OHL Alumni Central

Ontario Hockey League grad Jaroslav Kruzik started the 2011-12 season with HC Litomerice of the Czech Republic Extraliga Tier 2. After moving over to the Slovak Extraliga a few days ago, Kruzik has now played his first game for HK Nitra.

Jaroslav played in the Ontario Hockey League for three years from 2007-08 to 2009-10. He began his OHL career with the Barrie Colts after Barrie chose him 49th overall in the first round of the CHL Import Draft in 2007. Previous to starting with the Colts, Kruzik played for Rytiri Kladno in his home Czech Republic.

After 50 games for Barrie in his first OHL season, Kruzik was shipped to Kingston after just one game with the Colts in 2008-09. He played 64 games with the Frontenacs that season, contributing 23 points from the blue line. In his final season with the Kingston Frontenacs, his point total dropped by one while playing five less regular season games. He got a taste of Robertson Cup playoff hockey with four games in the spring of 2010.

Kruzik returned to the Czech Republic for the 2010-11 season, once again playing for Rytiri Kladno, this time for their under-20 team. His game total was held to just eight.

Jaroslav played 12 games with HC Litomerice this season, scoring a goal and adding an assist for two points. Nitra can use some strength on defense. The team is off to a rough three win start and sits in tenth place in the eleven team league. Their goals against is the second worst in the league at the moment.

HK Nitra plays out of the 4,800 seat Nitra Zimny Arena in Nitra, Slovakia. The Slovakian Extraliga is currently dominated by former National Hockey League players, Zigmund Palffy and Miroslav Satan. The two sit one and two in league scoring.

Patrik Lusnak will return to HK 36 Skalica for his third season. The Sudbury Wolves grad began his professional hockey career in the Czech Republic part way through the 2008-09 season after playing 35 games with the Wolves. In those 35 games, Lusnak scored 20 goals and totalled 34 points.

Lusnak played in the Ontario Hockey League for three seasons, 2006-07 to 2008-09, all with the Sudbury Wolves. The Slovakian born player was an important member of Team Slovakia at the 2008 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. Despite finishing out of medal contention, Patrick contributed five points in six games. 2007-08 was Lusnak’s best season in the OHL with 20 goals and 59 points in 58 games.

After finishing the 2008-09 season with HC Trinec of the Czech Extraliga, Lusnak moved back to Slovakia and SK 36 Skalica of the Slovak Extraliga. This past season, Patrik played in 54 regular season games with Skalica, scoring 13 and adding 14 assists for 27 points. Skalica finished seventh in the eleven team Extraliga and bowed out in the first round of the playoffs.

Lusnak was loaned to SHK 37 Piestany of the Slovak 1.Liga (tier 2) for their playoff run. SHK 37 Piestany finished the regular season first in the 14 team league. Patrik played 17 playoff games for the team, contributing eight points as they marched their way to a championship.

Lusnak will return to HK 36 Skalica for the 2011-12 season. Could this be his breakout year in the league?

Ivan Svarny – ring a bell with you Belleville Bulls fans? Svarny played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, 2002-03 and 2003-04, both with the Bulls.

The big defenseman from Slovakia played a season with the New Mexico Scorpions of the Central Hockey League in 2004-05 after going undrafted in the NHL Entry Draft.

Svarny returned to Slovakia for the 2005-06 season and played with his hometown HK Nitra in the Slovak Extraliga. The following season with HK Nitra, Ivan set career bests for goals (9) and points (22) in just 47 games. He also spent more time in the penalty box than any other season during his career, including junior. In those 47 games, Svarny sat out 146 minutes, nearly double his highest single season count with the Bulls.

Ivan switched to the Czech Republic for the 2007-08 season and has been in the Czech Extraliga since. He has played the last three full seasons with HC Litvinov. In 2008-09, he joined his countrymen on Team Slovakia at the IIHF World Hockey Championships. Ivan was on the pre-tournament roster for Slovakia for the 2011 tournament but was left off the team for the main tournament. The Worlds this year are being played in his home country of Slovakia.

It has been confirmed that Svarny is looking for a new team for the 2011-12 season after Litvinov released at the end of the 2010-11 season.

After over a three year absense, Ontario Hockey League grad Tomas Skvaridlo has been recalled to duty with HKM Zvolen of the Slovakian Extraliga. Tomas had started the season with HK Detva of the Extraliga 2.

Skvaridlo played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, 1999-00 and 2000-01, both with the Kingston Frontenacs. In his second season, Tomas played for Team Slovakia at the 2001 Under-20 World Hockey Championships held in Moscow. Slovakia was held to just one win and Tomas contributed four points in seven games.

Before he came to the Ontario Hockey League, Skvaridlo was already drafted by an NHL club. Tomas was taken in the fifth round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, 144th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He never played professional hockey in North America, instead choosing to immediately return to Slovakia after finishing with the Kingston Frontenacs.

Tomas played for his hometown Zvolen for four years from 2003-04 to 2006-07. He played with a few different teams in the Extraliga before heading to France for the 2009-10 season. He played for Gap in the Ligue Magnus, contributing 17 points in 23 games.

This season, Tomas returned to Slovakia but had to play the first half of the season in the tier 2 league. Zvolen is currently in sixth place in the eleven team league and gearing up for the playoffs.

Check out Tomas Skvaridlo’s profile page at the HKM Zvolen official website.

Jaroslav Janus during Slovakia's upset of the USA at the 2009 Under-20 World Juniors.

Recently, we featured the Ontario Hockey League grads currently playing for the ECHL’s Florida Everblades (click link to go to that article). At the time, there were five OHL alumni on the team. A sixth player, Jaroslav Janus, had been sent up to the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals at the time and has since been returned to Florida.

Janus played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2007-08 to 2009-10, all with the Erie Otters. The Slovak goaltender played the bulk of the games for the team in his first two seasons and just a handful in 2009-10 as he spent half the season with Norfolk.

The season before coming to the Ontario Hockey League, Jaroslav played goal for Team Slovakia at the IIHF World Under-18 Tournament in which Slovakia finished fifth. In the 2009 Under-20 Championships, Janus led Slovakia to the Bronze medal game where they bowed out to Russia. Jaroslav was selected to the tournament’s All-Star Team.

Janus was selected in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, 162nd overall. He was also taken the same year in the second round of Russia’s KHL Draft by Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, 42nd overall. He has obviously chosen to remain in the Tampa Lightning organization, splitting his time between the AHL’s Admirals and the ECHL’s Everblades.

Check out profile page of Jaroslav Janus at the Florida Everblades official website.