OHL Alumni Central

At a time when most would have thought that the North Americans would have abandoned hockey in the far east after the devastating earthquake and tsunami of 2011, an Ontario Hockey League grad is running away with the scoring title. Tied, in the assist category at least, is a teammate and yet another OHL alumnus.

Michael Swift sits 20 point higher than the next challenger with an astounding 71 points in 29 games. His 34 goals to date have matched his output from 2006-07 when he scored the same as captain of the Mississauga IceDogs. Swift’s 37 assists are tops in the league, as well, tied with teammate Bryan Young, a Peterborough Petes grad.

Michael played in the Ontario Hockey League for five years from 2003-04 to 2007-08. His first four years were with the Mississauga IceDogs and for his final season, he moved with the franchise to Niagara. Swift was team captain in his final two seasons. His 100 points in 2007-08 with the Niagara IceDogs was good for a seventh place tie with Jack Combs of the Saginaw Spirit. The performance earned him the Leo Lalonde Trophy as the OHL’s top overage player.

Swift went undrafted but spent three years in the New Jersey Devils system with their AHL affiliate. This is his first year in the Asia League with High1. The team is currently tied for fourth in the seven team league. High1 is based in Seoul, Korea. The team’s home rink is the Goyang Sport Complex Arena which seats 3,000 for hockey.

Bryan Young is in his second year on the point for High1. Young played for the Peterborough Petes for three full seasons from 2003-04 to 2005-06. He was a fifth round pick of the Edmonton Oilers at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, 146th overall. Bryan managed to get into 17 NHL games during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. For the most part, Young spent between 2006-07 and 2009-10 in the AHL and ECHL.

It looks like the Asia League of Hockey will return to action for the 2011-12 season. The playoff championship for the league that has teams in Japan, South Korea and China was suspended due to the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami that rocked the region earlier this year. The Tohoku Free Blades were set to playoff against the Anyang Halla in the finals when the earthquake happened quite near Tohoku. The playoffs were suspended and eventually, both teams were determined as co-champions of the 2010-11 season.

Michael Swift as a member of the AHL's Worcester Sharks.

High1 finished fifth in the seven team league in 2010-11. The team has gone out and acquired an Ontario Hockey League grad that should put a ton of pucks in the net for the them. Michael Swift spent the past season in the American Hockey League, starting with the Albany Devils and moving to the Worcester Sharks at the trade deadline.

Swift played five season in the Ontario Hockey League from 2003-04 to 2007-08 with the Mississauga and Niagara IceDogs. Swift was the last ever team captain of the Mississauga IceDogs and the first ever of the Niagara IceDogs. In his final season with Niagara, he finished tied for seventh in league scoring with exactly 100 points. He earned the Leo Lalonde Trophy as the OHL’s top overage player. Swift is proof that low draft picks still have a chance. Michael was taken in the 10th round of the 2003 OHL Priority Draft, 186th overall.

Undrafted, Swift was scooped up by the New Jersey Devils organization and has been with their AHL affiliate since 2008-09. Michael led the Lowell Devils in goals with 24 in 2009-10 and his combined points total between the Albany Devils and the Worcester Sharks wsa good for fourth on the AHL affiliate of San Jose.

The ALH also attracts a handful of Ontario Hockey League grads each season. So far, just Swift, Ric Jackman and Bryan Young are signed up for the upcoming season.

Making it to the finals in Italy’s Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio (LIHG) is uncharted territory for HC Fassa. This past season, the team finished tied for seventh in the nine team league and exited early in the quarter-finals. The team has so far signed three Ontario Hockey League grads to help bring more success in 2011-12.

Jamie Vanderveeken played parts of four seasons on the blue line in the Ontario Hockey League from 2002-03 to 2005-06. He began his career playing just five games for the Guelph Storm in 2002-03. Vanderveeken played a full season with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors in 2003-04 before splitting his 2004-05 season three ways between Toronto, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Ottawa 67′s.

With the Ottawa 67′s, Jamie would get the chance to play in the Memorial Cup in 2004-05. The London Knights won the Robertson Cup and were also Memorial Cup hosts. Ottawa made the tournament as the Robertson Cup finalists. In an ironic twist of fate, Vanderveeken was traded to London for the 2005-06 season and was once again on the Robertson Cup finalists as London was beat out by the Peterborough Petes.

