OHL Alumni Central

Jon Sim was an original Sarnia Sting, playing in their first season after relocating from Newmarket. Sim was the man when it came to goal scoring until Steve Stamkos came along. Jon played four seasons with the Sting from 1994-95 to 1997-98. His first season consisted of just 25 games after starting the season in the QMJHL with the Laval Titan.

Jon Sim hockey card with the Dallas Stars.

Sim started the 2011-12 season with HC Pardubice of the Czech Republic’s Extraliga. He played 20 games with the club before being loaned to CH Slavia Prague and has now played four games for that club. This is Jon’s first full season in Europe after ending up in Switzerland at the end of the 2010-11 season and playing seven games for Gotteron, plus three in the National League A playoffs.

Jon broke out offensively in his second season with Sarnia. His 56 goals were second in the Ontario Hockey League and his 101 points were good for seventh. The following season, 1996-97, he once again scored 56 goals, this time tying him for first in the OHL with Alyn McCauley of the Ottawa 67′s. His point total dropped to 95 but still tied him for ninth in the league with Matt Cooke of the Windsor Spitfires. In his final season in the OHL, his goal total dropped to 44. He was still in the top ten, tied for fifth with Scott Barney of the Peterborough Petes. His 94 points tied him for eighth in the league.

Sim was drafted after his first 56 goal outburst. The Dallas Stars picked Jon in the third round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, 70th overall. He has played in 469 regular season NHL games with Dallas, the Nashville Predators, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, Atlanta Thrashers and New York Islanders. In 1998-99, despite only playing seven games for the Dallas Stars during the regular season, he played in four during the playoffs as the Stars captured the Stanley Cup.

Perhaps, Sim’s best season in pro hockey came in 2004-05. He played ten games with the AHL’s Utah Grizzlies then finished off the season with 63 games for the Philadelphia Phantoms. His combined 37 goals placed him tied for sixth in the American Hockey League. He played 21 playoff games for the Phantoms, contributing 17 points as the team marched on to win the Calder Cup.

The Barrie Flyers took it all in 1952-53, they were first place in league play, won the Robertson Cup over the St. Michael’s Majors and took the Memorial Cup with a victory over the St. Boniface Canadiens. The franchise would also achieve Mem Cup success as the Niagara Falls Flyers but, so far, not as the Sudbury Wolves. One of the major factors in Barrie’s success was the play of centre Don McKenney.

Find Don McKenney rookie cards on eBay, right now!

1954-55 Topps #35 - Don McKenney rookie card.

A little bit of an unsung hero in the hockey world, McKenney is not enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame but does have a pretty impressive list of achievements. He played two seasons with the Flyers, 1951-52 and 1952-53, scoring over 30 goals each season. In the days before the draft, Barrie was sponsored by the NHL’s Boston Bruins. After a year with the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears, McKenney found his way to Boston.

In his first season with the Bruins, McKenney was the runner-up for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year after leading Boston in points with 42 in 69 games. Each season he played with Boston, Don was typically first or second in team scoring. He led the team in 1956-57 and 1958-59.

Overall, he was in the top ten NHL point-getters four times, all between 1956-57 and 1959-60. His only major individual award was the Lady Byng Trophy in 1959-60.

He was an integral part of the 1963-64 Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup victory. A late season pickup from the New York Rangers, McKenney contributed 12 points in 12 games on the way to the Cup. Previously, with Boston, he reached the finals after the Bruins finished fourth in the six team league and upset the Rangers in the first round before losing to the Montreal Canadiens in the finals. That playoff season, McKenney scored nine and added eight assists for 17 points in just 12 games.

McKenney played in the NHL from 1954-55 to 1965-66 with the Bruins, Rangers, Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. He made it back in 1967-68 with 39 games in a St. Louis Blues uniform. He continued to play in the American Hockey League until the end of the 1969-70 season. With the Pittsburgh Hornets in 1966-67, he won another championship in yet another league as the Hornets took the Calder Cup in their final year of existence. His swan song, of sorts, came in 1968-69 with the Providence Reds, putting up 74 points and finishing eighth in AHL scoring.

Don McKenney’s rookie hockey card appears in the 1954-55 Topps series, the first hockey set produced by Topps. Although Gordie Howe’s card is valued at $1800, McKenney’s is the highest valued rookie card at $80, according to Beckett Hockey Monthly.

Don went on to coach several years at Northeastern University in the U.S., last coaching in 1990-91.

The Niagara Falls Flyers were the kings of the castle in the mid 1960′s and Derek Sanderson was their centrepiece. Sanderson played with the Flyers for four years from 1963-64 to 1966-67. The team was sponsored by the Boston Bruins at the time and Derek was a Bruins prospect right from the word go.

Derek Sanderson with the Boston Bruins.

In 1964-65, the Flyers won the Robertson Cup as OHA playoff champions. The team moved on to win the Memorial Cup as Canada’s top major junior team.

