OHL Alumni Central

The Buffalo Sabres will face the Boston Bruins in the opening round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. The series will feature 13 Ontario Hockey League Alumni. The Sabres have 9 OHL grads which equals the Colorado Avalanche for most in the league among playoff bound teams. The Bruins are second from the bottom with just 4 OHL alumni.

The players are listed below and, as usual at OHL Alumni Central, click on each player’s name to view their profile page on their team’s official website.

Buffalo Sabres

Raffi Torres was a fan favourite and fortified sniper in Brampton with the Battalion from 1998-99 to 2000-01. Drafted by the New York Islanders in the first round, fifth overall in 2000, Raffi played sparingly for the Islanders in his first two pro seasons before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers. Since 2003-04, Torres has been a regular in the NHL with Edmonton, Columbus and Buffalo.

Tim Connolly played two seasons in the OHL with the Erie Otters, 1997-98 and 1998-99. Like teammate Raffi Torres, Tim was drafted in the first round, fifth overall by the New York Islanders, but the year earlier, 1999. Tim played two full seasons with the Islanders right out of junior before being traded to the Sabres.

Craig Rivet played for the Kingston Frontenacs for three seasons, starting way back in 1991-92. Craig was a third round pick of the Montreal Canadiens and played with the Habs until the trade deadline in 2007 when he became a San Jose Shark. Rivet became a Sabre at the start of the 2008-09 season and is now captain of the squad.

Derek Roy was an offensive powerhouse and leader for the Kitchener Rangers from 1999-00 to 2002-03. His OHL career culminated in a Memorial Cup championship. Derek was a Buffalo draft pick and has been in the Sabres system since graduating from junior.

Steve Montador played in the OHL for four seasons starting in 1996-97. He began his junior career with the North Bay Centennials but was traded to the Erie Otters in his second season. His final season was spent in Peterborough with the Petes. Steve began his NHL career with the Calgary Flames and has also played with Florida, Anaheim and Boston before becoming a Buffalo Sabre at the start of this season.

Andrej Sekera played two seasons with the Owen Sound Attack, 2004-05 and 2005-06. Sekera was drafted by the Sabres before playing a single Ontario Hockey League game and has been in Buffalo’s system for his whole professional career.

Adam Mair played four seasons for the Owen Sound Platers from 1995-96 to 1998-99. Mair was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs and played very sparingly for the Leafs then the Los Angeles Kings before becoming a regular with Buffalo in 2002-03.

Patrick Kaleta played for the Peterborough Petes for four seasons from 2002-03 to 2005-06. A late pick of the Sabres in 2004 (6th round, 176th overall), Patrick has used his toughness to stick with the NHL team.

Matt Ellis played four season with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors from 1998-99 to 2001-02. Used sparingly but the Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Kings early in his career, Matt played his first real full season in Buffalo with the Sabres this season.

Boston Bruins

Daniel Paille played for the Guelph Storm for four seasons from 2000-01 to 2003-04. A first round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2002, Daniel played with the Sabres until two games into this season when he was traded to the Bruins.

Marc Savard was a two-time OHL scoring champ with the Oshawa Generals over his four year career from 1993-94 to 1996-97. Marc has enjoyed a nearly 800 game NHL career with the New York Rangers, Calgary Flames, Atlanta Thrashers and Boston. An enormous part of the team’s offense, Savard will likely remain on injured reserve with a late season head injury.

Shawn Thornton played for the Peterborough Petes for two seasons, 1995-96 and 1996-97. A seventh round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Shawn didn’t see his first NHL action until 2002-03 as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks. After a season in Anaheim with the Ducks, this is Shawn’s third season with the Bruins.

Dennis Wideman began his OHL career with the Sudbury Wolves in 1999-00 but was traded during the next season to the London Knights. Dennis played with the Knights until 2003-04, establishing himself as one of the premier defensemen in the league. Drafted way down in the 8th round of the 2002 draft by the Buffalo Sabres, Wideman became an NHL regular with the St. Louis Blues in 2005-06 and was traded to the Bruins the next season.