Undrafted, Jamie has spent most of his professional hockey career in the Central Hockey League, winning a championship with the Rapid City Rush in 2009-10. This past season, he was traded by Rapid City to the Arizona Sundogs mid-season.

An opponent of Jamie Vanderveeken at the 2005 Memorial Cup and a teammate of his with the London Knights in 2005-06, Trevor Kell is leaving the New Jersey Devils organization after four years to experience hockey in the Italian Alps. Kell played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2003-04 to 2006-07. His first three years were spent with the Knights and his final season saw him in a Sarnia Sting uniform.

Trevor was picked in the fifth round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, 131st overall but has been in the Devils organization throughout his professional hockey career. Each season, he has split his time between the ECHL and AHL affiliates of the NHL Devils. Each season, he spent more and more time with the AHL club. This past season, he was captain of the ECHL’s Trenton Devils.

Matt Piva played in the Ontario Hockey League from 2004-05 to 2008-09. He began his OHL career with the Oshawa Generals and along the way wore the jerseys of the Toronto/Mississagua St. Michael’s Majors and Niagara IceDogs. He spent 2009-10 with the University of Western Ontario Mustangs of the OUA before taking the 2010-11 season off.

HC Fassa plays out of Canazei, Italy, a city nestled in the Italian Alps. The team plays out of the 3500 seat Stadio del Ghiaccio Gianmario Scola.

Sebastian Dahm stopped 94% of the shots fired at him in his first game with Rødovre in Denmark. The Ontario Hockey League grad has recently returned to his native country to find a pro hockey home.

Dahm played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2005-06 to 2007-08. He played his first season with the Belleville Bulls, split his second season between the Sarnia Sting and Sudbury Wolves and split his final season between Sudbury and the Niagara IceDogs.

In his second season in the OHL, Dahm was a huge part of the Wolves team with only 29 wins against 30 losses make it to the Robertson Cup finals. Sudbury ended up losing to the Plymouth Whalers in six games.

Sebastian has already represented Denmark at seven different international tournaments. Twice, he played for Team Denmark at both the Under-18 and Under-20 World Championships in one season. Three time, he played for the Under-20 team, winning a Bronze, Silver and Gold medal at the Division I level. Most recently, in 2009, Dahm played a game for Denmark at the World Championships.

His return to Denmark follows two seasons of professional hockey in North America. In 2008-09, he played 24 games for the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL where he put up great numbers with a 2.66 GAA and a .914 save percentage. He also appeared in five games with the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL. The following season, he split his time between the Alaska Aces of the ECHL and the Bloomington PrairieThunder of the IHL.

Check out the article at the team’s official website announcing Dahm’s signing.

OHL grad Dustin Vanballegooie is also playing in Denmark this season. Check out this previous post at OHL Alumni Central on Dustin.

Marco Insam is enjoying a great start to his first year back in Italy’s Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio (LIHG) Serie A. His eleven goals in fifteen games puts him three behind fellow Ontario Hockey League grad Ryan McDonough for the league lead. Insam has played three games less that the Sudbury Wolves and Saginaw Spirit grad. Also in the goal scoring lead group are two other OHL grads, Luciano Aquino and Dan Tudin, both with twelve goals.

Insam played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, 2008-09 and 2009-10, both with the Niagara IceDogs. His offensive output was far better in his rookie season with 23 goals and 41 points in 59 games. This past season, he tallied just 19 points in 67 games with the IceDogs.

Marco is currently playing for Bolzano in the LIHG. The team sits in second place in the nine team league. Before coming to the OHL, Marco played a season in the LIHG, 2007-08, with Milano. As an 18 year old, Marco contributed 21 points in 32 games.

In 2006-07, Insam left his home in Italy to pursue a hockey careeer in Canada. Before Niagara was on the radar, Marco was vying for a position in the Western Hockey League. He played a season with the Notre Dame Hounds in Saskatchewan’s SMHL. Here is a great article on Marco’s first experience with Canadian hockey.

At the 2008 IIHF Under-20 Division II Championships, Marco led the tournament in goals as the Italians won gold and moved up to Division I for 2009. Insam was there again in 2009 as Italy finished mid-pack in Division I.

Check out Marco Insam’s profile page on the Bolzano official website.