OHL Alumni Central

Vaclav Meidl played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2003-04 to 2006-07. He began his OHL career with the Plymouth Whalers after being drafted 3rd overall in the 2003 CHL import draft and was traded to the Saginaw Spirit midway through the 2005-06 season. Meidl played eight games with the Oshawa Generals during the 2006-07 season before returning to his native Czech Republic.

Vaclav’s most productive season in the Ontario Hockey League was his first with 14 goals and 42 points in 67 games. His numbers dropped each successive season after that. Meidl was a member of Team Czech Republic at the 2006 IIHF World Under-20 Championships. The team lost to the United States in the quarter finals.

After his first season with Plymouth, Meidl was drafted in the third round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators, 81st overall. Vaclav’s professional career since leaving Oshawa in 2006-07 has been a split between the Czech Republic’s Extraliga and Extraliga 2.

This past season, 2010-11, Vaclav played six games with the Extraliga’s HC Kometa Brno and 39 with the Extraliga 2′s HC Havlickuv Brod. With Brod, Meidl contributed 33 points on 15 goals, his best professional output to date. He is set to return to Brod for the 2011-12 season.

A few days ago, we featured a graduate of the North Bay Centennials, Vitaly Yachmenev. Vitaly’s younger brother, Denis, is also a graduate of the Ontario Hockey League and the same team as his older brother.

Denis played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, 2001-02 and 2002-03. He was the 26th pick in the 2001 CHL import draft. His first season was with the Centennials. He moved with the team for his second season and played with the Saginaw Spirit. Although Denis didn’t put up the amazing numbers his brother did in the OHL, he did score 17 goals in each season on weak Centennials/Spirit teams.

After his first season, Yachmenev was taken in the seventh round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the Florida Panthers, 200th overall. Denis has never played professional hockey in North America. Instead, he chose to return immediately to Russia after his two year stint in the Ontario Hockey League.

Although he has played parts of three seasons in the RSL/KHL in Russia, for the most part, Yachmenev has played in the country’s tier 2 professional league, now called the VHL. For the 2010-11 season, Denis played for HK Rubin, averaging about a point ever second game.

It’s only available in Russian but check out Denis Yachmenev’s profile page on the HK Rubin official website.

Check out the recent post on Vitaly Yachmenev at OHL Alumni Central.

Still sitting in 10th on the Central Hockey League’s point list for the 2010-11 season, Ontario Hockey League grad Jack Combs has been given a shot with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League. In 50 games with the Tulsa Oilers, Combs has 63 points. His 29 goals with Tulsa still have him tied for sixth in the CHL.

Jack Combs played five seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2004-05 to 2008-09. His first season was played with the Kitchener Rangers and the rest of his OHL career was spent in a Saginaw Spirit jersey. His best season in the OHL was 2007-08 when his 100 points on 42 goals and 58 assists put him tied for seventh in the league. His 100 points hold as a Saginaw Spirit record.

In 2009-10, his first year of professional hockey, Jack played mostly with the Trenton Devils of the ECHL with stops with the Alaska Aces of the ECHL and the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL.

Check out Jack Combs’ profile page at the Chicago Wolves official website.

Check out Jack Combs’ profile page at the Tulsa Oilers official website.

Recently we featured a teammate of Jack’s with the Saginaw Spirit. Check out this previous article on Tomas Zaborsky who is now playing in Finland.

Tomas Zaborsky was the 36th overall pick in the 2006 CHL Import Draft. He didn’t disappoint the Saginaw Spirit. Zaborsky played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, 2006-07 and 2007-08, both with the Spirit. In his first season, he recorded 43 points in 59 games. In his second season, he finished third on the club, behind Jack Combs and Ryan McDonough, with 31 goals and 70 points in 68 games.

During his first season with Saginaw, Zaborsky was excused from the team to play for Slovakia at the 2007 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. The team went winless in the opening round and won just one game in relegation but by virtue of goals scored, were safe from being sent down.

Zaborsky came to the Ontario Hockey League already drafted to the National Hockey League. Tomas was taken by the New York Rangers in the fifth round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, 137th overall. After splitting his first year of professional hockey, 2008-09, with the Charlotte Checkers (ECHL), Dayton Bombers (ECHL) and Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL), it was off to Finland for Zaborsky.

Tomas is in his second season with Ässät of Finland’s SM-Liiga. The team is currently in second place in the fourteen team league. Zaborsky has contributed 22 points in 37 games. He is under contract to be a member of Ässät until the end of the 2011-12 season.

Check out Tomas Zaborsky’s profile page at the Ässät official website.

Georgi Misharin played just one season in the Ontario Hockey League, 2003-04, with the Saginaw Spirit. Misharin was certainly one of the bright spots on a Saginaw team that shared the league’s basement with the Belleville Bulls, both with just 39 points.

Misharin came to the Ontario Hockey League already drafted by an National Hockey League club. Georgi was taken in the seventh round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild, 207th overall. With 2004-05 being the NHL lockout year, Misharin went home to Russia to play in the RSL and has been there since.

Georgi has worn the Russia jersey on the world stage on three occasions. He helped Team Russia to a Bronze Medal at the 2003 Under-18 championships and stepped it up to a Silver two years later in the Under-20 tournament. Just turning 21, Misharin played for Russia at the World Hockey Championships in 2006 with Russia finishing in fifth place.

2010-11 is Georgi’s fourth season with CSKA Moscow. After 46 games, he was traded to Metallurg Magnitogorsk who needed to bolster the blue line for a promising playoff run. CSKA Moscow currently sits in tenth place in the KHL’s Western Conference and twelve points out of a playoff spot. Magnitogorsk is comfortably in fourth place in the East, twelve points up on fifth position.

Check out Georgi Misharin’s profile page at the KHL official website. 

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