OHL Alumni Central

Ontario Hockey League grad David Kuchejda will return for his fifth season with HC Ceske Budejovice in 2011-12. HC Ceske Budejovice finished the 2010-11 season sixth place in the 14 team Czech Republic Extraliga. The team made a quick exit from the playoffs, losing in the quarter-finals.

Kuchejda came to the Ontario Hockey League already a prospect of the Chicago Blackhawks. David was taken by Chicago in the seventh round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, 202nd overall. He made his first appearance in the OHL in 2005-06 after being a 13th overall pick by Sault Ste. Marie in the 2005 CHL Import Draft.

Kuchejda played two seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, 2005-06 and 2006-07. In his rookie season, he scored 19 and totalled 40 points in a year when the Greyhounds were the third lowest scoring team in the OHL. The following season, playing just 59 games, he scored 25 and added 28 assists in the Greyhounds first season in their new arena, the Steelback Centre.

David played for the Czech Republic at the 2007 IIHF World Under-20 Hockey Championships, held in Leksand, Sweden. The team went 2-2 in the round robin and made a quick exit from the playoffs with a loss to Sweden in the Quarter-Finals. Kuchejda played in all the team’s games but didn’t register a point.

Kuchejda immediately returned to the Czech Republic upon graduation from the Ontario Hockey League. He has played with HC Ceske Budejovice (Mountfield) since, with some trips down to the tier 2 league. The team plays out of Budvar Arena which holds 6,421 for hockey. The team was founded in 1928 but has won only one league championship, all the way back in 1951.

Although in Czech, you can check out David Kuchejda’s profile page at the HC Ceske Budejovice official website.

Three other Ontario Hockey League grads are playing on HC Ceske Budejovice:

Dustin Wood

Michael Kolarz

Jakub Kovar

With the Owen Sound Attack in uncharted waters as far as that franchise is concerned, it’s fitting that the head coach, two assistants and the general manager were all Canadian Hockey League players at one time and three are graduates of the Ontario Hockey League.

The Attack were the top team in the Western Conference during the 2010-11 regular season and are squaring off against the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors in the Robertson Cup final. Both teams are assured entry to the Memorial Cup tournament as Mississauga is the host.

Head Coach Mark Reeds played three years with the Peterborough Petes from 1977-78 to 1979-80. In just 54 games in his final season with the Petes, Reeds put up very respectable numbers with 34 goals and 45 assists for 79 points. Mark saw NHL action between 1981-82 and 1988-89 with the St. Louis Blues and Hartford Whalers. In 1989-90, Reeds went to Italy and contributed 131 points in just 44 games with HC Flemme Cavalese.

Reeds is in his fourth season as head coach of Owen Sound. He has been in the coaching biz since 1992-93 when he started out as the Assistant Coach of the IHL’s Peoria Rivermen. When the Rivermen made the switch to the ECHL for the 1996-97 season, Mark made the switch to head coach. He has been a head coach with the Rivermen, Missouri River Otters and Kalamazoo Wings before coming to Owen Sound.

Assistant Coach Brad Tiley played three seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds from 1988-89 to 1990-91. Over his playing career, Brad saw 10 NHL games with the Phoenix Coyotes and a pair with the Philadelphia Flyers. He played actively until the 2008-09 season and appeared on teams in the IHL, AHL, DEL (Germany), EBEL (Austria) and the Asia League (Japan). This is Tiley’s second season with the Attack.

General Manager Dale DeGray played for the Oshawa Generals from 1979-80 (1 game) to 1982-83. DeGray saw NHL time in the 1980′s with the Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings and Buffalo Sabres. After several years in the IHL, DeGray’s playing days ended after the 1997-98 season. Dale is in his fourth year as GM in Owen Sound after spending five years as a scout for the NHL’s Florida Panthers.

Assistant Coach Terry Virtue played in the WHL from 1988-89 to 1990-91. Virtue skated in five NHL games over his career, four with the Boston Bruins and one with the New York Rangers. Terry’s lengthy hockey career, mostly spent in the AHL, came to and end after the 2006-07 season. He spent three years as assistant coach of the WHL’s Tri-City Americans before coming to Owen Sound for the 2010-11 season.

After two years back playing on North American soil, Ontario Hockey League grad Rob Hisey has signed to play in Europe for the 2011-12 season. Hisey is confirmed with EHC Linz of Austria’s Erste Bank Eishockey Liga.

Rob Hisey played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2001-02 to 2004-05. He began with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and was shipped to the Erie Otters midway through his second season. He remained with Erie until his final season when he moved to the Barrie Colts after 25 games with the Otters. Rob’s best output as an OHLer came in 2003-04 with Erie when he led the Otters in every offensive category (38 goals, 58 assists, 96 points).

Hisey went undrafted by an NHL club and tested the European waters immediately after graduating from the Ontario Hockey League. Over his first four years in professional hockey, Rob played in Finland’s SM-Liiga, Germany’s DEL, Austria’s EBEL, Sweden’s Elitserien and Germany’s Oberliga.

This past season, 2010-11, Hisey played in the New York Islanders organization with their American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Rob was second on the team in points with 48, despite only playing 59 games.

2011-12 will mark the second time Hisey has played in the EBEL. He spent 22 games with the Graz 99ers during the 2007-08 season, contributing 16 points.

Paul Ballantyne played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1998-99 to 2001-02, all with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. A defensive defenseman, Paul maxed out his offensive output in his third season with the Greyhounds, scoring 12 and adding 28 assists for 40 points in 63 games.

Ballantyne was taken by the Detroit Red Wings in the sixth round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, 196th overall. Paul played parts of three seasons with Detroit’s East Coast Hockey League affiliate, the Toledo Storm. Over the three seasons, he got into 39 games with the American Hockey League Grand Rapids Griffins.

Paul spent three more seasons in the ECHL before going to Europe for the 2008-09 season. He played for Lørenskog in Norway’s Get Ligaen for the 2008-09 season. The following season found Ballantyne moving a little further south and playing in Germany’s 2.Bundesliga for Eispiraten (Ice Pirates) Crimmitschau.

This past season, Ballantyne returned to the Get Ligaen to play for Manglerud Stars. The team finished ninth in the ten team league but will not be relegated and will return for the 2011-12 season.

Check out Paul Ballantyne’s profile page at the Manglerud Stars official website.

Another Ontario Hockey League great has decided to hang up the blades. At 39 years old and with 19 NHL seasons under his belt, Adam Foote has announced his retirement.

Foote played three seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds from 1988-89 to 1990-91. In his final season, he was name an OHL First Team All-Star while leading the Greyhounds to a Robertson Cup victory and a Memorial Cup berth.

Adam was selected by the Quebec Nordiques in the second round of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, 22nd overall. With exception to six games played in the AHL in his first professional season, Foote has been one of the NHL’s premier defensemen since.

Other than three years played with the Columbus Blue Jackets, 2005-06 to 2007-08, Foote has remained with the Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. In total, Adam played in 1153 regular season and 170 playoff games in the NHL. He was the alternate captain to Joe Sakic in the four years leading up to his hiatus in Columbus. With Columbus, he was team captain for the three seasons. He got his ‘A’ back upon his return to Colorado and when Joe Sakic called it quits two years ago, Foote was named team captain in his place.

Foote was part of two Stanley Cup winning teams with the Avalanche. In 1996, Colorado swept the Florida Panthers. In 2001, it took seven games to defeat the New Jersey Devils. Adam also won gold with Team Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and the 2004 IIHF World Cup. In total, Foote was on Team Canada for three Olympic Games and two World Cups.