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The Montreal Canadiens finished 8th in the NHL’s Eastern Conference and will face the Washington Capitals in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

There will be 8 Ontario Hockey League alumni playing in this series, 4 from Montreal and 4 from Washington. This would be a Sudbury Wolves vs. London Knights series with 2 alumni from the Wolves playing for the Canadiens and 2 alumni from the Knights playing for the Capitals.

Here are the OHL grads in this series. As always, click on each player’s name to view their profile page on their team’s official website.

Washington Capitals

Matt Bradley played for the Kingston Frontenacs from 1995-96 to 1997-98. He is currently in his 5th season with the Capitals and 8th in the NHL.

John Erskine played for the London Knights from 1997-98 to 1999-00. He is currently in his 4th season with the Capitals after playing for Dallas and the New York Islanders.

John Carlson played for the London Knights in the 2008-09 season. This is John’s rookie season with Washington.

Scott Walker played for the Owen Sound Platers in 1991-92 and 1992-93. Scott has played over 800 games during his NHL career with Vancouver, Nashville, Carolina and Washington. He came over from the Hurricanes and the trade deadline this season.

Montreal Canadiens

Sergei Kostitsyn played for the London Knights for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. Sergei is in his third season with the Canadiens.

Tom Pyatt played for the Saginaw Spirit from 2003-04 to 2006-07. Originally drafted by the New York Rangers, this is Tom’s rookie season.

Benoit Pouliot played for the Sudbury Wolves from 2003-04 to 2005-06. Benoit started his NHL career with the Minnesota Wild and is in his first season with the Canadiens.

Paul Mara played in the OHL from 1996-97 to 1998-99. His first season was with the Sudbury Wolves. In his second season he was traded to the Plymouth Whalers where he finished out his OHL career. Drafted in the 1st round, 7th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Paul has played for Tampa Bay, Phoenix and the New York Rangers before landing in Montreal this season. He is currently on the injured reserve.

The Stanley Cup playoff time is upon us. With the Philadelphia Flyers beating the New York Rangers yesterday afternoon in a shootout, all the teams for this season’s run to the cup are set.

Of course, any Ontario Hockey League fan has one eye still focused on the OHL playoffs and the other is watching the NHL. This season, there are 93 OHL alumni competing in the Stanley Cup playoffs. All OHL teams are represented and each NHL team has at least 3 OHL grads on the roster.

Over the next 8 posts, OHL Alumni Central will feature, series by series, the OHL grads playing for the Cup. Today, we’ll look at the overall numbers by NHL and OHL teams.

The Buffalo Sabres and Colorado Avalanche are the NHL leaders with 9 OHL alumni on each roster. The Vancouver Canucks, aka Team Sweden, has the least with 3. Interestingly, the Ontario team, Ottawa Senators, has 8 OHL alumni which puts them second while the two non-Ontario Canadian teams, Montreal and Vancouver have the lowest number of OHLers.

Team	OHL Alumni
Buffalo Sabres	9
Colorado Avalanche	9
Ottawa Senators	8
Nashville Predators	7
Los Angeles Kings	7
New Jersey Devils	6
Pittsburgh Penguins	6
Philadelphia Flyers	6
San Jose Sharks	5
Chicago Blackhawks	5
Phoenix Coyotes	5
Detroit Red Wings	5
Washington Capitals	4
Boston Bruins	4
Montreal Canadiens	4
Vancouver Canucks	3

The number of alumni representing each OHL team brings some surprises. Take note that the totals will add up to more than 93. Players that played on more than one team over their OHL career were counted on each team they played on. With all the flash of the London Knights and Windsor Spitfires, it is the Sudbury Wolves that are the biggest producer of talent in this year’s playoffs. The team that is expected to be in the OHL finals this season, the Barrie Colts, have the least.

Team	Alumni
Sudbury Wolves	10
Peterborough Petes	9
Owen Sound Attack	9
London Knights	8
Guelph Storm	8
Ottawa 67′s	7
Kitchener Rangers	7
Windsor Spitfires	7
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	7
Kingston Frontenacs	6
Erie Otters	6
Oshawa Generals	5
Mississauga Majors	5
Belleville Bulls	4
Brampton Battalion	4
Sarnia Sting	4
Saginaw Spirit	4
Niagara IceDogs	3
Plymouth Whalers	3
Barrie Colts	2