OHL Alumni Central

Okay… one of the three only played four games for the Kingston Frontenacs during the 1993-94 season, but the other two were fortified stars in the Ontario Hockey League.

Wesley Snell, age 35, played four games for the Frontenacs during the 1993-94 season with no goals, assists or PIM. Snell has played in Switzerland since the 1997-98 season, with a healthy mix between the National League A and National League B. This is his first season with HC Sierre in the NLB after two seasons with Zug of the NLA.

Paul Dipietro is the senior man on Sierre and the envy of all us 40-somethings. At 41, Dipietro has stepped down from the NLA this season after playing in the upper league since 1998-99 (with exception to 2004-05 when his former NHL friends flooded the European hockey market). Paul has spent the last six seasons with Zug and has competed for Switzerland on the world stage each season during that time.

Dipietro played four years in the Ontario Hockey League from 1986-87 to 1989-90, all with the Sudbury Wolves. He exploded offensively in his final season, scoring 56 goals and totalling 119 points, finishing second in OHL scoring to Keith Primeau of the Niagara Falls Thunder. The Montreal Canadiens liked what they saw and drafted Paul in the fifth round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, 102nd overall. With the Habs in 1992-93, Dipietro got his name inscribed on the Stanley Cup.

In total, Dipietro played 192 regular season and 31 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1990-91 and 1996-97. Besides Montreal, Paul also played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings. After playing in Germany for the 1997-98 season, Paul made the switch to Switzerland with a bang. In 1998-99, DiPietro led the NLA in goals with 38 in 45 games with Ambi-Piotta.

Lee Jinman is 35 and will turn 36 in January. Jinman played three years in the Ontario Hockey League from 1993-94 to 1995-96. Most of his career was spent with the North Bay Centennials but he was shipped to the Detroit Whalers for the playoff run in his final season. In his first year with North Bay, the team won the Robertson Cup with a victory over Detroit. In that final season with the Whalers, Detroit fell to the Peterborough Petes in the semi-finals. In both his final two seasons, Jinman finished in the OHL’s top ten scorers.

Jinman was a second round pick of the Dallas Stars in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, 46th overall, but never played in the National Hockey League. After playing five years in the North American minor leagues, Lee left for Europe, yet to return. He tried the waters in Great Britain, Sweden and Austria before settling in Switzerland for the start of the 2005-06 season. Jinman has been a fixture on HC Sierre since that season and has contributed offensively at an astounding 2.16 points per game during that time.

This past season, he led the league in assists with 52 and was second in points with 82 in 43 games.  He has twice led the league in points, 2005-06 and 2008-09. Lee shows no signs of slowing down in 2011-12. He has begun the season with 19 points in just 8 games for HC Sierre.

Sierre has an interesting historical link to NHL players. The team has set the stage for the swan songs of NHL veterans Jacques Lemaire, Mel Bridgeman and Marian Stastny. Lemaire played two seasons with Sierre after retiring from the Montreal Canadiens. Bridgeman split the final season of his playing career between Sierre and the Vancouver Canucks. After playing a season with the disastrous Toronto Maple Leafs in 1985-86, Stastny went to Sierre to cleanse his hockey soul for one season, 1986-87.

DiPietro as a member of the Swiss Olympic team at Turin in 2006.

The other day, we determined that Todd Elik was the oldest Ontario Hockey League alumnus still practicing his trade in the world of professional hockey. Closing in on 40 and still going strong is another OHL grad, Paul DiPietro.

DiPietro has spent 10 of the last 11 seasons with EV Zug of the Swiss National A League. He was bumped aside for the 2004-05 NHL strike season and played with EHC Chur of the Swiss B league that year. EV Zug is coached by OHL great, Doug Shedden. Shedden starred in the Ontario Hockey League from 1977-78 to 1980-81 with the Hamilton Fincups, Kitchener Rangers and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

Paul played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1986-87 to 1989-90. All his four seasons were spent with the Sudbury Wolves. In his final two seasons with the Wolves, DiPietro led the team in scoring. In his final season, his 56 goals and 119 points were second in the OHL, only to Keith Primeau.

DiPietro was originally drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, 102nd overall, in the 1990 NHL draft. He enjoyed a 192 game NHL career with the Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings. His last season in North America was 1996-97 which was split between the Kings and two IHL teams, the Phoenix Roadrunners and the Cincinnati Cyclones.

Paul spent one season in Germany’s DEL in 1997-98 before switching over to Switzerland.

Check out Paul DiPietro’s profile page at the EV Zug official website.

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