OHL Alumni Central

Alex Penner played in the OHL during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons. In his first season in the Ontario Hockey League, Alex played just 11 games as a Guelph Storm. In his second season, he provided toughness for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

Penner has recently signed on for the 2010-11 season with the Nottingham Panthers of Great Britain’s EIHL. Alex has put in three seasons of pro hockey in North America. This past season was spent with the Colorado Eagles of the Central Hockey League where he sat out 222 minutes in the penalty box in just 51 games.

Alex’s highest level of pro hockey since leaving the OHL was in 2008-09 when he appeared in eight games with the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL as a call-up from the ECHL’s Johnstown Chiefs.

The Nottingham Panthers official website has already set up Alex Penner’s profile page. GM Corey Neilson is promising more signings in the near future and you can bet that more OHL grads will be signing on with the Panthers and other teams in this league. The EIHL is growning popularity in Great Britain and has expanded from eight to ten teams for the 2010-11 season.

Here is Alex Penner’s profile page from the Colorado Eagles of the CHL.

 The Nottingham Panthers were home to Peterborough Pete grad Cameron Mann in 2009-10. He has yet to sign with the club for the 2010-11 season.

Great Britain’s EIHL, because it is a fairly transient hockey league, has an award for Best Newcomer of the Year as opposed to Rookie of the Year. That is why two Ontario Hockey League alumni who’ve been around the pro hockey circuit for a number of years can be up for the award this season.

In this post, we’ll feature Cameron Mann of the Nottingham Panthers. Tomorrow, tune in to find out who the other former OHLer up for the award is. Hint – he’s a former Kitchener Ranger…

Cameron Mann was a Peterborough Pete from 1993-94 to 1996-97. His best season was 1995-96 when he lead the Petes to a J. Ross Robertson Cup victory as league playoff champion and a berth in the Memorial Cup. The Petes hosted the Memorial Cup but would bow out to Grandby in the final. Despite the losing effort, Cameron was named tournament MVP and filled the right wing position on the all-star team.

His 102 points that season was good enough for 6th in the league. His 27 goals and 43 points in 24 playoff games that season was nothing short of extraordinary. Mann was awarded the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy for the league’s highest scoring right winger.

Despite being picked in the 4th round by the Boston Bruins in the 1995 NHL draft, Cameron became a top Bruin prospect in his final two seasons in the OHL. He would play in the NHL but only a total of 93 games between the Bruins and the Nashville Predators.

In 2003-04, Cameron left North American for Germany’s DEL where he would play 4 seasons with Inglestadt. After a season in Finland he returned to Germany for one more season before moving the Nottingham.

In his first full season in the EIHL, Mann put up great numbers with 32 goals and 31 assists for 63 points in 49 games.

To view Cameron Mann’s profile page on the Nottingham Panthers official website, click here.