OHL Alumni Central

In 2005, the Ontario Hockey League provided just five players to Team Canada for the IIHF World Juniors. Those five players played a major role in Canada winning its first Gold Medal since 1997. The victory sparked a streak of five consecutive golds. All five are still active in professional hockey with four in the National Hockey League and one in the AHL. Four of the five were first round picks at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Three were team captains of the OHL clubs.

Danny Syvret played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2002-03 to 2004-05 with the London Knights. Syvret was taken in the third round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers, 81st overall. Danny has played sparingly in the NHL with the Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers and Anaheim Ducks. He is currently a member of the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League.

Jeff Carter spent four years with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds from 2001-02 to 2004-05. Carter was the eleventh overall pick of the Broad Street Bullies at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Jeff played six years with the Flyers and is in his first season with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Corey Perry was a member of the London Knights for four seasons from 2001-02 to 2004-05. Corey was the 28th pick in the first round of the 2003 draft, going to the Anaheim Ducks. Perry is in his seventh season with the Ducks, having won a Stanley Cup in his first season with the club and the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL’s top goal scorer this past season.

Michael Richards played four years with the Kitchener Rangers from 2001-02 to 2004-05. He was picked four places ahead of Corey Perry at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. Richards played six years with the Flyers and is in his first season with the Los Angeles Kings.

Anthony Stewart played with the Kingston Frontenacs for four years from 2001-02 to 2004-05. He directly followed Richards at the 2003 draft, picked by the Florida Panthers. He has played in the NHL for the Panthers, Atlanta Thrashers and Carolina Hurricanes. 2011-12 is his first season with Carolina.

With less than a month to go before the start of the 2012 World Juniors, here’s hoping that the Ontario Hockey League can once again contribute players of the same calibre as those from 2005.

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.

Ontario Hockey League alumnus, Jamie Wright, has signed on with EHC Basel Sharks of the Swiss-B National League for the 2010-11 season. In 2009-10, Wright played in Germany’s DEL for the Frankfurt Lions and an additional 10 games with Sierre-Anniviers of the Swiss-B league.

Jamie played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1993-94 to 1995-96, all with the Guelph Storm. Wright averaged over a point per game over the three seasons and excelled in his second season with 43 goals and 82 points in 65 games. He was a member of Team Canada at the 1996 World Junior Hockey Championships.

Wright was a fourth round pick of the Dallas Stars in the 1994 NHL draft. Jamie played a total of 124 games in the NHL with the Dallas Stars, Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers.

In 2005-06, he made the jump to Europe and played in Finland. Jamie has spent the past four seasons on a mix of teams in Germany and Switzerland.

Jamie is already profiled on the EHC Basel Sharks official website.

Click here to view Jamie Wright’s profile page at the DEL official website.

10 of the 22 players on the Team Canada roster at the 2010 IIHF World Hockey Championships are graduates of the Ontario Hockey League. The team is full of youth and most of the OHL alumni are quite recent grads. All ten players are currently members of National Hockey League teams.

Michael Del Zotto played three seasons in the OHL from 2006-07 to 2008-09. His first two full seasons were spent with the Oshawa Generals. Midway through 2008-09, Del Zotto was traded to the London Knights in the same deal that would bring John Tavares from Oshawa. A first round pick of the New York Rangers in 2008, Michael went directly to the NHL club after junior and instantly became a mainstay on the Rangers’ blueline.

Marc Giordano played two seasons in the OHL, 2002-03 and 2003-04, both with the Owen Sound Attack. In the Calgary Flames organization since 2005-06, this past season was his first playing all 82 regular season games. As of the end of the 2009-10 season, Marc has logged 195 NHL games, all with Calgary.

Brent Burns played just one season in the OHL. He played the 2002-03 season with the Brampton Battalion. Burns was picked 20th overall in the first round of the 2003 NHL draft by the Minnesota Wild. Many were surprised that as an 18-year old, Brent wasn’t returned by the Wild to the OHL for the 2003-04 season. Other than 2004-05, the NHL strike season, when he played for the AHL’s Houston Aeros, Brent has played for the Wild throughout his NHL career.

Steve Downie played four seasons in the OHL. He began his junior career with the Windsor Spitfires in 2003-04. Downie was traded to the Peterborough Petes after just one game in 2005-06. In that one game with Windsor, Steve had a hat-trick. Midway through 2006-07, he was traded again, this time to the Kitchener Rangers. Downie had a short but great playoff run with the Rangers with 22 points in just 9 games. A first round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2005, Steve has played 140 NHL games between the Flyers and the Tampa Bay Lightning with this past season being his first full season in the NHL.

Corey Perry played four seasons in the OHL from 2001-02 to 2004-05, all with the London Knights. In his final season, he was league scoring champ as well a member of the Robertson Cup and Memorial Cup winning Knights. A first round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2005, he has become one of the team’s and the league’s top players.

Marc Staal played four seasons in the OHL from 2003-04 to 2006-07, all with the Sudbury Wolves. In his final season, he was awarded the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the league’s top defenseman. He was also awarded the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as the OHL playoff MVP despite the Wolves losing out to the Plymouth Whalers in the Robertson Cup finals. A first round pick of the New York Rangers in the 2005 NHL draft, Marc has just completed his third season with the team.

John Tavares played four seasons in the OHL from 2005-06 to 2008-09. He was an Oshawa General until midway through his final season when he was traded to the London Knights. John’s awards in junior hockey are numerous and he holds the OHL record for most points in a career. Picked first overall in the 2009 NHL draft by the New York Islanders, John played all 82 games with the team this season, contributing 54 points.

Steve Ott played three seasons in the OHL from 1999-00 to 2001-02, all with the Windsor Spitfires. A first round pick of the Dallas Stars in the 2000 NHL draft, Steve has continued his pesky ways, totalling 831 PIM in 410 career regular season games with the club.

Steve Stamkos played two seasons in the OHL, 2006-07 and 2007-08, both with the Sarnia Sting. His 58 goals in 2007-08 was second in the league to Brett MacLean’s 61. Stamkos was the first overall pick in the 2008 NHL draft, taken by the Tampa Bay Lightning. In his second full season with the team,  2009-10, he scored 51 goals which made him co-owner of the Maurice Richard Trophy for most goals, sharing with Sydney Crosby.

Matt Duchene played two seasons in the OHL, 2007-08 and 2008-09, both with the Brampton Battalion. In his final season, he was a big part of a Battalion team that would make it to the Robertson Cup finals before succumbing to the almighty Windsor Spitfires. The third overall pick in the 2009 NHL draft, Matt enjoyed immediate success this past season in his rookie year with the Colorado Avalanche, with a 55-point performance in 81 games.

Check out these other posts on OHL grads playing at the 2010 IIHF World Hockey Championships:

Oskar Osala playing for Team Finland

John Parco playing for Team Italy

Nick Plastino playing for Team Italy

2 OHL alumni on Team Czech Republic

Subban as a member of Team Canada at the World Junior Championships.

Former Belleville Bull, Team Canada World Junior Alumnus and current Hamilton Bulldog, P.K. Subban, has been called up to the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens as the Habs deal with injuries heading into the Olympic break. Subban represented Team Canada in the 2010 AHL All-Star Classic versus Team Planet USA.

In other news…

Jeff Carter and Steve Mason have been put on alert as possible replacements on Team Canada for the 2010 Olympics in case of an injury emergency. Carter is a member of the Philadelphia Flyers and a Sault Ste. Marie Greyhound grad. Mason plays between the pipes for the Columbus Blue Jackets and is a former London Knight and Kitchener Ranger.