OHL Alumni Central

Ryan Munce during a 3-game stint with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch in 2008-09.

Yet another Ontario Hockey League grad is heading to Italy to play this upcoming season. Ryan Munce has decided to leave North America and play net for S.G. Cortina of the Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio (LIHG).

Ryan Munce played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2002-03 to 2004-05, all with the Sarnia Sting. Munce was a steady goaltender for the Sting all three seasons, but shone most brightly in his rookie campaign. His accolades as a Sarnia Sting that season include being a member of the OHL’s and CHL’s all-rookie teams and winning the Dinty Moore Trophy as the OHL rookie goaltender with the best Goals Against Average (2.64 over 27 games). He unfortunately couldn’t help a very strong Sting team make it out of the first round of the OHL playoffs.

That season, Ryan also was a major part of Team Canada’s gold medal winning effort at the Under-18 IIHF World Hockey Championships. He was the goalie with the best GAA in the tournament with 1.83.

Munce was taken after his first season by the Los Angeles Kings in the third round of the 2003 NHL draft, 82nd overall. Except for 13 games in the AHL, Munce has spent his professional career until now in the East Coast Hockey League. This past season, Ryan played 44 games for the Charlotte Checkers producing a 2.77 GAA and a .913 save percentage.

Ryan has put his name in the ECHL record books. His 1852 saves in 2008-09 with the Mississippi Sea Wolves are the second highest single season total in league history. His 63 saves in a game while playing for the Bakersfield Condors in 2005-06 is two saves shy of the single game league record. His 28 saves in a single period while playing for Mississippi during the 2007-08 season is also two shy of the league record for most saves in a period.

Check out Ryan Munce’s profile page on the SG Cortina official website.

Check out Ryan Munce’s profile page on the ECHL official website.

Ryan is featured in this previous post about Ontario Hockey League grads playing for the Charlotte Checkers during the 2009-10 season.

The New York Rangers system consists of the main team, their AHL affiliate in Hartford and their ECHL affiliate in Charlotte. There are 24 Ontario Hockey League alumni between these three teams. In this post, and the following two, we’ll spotlight the OHL grads on each of these teams.

The Charlotte Checkers are a shared affiliate of the Rangers and the Colorado Avalanche. There are 9 OHL grads on the Checkers. Click on the player’s name to view their profile page on the Charlotte Checkers official website.

Ryan Munce played three seasons between the pipes for the Sarnia Sting from 2002-03 to 2004-05. He has played most of professional career in the ECHL with short stops in the AHL, amounting to 13 games. From junior to the pros, Ryan has consistently attained a .914 save percentage, never dropping below .904.

Trevor Hendrikx put in five solid seasons on the blueline with the Peterborough Petes from 2001-02 to 2005-06. A recent aquisition by the Checkers, Trevor started the season with the ECHL’s Johnstown Chiefs. A Columbus Blue Jacket draft pick, Trevor has yet to reach higher than the ECHL.

Steve Ward played five seasons in the OHL. 2002-03 and 2003-04 were spent with the Sarnia Sting and he was a Plymouth Whaler from 2004-05 to 2006-07. 2008-09 was a year of travel for Steve, to say the least. By the time he landed in Charlotte, he’d spent time on five other rosters over the course of the season. Starting with the Reading Royals, there were stops in Albany, San Antonio, Norfolk and Portland. He has settled in with the Checkers and has put in a solid season this year with just the one team.

Tyler Doig’s first season in the OHL, 2003-04, consisted of just one game with the Barrie Colts. 2004-05 and 2005-06 were spent with the Guelph Storm. 2006-07 was split between the Storm and the Belleville Bulls. Tyler is currently the leading point-getter on the Checkers.

Devin DiDiomete played for the Sudbury Wolves for 3 seasons from 2004-05 to 2006-07 before finishing off his OHL career with the Sarnia Sting in 2007-08. Devin played a good portion of this season with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL before being sent down to the Checkers.

Daniel Tkaczuk had a stellar OHL career with the Barrie Colts from 1995-96 to 1998-99. He represented Canada at the World Junior Tournament in 1999 and came home with a silver medal. Daniel spent 6 seasons in Europe before returning to the North American game this season.

T.J. Reynolds played his first two OHL seasons, 1998-99 and 1999-00 with the Oshawa Generals. 2000-01 was split between the Generals and the St. Michael’s Majors. 2001-02 was split between the Majors and the Mississauga IceDogs. This is T.J.’s first season with the Checkers and he is, by far, the team’s PIM leader, averaging around 4.7 minutes per game in the box.

Randy Rowe played for the Belleville Bulls from 1997-98 to 2000-01. The highlight of his OHL career was a 64 goal performance in 63 games during the 2000-01 season. Randy is property of the Lake Erie Monsters (Colorado Avalanche) and has split this season between the Monsters and the Checkers.

Chris Chappell is a Charlotte Checker but is currently not on the active roster. Chris played for the Saginaw Spirit from 2005-06 to 2008-09. He spent time with both the Wolf Pack and the Checkers in this, his first pro season.