OHL Alumni Central

I had absolutely no plans to write an article dedicated to Remembrance Day. But then… I was reseaching AHL rookie of year winners through the years and wondered just who this guy was that the league’s top rookie trophy was named after. Dudley ‘Red’ Garrett played just one season of professional hockey in 1942-43 before joining the armed forces.

I found that OHA stats and general info from that era are pretty scarce. However, Garrett was from Toronto and played for the Marlboros during the 1941-42 season. It is written that he led the OHA in penalty minutes that season with 61 in 18 games. He was property of the Toronto Maple Leafs but was traded to the New York Rangers prior to the 1942-43 season for star and Hall of Famer, Babe Pratt.

In 1942-43 at the young age of 18, Dudley played six games with the American Hockey League’s Providence Reds and 23 with the Rangers. The strong defenseman was in the running for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie that season. Before the season was over, Red was off to war.

On November 25, 1944 at the age of 20, Garrett paid the ultimate price and lost his life off the coast of Newfoundland. Not much more than eight months later, the Americans bombed Hiroshima. About a month after that, World War II was over. Three years later, for the 1947-48 season, the Dudley ‘Red’ Garrett Memorial Award was first handed out. The first recipient was Bob Solinger of the Cleveland Barons and the second was Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender, Terry Sawchuk.

In Garrett’s only NHL season, it was the first year of the ‘Original 6′ era. The Brooklyn Americans folded after the 1941-42 season, leaving the league with the six teams that would comprise the NHL until 1967-68. Each team played 50 regular season games and the Rangers finished last with just eleven wins and 30 points. Detroit finished first overall and won the Stanley Cup over the Boston Bruins. 1942-43 was also the debut of Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard and Ted Kennedy. Garrett played more than both as Richard appeared in 16 games with the Montreal Canadiens and Kennedy played just two with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

So… on Remembrance Day, be thankful that kids like Dudley ‘Red’ Garrett went off to war to fight for our freedom so that kids like

Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin can concentrate on playing hockey.

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.

 

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Four Staals and a Heerema. Five related Ontario Hockey League grads out of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Switch one from forward to defense and add a goaltender and you have a pretty decent line.

Jared Staal, the youngest of the group, is in his first year of professional hockey after a four year Ontario Hockey League career that spanned from 2006-07 to 2009-10, all with the Sudbury Wolves. Jared was a second round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, 49th overall. However, he is currently in the Carolina Hurricanes system. Jared has split the 2010-11 season between the ECHL’s Florida Everblades and the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers and is biding his time until he can play with older brother, Eric, on the NHL team.

Jordan Staal played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Peteborough Petes, 2004-05 and 2005-06. Jordan won the Robertson Cup with the Petes in 2006 as the OHL’s playoff champions. He one-upped that with a Stanley Cup victory with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009. Jordan was a second overall pick at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Penguins and had missed only one regular season game in his first four before being hampered by injuries at the start of the 2010-11 season.

Marc Staal in the only one of the family to play for Team Canada at the IIHF Under-20 World Junior Hockey Championships. Marc played in the 2006 and 2007 tournaments. Like brother Jared, Marc played four seasons with the Sudbury Wolves. He played from 2003-04 to 2006-07 and was team captain in his final campaign. Marc was the twelth overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, going to the New York Rangers. He is currently in his fourth season with the Rangers.

Eric Staal played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2000-01 to 2002-03, all with the Peterborough Petes. Like brother Jordan, Eric was a second overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft. Eric went to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2003. Also, like Jordan, he has one Stanley Cup on the mantle, winning with the Hurricanes in 2006. Eric is currently the captain of the NHL club.

Cousin Jeff Heerema played three years in the Ontario Hockey League from 1997-98 to 1999-00, all with the Sarnia Sting. Jeff was an eleventh overall pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. Heerema played 32 games in the NHL, split between the Hurricanes and the St. Louis Blues in 2002-03 and 2003-04. He has spent the past four seasons in Europe and is currently playing for the Nottingham Panthers of Great Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). Check out this previous article at OHL Alumni Central featuring Jeff Heerema.

In case you missed it, subscribers to OHL Alumni Central get a discount on any of our eBay listings. Check out this post for more details.

Tomas Zaborsky was the 36th overall pick in the 2006 CHL Import Draft. He didn’t disappoint the Saginaw Spirit. Zaborsky played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, 2006-07 and 2007-08, both with the Spirit. In his first season, he recorded 43 points in 59 games. In his second season, he finished third on the club, behind Jack Combs and Ryan McDonough, with 31 goals and 70 points in 68 games.

During his first season with Saginaw, Zaborsky was excused from the team to play for Slovakia at the 2007 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. The team went winless in the opening round and won just one game in relegation but by virtue of goals scored, were safe from being sent down.

Zaborsky came to the Ontario Hockey League already drafted to the National Hockey League. Tomas was taken by the New York Rangers in the fifth round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, 137th overall. After splitting his first year of professional hockey, 2008-09, with the Charlotte Checkers (ECHL), Dayton Bombers (ECHL) and Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL), it was off to Finland for Zaborsky.

Tomas is in his second season with Ässät of Finland’s SM-Liiga. The team is currently in second place in the fourteen team league. Zaborsky has contributed 22 points in 37 games. He is under contract to be a member of Ässät until the end of the 2011-12 season.

Check out Tomas Zaborsky’s profile page at the Ässät official website.

Bill Sweeney was posthumously inducted into the American Hockey League Hall of Fame this year. The Hall started in 2006 and currently Sweeney is in tight company with just 21 other members.

Sweeney played in the predecessor to the Ontario Hockey League, the OHA, for four seasons from 1953-54 to 1956-57, all with the Guelph Biltmores. The Biltmores, of course, became the present day Kitchener Rangers not long after Bill’s graduation. In his final season with the Biltmores, Sweeney scored 49 goals and added 57 assists for 106 points in just 52 games to lead the league in scoring. His additional 19 goals and 26 points in 10 playoff games helped the Biltmores to the OHA Championship and a berth in the Memorial Cup.

Sweeney’s NHL career consisted of just four games with the New York Rangers in 1959-60. Other than those four games and 16 played between the WHL and CPHL in 1967-68, Bill spent his entire pro career in the AHL.

Bill won the Red Garrett Award in 1957-58 as the AHL’s rookie of the year with the Providence Reds. Three times Sweeney won the Sollenberger Trophy as the AHL’s scoring champion, all as a member of the Springfield Indians. Three times, with Springfield, he was part of Calder Cup winning teams as AHL playoff champs. In 1996, he was inducted into the Springfield Hockey Hall of Fame.

Sweeney still sits 10th on the all-time AHL career points list with 804 points over 12 seasons – at least two seasons less than any of the top 9. His three consecutive 100+ points seasons from 1960-61 to 1962-63 leave him still tied for the most consecutive 100+ point seasons. He is also tied with Peter White for the most times as scoring leader with 3. Although most of his AHL career was spent with Springfield, he played a season with the Buffalo Bisons, Rochester Americans and, as mentioned, his rookie season with Providence.

Bill Sweeney died in 1991 at just 54 years of age.

Check out Bill Sweeney’s bio at the official AHL Hall Of Fame website.