OHL Alumni Central

In keeping with the Spengler Cup theme of late, today we’re looking at a member of Genève-Servette that happens to be an Ontario Hockey League grad. Despite relative success in North America since leaving the OHL after the 2004-05 season, Dan Fritsche opted to play in Switzerland this season. Perhaps, following his roots as his uncle John played several years in Switzerland. Genève-Servette is one of the six teams participating in the annual Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland over the Christmas holidays.

Fritsche played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2001-02 to 2004-05. He was a member of the Sarnia Sting until his final season when he was moved to the London Knights to bolster their powerhouse team. The Knights, of course, went on to win the Hamilton Spectator as regular season champs, the Robertson Cup as OHL playoff champs and the Memorial Cup as CHL champs.

Dan twice was a member of Team USA at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. In 2004, USA won gold win a victory over Team Canada. In 2005, Fritsche finished just out of the top ten scorers with seven points but the USA didn’t fare too well with a fourth place finish.

Fritsche was picked up in the second round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets, 46th overall. Dan caught on right away with Columbus and played regularly for three seasons from 2005-06 to 2007-08. In 2008-09, he split his season between the New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild. This past season, 2009-10, he was back in the Blue Jackets organization playing for their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Despite only 42 points with the Crunch, Dan was five points out of the team lead. He represented Syracuse at the AHL All-Star Classic.

Dan is featured in these previous posts at OHL Alumni Central:

OHL Alumni at the 2010 Spengler Cup

Alumni of the 2004-05 London Knights Still Active in 2009-10

OHL Alumni at the 2010 AHL All-Star Classic

Read the new Bob Probert book? Buy it on-line from Chapters here :Tough Guy

Mark Messier has a top notch assistant coach for the 2010 Spengler Cup in Ontario Hockey League legend, Doug Shedden.

Doug Shedden played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League (OMJHL) from 1977-78 to 1980-81. He began with the Hamilton Fincups and was traded to the Kitchener Rangers in his first season. His true success came when he was traded to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds during the 1979-80 season. He finished that season with exactly 100 points and then went on to a 51 goal and 123 point performance in his final season.

In 1980-81, Shedden was one of four Greyhounds with 12o points or more during the regular season. He was third on the team in scoring and tenth in the league. The team won the Hamilton Spectator Trophy as the regular season champion. They made it to the Robertson Cup finals before losing out to the Kitchener Rangers. Although the Rangers finished on top of the Emms Division that season, they did it with just 69 points.

Doug was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fourth round of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, 93rd overall. From 1981-82 to 1985-86, Shedden was a mainstay with the Penguins. Although his NHL career would last until the 1990-91 season, 87% of his 325 NHL points came as a Pittsburgh Penguin. Over his NHL career, Shedden played 416 regular season games with Pittsburgh, Detroit Red Wings, Quebec Nordiques and Toronto Maple Leafs.

His pro career continued on for two seasons after his final NHL game. Shedden split the 1991-92 season between HC Davos of Switzerland’s National League B and Bolzano in Italy. In 1992-93, Doug finished off his career with the Muskegon Fury of the Colonial Hockey League.

Never skipping a beat, Shedden has been a head coach somewhere each year since retiring as a player. He has won championships four times in the Central Hockey League (1993-94, 1994-95, 2001-02, 2002-03) and once in the Colonial Hockey League (1999-00). He was named as the Commissioners Trophy recipient in the Central Hockey League for the 1993-94 season as Coach of the Year.

Doug had a three year stint as head coach in Finland’s SM-Liiga. In 2008, he coached Team Finland to a Bronze medal at the IIHF World Hockey Championships.

Shedden is currently in his third year as head coach of Zug in Switzerland’s National League A.

Shedden will have six Ontario Hockey League grads to direct at the Spengler Cup. Find out who there are here.

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Yesterday, we featured the six Ontario Hockey League grads that are playing for Team Canada at the 2010 Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland. Today, we look at the eleven OHL grads that are spread out over the other five teams in the tournament. If the player’s name is highlighted in blue, clicking on the name will take you to a previous post at OHL Alumni Central featuring that alumnus.

HC Davos

Petr Taticek – Petr played two seasons for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, 2001-02 and 2002-03.

Genève-Servette

Dan Fritsche – Dan played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2001-02 to 2004-05. He played with the Sarnia Sting up until midway through his final season when he joined the London Knights.

