OHL Alumni Central

Gratoony the Loony played with the Oshawa Generals for three Ontario Hockey League (OHA) seasons from 1969-70 to 1971-72. Between the pipes, the workload of Gilles Gratton increased each season from 26 games in his rookie season, to 47 in his second and 50 in his final year with the Generals.

In 1971-72 with Oshawa, Gratton had a goals against average of 3.55 and five shutouts, earning him a Second Team All-Star selection. The performance of Gilles also caught the eye of the Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo drafted Gratton in the fifth round of the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft, 69th overall. He would never play a game for the Sabres.

The World Hockey Association came calling in 1972-73 and Gratton answered. In the rebel league’s inaugural season, Gilles played 51 games for the Ottawa Nationals in their only season. He followed the franchise as they were relocated to Toronto and Gratton played the next two years with the Toronto Toros. It was with the Toros that Gratton’s legend grew when he supposedly refused to play a game because the Moon wasn’t in proper alignment with Jupiter.

The Buffalo Sabres sold the NHL rights to Gratton to the St. Louis Blues in 1975 and Gilles reported to the NHL team for the 1975-76 season. He played just six games with the Blues before wanting to return to the WHA. Perhaps, his desire to return to the Toros had something to do with his personality being much better suited for the zany ways of the World Hockey Association.

However, the Blues wouldn’t release him. Gilles did the only thing he could think of and retired from hockey. It was short-lived and Gratton was back in the NHL for the 1976-77 season with the New York Rangers. Gilles played 41 games with the Rangers, sharing the net with John Davidson, who played 39 games. Ironically, it was the spot left vacant by Davidson in St. Louis that Gratton was meant to fill the year before. According to Davidson, Gratton would often fake illness so that he wouldn’t have to play.

In 1977-78, the Rangers placed Gratton with their American Hockey League affiliate, the New Haven Nighthawks. Gilles played just one game in New Haven before calling it quits for good.

Among his famous quirks was the claim by opposing players that Gratton would growl at them. Gilles was a huge believer in reincarnation, was a talented classical pianist despite never taking a single lesson. He also had a thing for nudity at the rink.

 

Another Hockey Hall of Fame class, another denial for Rogie Vachon! Now that I’ve got my personal beef aside… Two Ontario Hockey League grads will be entering the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011. Doug Gilmour, Cornwall Royals grad, was one and Mark Howe, Toronto Marlboros grad, was the other.

Howe is a curious case. No major NHL awards. No Stanley Cups. Despite a player’s assets, those are the two items that seem to ultimately define a Hall of Famer. However, Howe did have an exceptional career that was diminished in the end by knee and back injuries.

In his one season in the OHA with the Toronto Marlboros, 1972-73, Mark scored 38 goals and added 66 assists for 104 points in just 60 games. He was selected as the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy winner as the Memorial Cup MVP as the Marlboros won the national major junior title. Toronto lost just seven of its 63 regular season games that season.

Instead of playing another year of junior, Howe joined father Gordie Howe and brother Marty on the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association. In his first year in the WHA, 1973-74, Mark was awarded the Lou Kaplan Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year. He remained in the WHA until the merger with the NHL after 1978-79.

From 1979-80 until 1994-95, Howe played in the NHL for the Hartford Whalers, Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings. Mark was originally drafted by the Boston Bruins in 1974 but never played with them. He was the NHL’s plus/minus leader in 1985-86 and he played for Stanley Cup finalists in 1986-87 with Philadelphia and 1994-95 with Detroit.

The Phoenix Coyotes and the Detroit Red Wings are currently embroiled in a Western Conference quarter final series in the NHL’s 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs. Ten Ontario Hockey League alumni are featured in this series, five from each team. Click on the names below to view each player’s profile page on their team’s official website.

Phoenix Coyotes

Wojtek Wolski played four seasons in the OHL with the Brampton Battalion from 2002-03 to 2005-06. His final season featured a 128 point performance in just 56 games for Brampton. A first round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2004, Wolski came over from the Avalanche to the Coyotes at this season’s trade deadline.

Mathieu Schneider is one of the few left in pro hockey that can say they played for the Cornwall Royals. Mathieu played three seasons with the OHL team from 1986-87 to 1988-89. In his nearly 1300 game NHL career, Mathieu has played for a number of teams, including the Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, Vancouver Canucks and the Coyotes.

Taylor Pyatt played three seasons in the OHL with the Sudbury Wolves from 1997-98 to 1999-00. An 8th overall pick of the New York Islanders in 1999, Taylor played his first season in the NHL with that club before being traded to the Buffalo Sabres. Taylor spent three seasons each in Buffalo then Vancouver before landing in Phoenix this season.

Ed Jovanovski played two seasons in the OHL with his hometown Windsor Spitfires, 1993-94 and 1994-95. He was the first overall pick in the 1994 NHL draft, going to the Florida Panthers. This is Ed’s fourth season with the Coyotes.

