OHL Alumni Central

The Lahden Pelicans of Finland’s SM-Liiga are treading in rare territory. Three quarters of the way through the 2011-12 season, Pelicans find themselves in second place in the fourteen team Finnish elite league. The team has never never won a championship and has really never enjoyed any great playoff success. 2011-12 might just be the year of the Pelicans.

Pelicans are led by an Ontario Hockey League grad and the team has recently picked up two more OHL alumni for the playoff run. Justin Hodgman is tied for tenth in league scoring. Czech natives Jan Platil and Radek Smolenak are recent pickups from other SM-Liiga teams.

Justin Hodgman played four years in the Ontario Hockey League with the Erie Otters from 2005-06 to 2008-09. Undrafted, Hodgman spent the past two years bouncing around between the IHL, ECHL and AHL. In 2010-11, Justin played mostly with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL with a few games down in the ECHL with the Reading Royals. This is his first season in Finland.

Jan Platil played for the Barrie Colts for three seasons from 2000-01 to 2002-03. A seventh round pick of the Ottawa Senators at the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Platil spent three years in Ottawa’s farm system with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators before heading to Europe for the 2006-07 season. Jan has since played in Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Austria. He began the season with Orli Znojmo in Austria’s EBEL before moving to Tappara in the SM-Liiga.

Radek Smolenak played two seasons with the Kingston Frontenacs, 2004-05 and 2005-06. Drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning after his first year in the OHL, Radek excelled in his second season with Kingston, scoring 42 and assisting on another 42 for 84 points in 65 games. Smolenak did get into seven NHL games after turning pro, six with Tampa Bay in 2008-09 and one with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2009-10.

Smolenak has been in Europe for the past two seasons. in 2010-11, he played for his hometown HC Sparta Prague. He began the current season in Finland with Assat.

Tomi Karhunen played one year in the Ontario Hockey League, 2007-08. Karhunen had a great start between the pipes for the Sarnia Sting that season, winning OHL Player of the Week honours in November. Tomi finished the season playing in 39 games with a 3.59 goals against average and two shutouts.

Karhunen was a 35th overall pick of the Sting at the CHL Import Draft in 2007. He continued on at the junior level back in Finland for two seasons following his year in Sarnia.

In 2010-11, Tomi played 13 games for Kärpät Oulu of Finland’s elite SM-Liiga. He also spent some time down in the tier 2 Mestis. Karhunen is under contract with Kärpät until the end of the 2012-13 season. He will go into 2011-12 as the team’s number 2 goalie.

Kärpät finished the 2010-11 season eighth place in the 14 team SM-Liiga and were an early exit from the playoffs. Since being promoted from tier 2 for the 2000-01 season, they have won the SM-Liiga championship four times. In a span of seven years from 2002-03 to 2008-09, Kärpät went to the finals six times.

Kärpät plays out of Oulu, Finland. Their home arena is the Oulun Energia-Areena which seats 6,614.

Check out Tomi Karhunen’s profile page at the Kärpät Oulu official website.

After a two year hiatus in Germany, Ontario Hockey League grad Joey Tenute will return to Finland’s SM-Liiga for the 2011-2012 season. Tenute has signed on with Tappara of the league that he played in for the 2008-09 season.

Joey Tenute with the SM-Liiga's Jokerit in 2008-09.

Joey Tenute played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2000-01 to 2003-04. He played his first two seasons with the Barrie Colts and his final two with the Sarnia Sting.

In his second season with the Colts, the team advanced to the Robertson Cup finals before being doused by the Erie Otters. In Tenute’s third season, he led the Sting with 41 goals and 112 points. The 112 points was good for fourth in the league.

Joey was an eighth round pick by the New Jersey Devils in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, 261st overall. He has played one NHL regular season game to date, with the Washington Capitals during the 2005-06 season.

Tenute entered professional hockey with a bang in 2004-05. He was fifth in the ECHL with 75 points and was named the league’s Rookie of the Year playing for the South Carolina Stingrays.

The following season, Tenute moved up to the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears and he helped the team to a Calder Cup championship.

As mentioned, his first season in Europe was 2008-09 with Jokerit in the SM-Liiga. He has played the past two seasons in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), the first year with the Frankfurt Lions and this season with the Hamburg Freezers.

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.

In a similar situation to yesterday’s post, today’s features a team losing one Ontario Hockey League grad and gaining another. Yesterday, it was the Nottingham Panthers of the Great Britain’s EIHL (click on the team name to view article). Today, it’s Kärpät of Finland’s SM-Liiga. 

Snopek was drafted in the fifth round of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, 109th overall by the Edmonton Oilers. Jan’s pro career in North America consisted of just two games in the American Hockey League during the 1997-98 season. He has been in the Czech Extraliga since the 1998-99 season. During his five year stint with HC Pardubice from 2004-05 to 2008-09, the team won the league championship in his first year and he was team captain in the final two seasons. This year was Snopek’s second season with HC Ceske Budejovice. 

Martin St. Pierre started this season with Neftekhimik of Russia’s KHL but after just eight games found himself with Kärpät. He played 25 games with the club, contributing 14 points before parting ways with the club this week. 

Martin St. Pierre as a member of the AHL's Rockford IceHogs

St. Pierre played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2000-01 to 2003-04, all with the Guelph Storm. In his first season, he was the OHL’s rookie leader in assists and points. In his final season, the Storm won the Robertson Cup and Martin led the league in playoff assists and points. He was awarded the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as the playoff MVP. He was also awarded the Leo Lalonde Trophy as the OHL’s Overage Player of the Year. 

Undrafted, St. Pierre has made his way into 38 games in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators. He has averaged well over a point per game in 367 AHL games with 405 points. Twice he was an AHL All-Star. 

Rumours abound that St. Pierre will be heading to EC Salzburg Red Bulls in Austria’s Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. Salzburg has always been very OHL alumni friendly. 

Jan Snopek was featured in this previous post at OHL Alumni Central. 

Martin St. Pierre was featured in this previous post at OHL Alumni Central.