyclones. Hunter was recently featured at OHL Alumni Central.

Both Scott Lehman and Dylan Hunter are found on the OHL Alumni Big List, along with over 600 other Ontario Hockey League grads playing professional hockey throughout the world.

The Chicago Blackhawks are taking on the Nashville Predators in the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference quarter finals. The series features 12 Ontario Hockey League graduates. 7 alumni are on the Predators roster while 5 are playing for the Hawks. Click on each player’s name below to view their profile page on each team’s official website.

Chicago Blackhawks

Patrick Kane played just one season in the OHL, 2006-07 with the London Knights and what an amazing season it was. Kane put in 62 goals and added 83 assists to lead the league with 145 points. He would add another 31 points in 16 playoff games. Picked first overall by Chicago in 2007, Patrick is in his third season with the team.

David Bolland played four seasons in the OHL with the London Knights from 2002-03 to 2005-06. After just 17 points in his first season, David ended up his OHL career with 299 points and added another 65 in the playoffs. He played one game with the Hawks in 2006-07, split the 2007-08 season between the Hawks and their AHL affiliate and became a regular with the NHL club last season.

Ben Eagerdefinitely added an element of toughness during his four year career in the OHL with the Oshawa Generals from 2000-01 to 2003-04. Eager sat 795 minutes in the penalty box during the regular season with Oshawa. A first round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes, Ben played his first NHL hockey with the Philadelphia Flyers but would not become a regular until last season with Chicago.

Brian Campbellplayed four seasons in the OHL with the Ottawa 67′s from 1995-96 to 1998-99. Brian started his career with the Buffalo Sabres and had a stop in San Jose along the way before becoming a Blackhawk last season.

Nick Boynton played his OHL career along side Brian Campbell – four seasons with the Ottawa 67′s from 1995-96 to 1998-99. Twice picked in the first round – in 1997 by the Washington Capitals and in 1999 by the Boston Bruins. Nick has spent time with the Bruins, Phoenix Coyotes, Florida Panthers and the Anaheim Ducks before coming over to Chicago midway through this season.

Nashville Predators

Nick Spaling played three seasons in the OHL with the Kitchener Rangers from 2005-06 to 2007-08. This is his first season with the Predators after spending last season and the start of this season with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL.

Jason Arnott played two seasons in the OHL with the Oshawa Generals, 1991-92 and 1992-93. A seventh overall pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 1993, Jason has played nearly 1100 NHL games with the Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Dallas Stars and the Predators. This is his fourth season in Nashville.

Joel Ward played four seasons in the OHL with the Owen Sound Platers/Attack from 1997-98 to 2000-01.  Ward played his first NHL hockey with the Minnesota Wild in 2006-07 and has been a regular with Nashville the past two seasons.

David Legwand played two seasons in the OHL with the Plymouth Whalers, 1997-98 and 1998-99. David was a second overall pick of the Predators in 1998 and has now put in over 700 regular season games with the team.

Steve Sullivan played two seasons in the OHL with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, 1992-93 and 1993-94. Despite a 51 goal and 113 point production in his second season in the OHL, he was drafted very low by the New Jersey Devils in 1994, 233rd overall. Sullivan has played nearly 850 regular season games with the Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks and the Predators. Despite those numbers, Steve had only appeared in 29 playoff games before this season.

Kevin Klein played in the OHL for four seasons from 2000-01 to 2003-04. His first three seasons were played with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors. In his fourth season, he was traded to the Guelph Storm after just five games with the Majors. Kevin saw sporadic action with the Predators until last season when he became a regular on the blueline.

Cal O’Reilly played three seasons in the OHL with the Windsor Spitfires from 2003-04 to 2005-06. The past two seasons have seen him split his time between the Predators and their AHL affiliate in Milwaukee.