Paul Bissonnette played four seasons in the OHL from 2001-02 to 2004-05. He began his career with the North Bay Centennials and moved with the team to Saginaw in his second season. In his final OHL season, Paul was shipped midway through the season to the Owen Sound Attack. Paul saw his first NHL action with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season and played 41 regular season games with the Coyotes this year.

Detroit Red Wings

Daniel Cleary played four seasons in the OHL from 1994-95 to 1997-98, all with the Belleville Bulls. Cleary was a first round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 1997 but only played 41 games over two seasons with the team before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers. He became an NHL regular with the Oilers in 2000-01 and played with the team for four seasons. In 2003-04, he played a full season with the Coyotes. After the strike season, he found himself in Detroit.

Todd Bertuzzi played four seasons in the OHL with the Guelph Storm from 1991-92 to 1994-95. Detroit is Todd’s sixth NHL team, the others: New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers, Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames.

Kris Draper played just one 39 game season in the OHL with the Ottawa 67′s in 1990-91. Originally drafted by the Winnipeg Jets back in 1989, Kris played a total of 20 games over 3 seasons with the Jets before moving to Detroit where he has just finished his 16th regular season with the club. He has played over 1100 NHL regular season games and over 200 playoff games.

Kirk Maltby played three seasons in the OHL with the Owen Sound Platers from 1989-90 to 1991-92. Kirk is in his 14th season with the Red Wings after starting his career in Edmonton with the Oilers.

Jason Williams played four seasons in the OHL from 1996-97 to 1999-00, all with the Peterborough Petes. Jason started out in the Red Wings organization before making stops in Chicago, Atlanta and Columbus. Williams returned to Detroit at the start of this season.

The Vancouver Canucks are taking on the Los Angeles Kings in the 2010 NHL Western Conference Stanley

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 Cup quarter finals. There are ten OHL alumni featured in this series. Los Angeles has 7 OHL grads on the roster while Vancouver has the least of any NHL playoff team with just 3 former OHLers. Click on the names below to view each player’s profile page on the team’s official website.

Vancouver Canucks (click here for Vancouver Canucks Trivia)

Kyle Wellwood played four seasons in the OHL from 1999-00 to 2002-03. Kyle played his first two full seasons with the Belleville Bulls before being traded midway through his third season to the Windsor Spitfires, where he finished out his OHL career. Kyle started his NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs and came over to Vancouver to start the 2008-09 season.

Shane O’Brien played three seasons in the OHL from 2000-01 to 2002-03. He played his first two full seasons with the Kingston Frontenacs before splitting his final season with Kingston and the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors. Shane has previously played for the Anaheim Ducks and the Tampa Bay Lightning before coming to Vancouver at the start of last season.

Andrew Raycroft played three seasons between the pipes in the OHL from 1996-97 to 19998-99. His first two seasons were played in Sudbury with the Wolves and his final season was played with the Kingston Frontenacs. The Calder Trophy winner in 2003-04 as the NHL’s rookie of the year with the Boston Bruins, Andrew has struggled to reach that brilliance again in a career that has taken him from Boston to Toronto to Vancouver.

Los Angeles Kings

Drew Doughty played three seasons in the OHL with the Guelph Storm from 2005-06 to 2007-08. Picked second overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 2008, Drew has only missed one regular season game in his first two seasons in the NHL.

Dustin Brown played three seasons in the OHL with the Guelph Storm from 2000-01 to 2002-03. Dustin was a first round pick of the Kings in 2003 and is now the team captain.

Wayne Simmonds played two seasons in the OHL, 2006-07 and 2007-08. His first season was played with the Owen Sound Attack and his second was split between the Attack and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Simmonds became a regular with the Kings right out of junior.

Brad Richardson played four seasons in the OHL, all with the Owen Sound Attack, from 2001-02 to 2004-05. Brad’s first three seasons in the NHL were spent with the Colorado Avalanche and the past two have been with the Kings.

Justin Williams played two seasons in the OHL with the Plymouth Whalers, 1998-99 and 1999-00. Justin began his NHL career with the Philadelphia Flyers, the team that drafted him in the first round of the 2000 draft. He also had a stint with the Carolina Hurricanes before landing with the Kings.

Richard Clune played four seasons in the OHL from 2003-04 to 2006-07. His first three seasons were spent in Sarnia with the Sting and he played his final season with the Barrie Colts. He saw his first NHL action this season after being called up by the Kings last in the season. He has seen only 14 regular season NHL games but goes into the playoffs as an integral part of the Kings.

Sean O’Donnell played three seasons in the OHL way, way back starting in 1988-89. His full OHL career was spent with the Sudbury Wolves. Sean has played for six different teams in the NHL since 1994 including the Kings, Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins, Phoenix Coyotes and the Anaheim Ducks. Sean is currently on his second tour of duty with the Kings after spending his first six seasons in the league with the club.

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.