Jeff Toms – Jeff played three seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds from 1991-92 to 1993-94.

Spartak Moskva

Branko Radivojevic – Branko played three seasons with the Belleville Bulls from 1998-99 to 2000-01.

Stefan Ruzicka – Stefan played two seasons with the Owen Sound Attack, 2003-04 and 2004-05.

SKA St. Petersburg

Alexei Semenov – Alexei played three seasons with the Sudbury Wolves from 1998-99 to 2000-01.

Maxim Rybin – Maxim played two seasons with the Sarnia Sting, 1999-00 and 2000-01.

HC Sparta Praha

Marek Bartanus – Marek played two seasons with the Owen Sound Attack, 2005-06 and 2006-07.

Jakub Koreis – Jakub played just one season with the Guelph Storm, 2003-04.

Tomas Kurka – Tomas played two seasons with the Plymouth Whalers, 1999-00 and 2000-01.

Radek Smolenak – Radek played two seasons with the Kingston Frontenacs, 2004-05 and 2005-06.

Thinking the title is a typo and that it should say seven players? Different Team Canada. Six Ontario Hockey League grads will be on the roster of Team Canada for the upcoming Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland. You can actually make that seven if you include assistant coach, Doug Shedden.

For those who don’t know, the Spengler is an inviational tournament held between Christmas and New Year’s every year in Davos, Switzerland. Team Canada and HC Davos are perennial participants while the other teams are selected each year from Europe’s elite leagues. This season, Genève-Servette (Swiss National League A), Spartak Moskva (Russia’s KHL), SKA St. Petersburg (Russia’s KHL) and HC Sparta Praha (Czech Republic’s Extraliga) round out the headliners.

The six OHL grads are as follows (click on each name to view a previous post at OHL Alumni Central featuring that player):

Tyler Moss – Tyler played for the Kingston Frontenacs for three years from 1992-93 to 1994-95. He is now the goaltender for the SCL Lions in Switzerland’s National League A.

Mark Popovic – Mark played four seasons with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors from 1998-99 to 2001-02. He is currently playing for HC Lugano in the National League A.

Brendan Bell – Brendan played with the Ottawa 67′s for four seasons from 1999-00 to 2002-03. Mark is currently a member of HC Biel in the NLA.

Brendan Brooks – Brendan played just one season in the Ontario Hockey League, 1997-98. His season in the OHL was split between the Owen Sound Platers and the North Bay Centennials. Brendan joins Tyler Moss on the SCL Tigers.

Mark Bell – Mark played four seasons with the Ottawa 67′s from 1996-97 to 1999-00. Mark is a member of the Kloten Flyers in the NLA.

Blaine Down – Blane played for the Barrie Colts for three seasons from 1999-00 to 2001-02. He is currently playing for ZSC Lions from Zurich in the NLA.

Tomorrow, we’ll feature the OHL Alumni on the other five teams in the tournament.

Peter Sarno was left without a team for the 2010-11 season until this week when the Ontario Hockey League grad signed up with Lausanne of Switzerland’s National League B. Sarno had spent the past three seasons in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga.

Peter played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1996-97 to 1998-99. His first two seasons were spent with the Windsor Spitfires and his final season was with the Sarnia Sting. In his final two seasons in the league, Sarno won the Eddie Powers Trophy as the league’s top point getter. In 1997-98 he notched 121 points and in his final season he increased the total to 130. He also led the league in assists both seasons with totals of 88 and 93. In his first season with Windsor, he was honoured with the Emms Family Award as the OHL’s rookie of the year.

Sarno was taken by the Edmonton Oilers in the sixth round of the 1997 NHL draft, 141st overall. In all, Peter got into seven career NHL games, six with the Oilers and one with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

A set up man in the style of Adam Oates or Joe Thornton, Sarno led the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs in assists during the 2000-01 season with 46. He led the AHL’s Manitoba Moose in assists (66) and points (82) in 2004-05 while finished sixth in league scoring. In 2007-08, he led the DEL’s Hamburg Freezers in assists (48) and points (74).

His European play began with a test season in 2002-03 with the Blues of Finland’s SM-Liiga. He returned to Europe for 2006-07 to play for Gottéron of Switzerland’s National League A. He followed that up with two seasons with Hamburg and this past season he played for the DEL’s Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg.

He is currently under contract with Lausanne until January 31, 2011.

Check out Peter Sarno’s profile page on the Lausanne official website.