In 1965-66, Sanderson showed how multi-faceted he could be. In 48 games with Niagara Falls, Derek scored 33 goals and totalled 76 points. He also found the time to sit out 238 minutes in the penalty box. In his final season in the OHA, Sanderson won the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the league’s top scorer. Derek totalled 101 points in just 47 games and still was able to spend 193 minutes in the sin bin.

In his first year with the Bruins, 1967-68, Derek was the National Hockey League’s top rookie, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy. He played in the NHL from 1967-68 to 1977-78 with the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins. Sanderson was to be the star of the newly formed World Hockey Association in their 1972-73 inaugural season. He played a total of eight games with the Philadelphia Blazers, tallying six points and 69 PIM. He was back with the Bruins before the season was over.

Sanderson was a member of two Stanley Cup winning teams with the 1970 and 1972 Boston Bruins. In 1970-71, he achieved his highest goal total in the NHL with 29. His best season for total points came with the St. Louis Blues in 1975-76 with 67.

For the second year in a row, Ontario Hockey League grads Jamie Langenbrunner and Jason Arnott will start the season on the same team. Last season, both were with the New Jersey Devils and both were traded away to different teams by the end of the season. In 2011-12, the two veterans will bring leadership and experience to a youth-packed St. Louis Blues team.

Before the 2010-11 season, Langenbrunner and Arnott had a series of near misses. Jamie began his Ontario Hockey League career with the Peterborough Petes in 1993-94 while Jason ended his OHL career with the Oshawa Generals in 1992-93. During the 2001-02 season, the two were traded for each other with Langenbrunner going from the Dallas Stars to New Jersey while Arnott went in the opposite direction.

Jason Arnott played two season in the Ontario Hockey League, 1991-92 and 1992-93, both with the Oshawa Generals. He was a seventh overall pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft and was an instant stick with the Oilers in 1993-94. Along the way, he has played 1172 NHL games with the Oilers, Devils, Stars, Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals.

Jamie Langenbrunner played two seasons in Ontario Hockey League, as well. Jamie played for the Peterbough Petes in 1993-94 and 1994-95. Langenbrunner was drafted the same year as Arnott, 1993, going in the second round, 35th overall, to the Dallas Stars. He was drafted right out of high school in the United States and came to the Petes already an NHL prospect. Langenbrunner has totalled 1035 regular season NHL games from 1995-96 to the present with Dallas and New Jersey.

This duo brings to St. Louis the combined experience of three Stanley Cup victories (Langenbrunner -2, Arnott – 1). Their leadership qualities are immense. Langenbrunner served as the team captain of the New Jersey Devils from 2007-08 until his trade to Dallas last season. Arnott wsa team captain of the Nashville Predators from 2006-07 to 2009-10.

With the signing of these two veterans, St. Louis instantly became one of the team’s to watch in the upcoming NHL season.

Check out the story announcing the double signing from the St. Louis Blues official website.

The IIHF has what’s called the ‘Triple Gold Club’. To belong to this exclusive club you must win a Stanley Cup, World Championship and Olympic Gold Medal. Currently, and until at least 2014, there are 25 members. The 25 consist of 24 players and one coach. Seven of the players and the one coach are from Canada (read more about Canada’s Triple Gold Club members here). Of those seven, three are Ontario Hockey League grads.

Of the OHL’s three members, one has recently retired from the game and two are still active in the NHL. The first achieved all the requirements in 2002 and the third entered the club after the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Brendan Shanahan won gold at the 1994 World Championships, has three Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings (1997, 1998, 2002) and won Gold with Canada at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Shanahan played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the London Knights, 1985-86 and 1986-87. He was denied World Junior gold as a member of the team involved in the Punch-up in Piestary in 1987.

His NHL career spanned from 1987-88 to 2008-09 with the New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers. Brendan played in eight NHL All-Star games over his career. He was named the 2003 recipient of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership and humanitarian contributions.

Chris Pronger won World Championship Gold in 1997. His one Stanley Cup victory to date came in 2007 with the Anaheim Ducks. Chris has two gold medals from 2002 in Salt Lake City and 2010 in Vancouver.

Pronger played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Peterborough Petes in 1991-92 and 1992-93. In 1993, he was the CHL’s top defenseman as well as being named the Max Kaminsky Trophy winner as the OHL’s top blueliner. In 2000, Pronger won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top D-man, making him one of only three players to win both the Kaminsky and Norris.

Pronger’s NHL career began in 1993-94 with the Hartford Whalers. He was traded to St. Louis in 1995 for, ironically, Brendan Shanahan. Currently a member of the Philadelphia Flyers, Chris also played for the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks along the way. He has played in six NHL All-Star games and won the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP in 2000.

Eric Staal was quick to join the club. Staal won the Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006. The following year, he won gold at the World Championships. Eric was part of the 2010 gold medal winning team in Vancouver.

Staal played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2000-01 to 2002-03, all with the Peterborough Petes. The second overall pick of the Carolina Hurricanes at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft is currently still with the club, wearing the ‘C’ on his jersey. Eric has been to four NHL All-Star games in his six seasons. He was a 100 point man in his second season with the Canes.