OHL Alumni Central

We give Italy’s Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio Serie A1 a fair amount of attention here at OHL Alumni Central. With five Ontario Hockey League grads among the the top ten scorers as of Dec 9, 2010 and nineteen in the top one hundred, the attention is well deserved.

Here’s how our guys are doing in Italy. The number in front of their name refers to the position they sit at in the LIHG scoring race. Names that are hyperlinked will take you to a previous post at OHL Alumni Central featuring that player. (GP-G-A-PTS):

2. Luciano Aquino, Valpellice (16-12-21-33). Aquino played two seasons with the Brampton Battalion, 2004-05 and 2005-06.

3. Anthony Aquino, Valpellice (18-8-21-29). Anthony played one season with the Oshawa Generals in 2002-03.

4. Dan Tudin, Ritten/Renon (19-12-16-28). Dan played four seasons with the Ottawa 67′s from 1995-96 to 1998-99.

5. Ryan McDonough, Valpellice (18-14-11-25). Ryan played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2004-05 to 2007-08. His first season was with the Sudbury Wolves before becoming a Saginaw Spirit.

9. Michael Henrich, Asiago (18-10-12-22). Michael played four seasons with the Barrie Colts from 1996-97 to 1999-00.

18. Matt Kelly, Val Pusteria (19-6-14-20). Matt played four seasons with the Belleville Bulls from 2002-03 to 2005-06.

23. Marty Wilford, Fassa (17-3-16-19). Marty played three seasons with the Oshawa Generals from 1994-95 to 1996-97.

26. Kevin Baker, Ritten/Renon (18-7-11-18). Kevin played three seasons with the Belleville Bulls from 1997-98 to 1999-00.

30. Adam Henrich, Asiago (13-7-10-17). Adam played four seasons with the Brampton Battalion from 2000-01 to 2003-04.

33. John Vigilante, Asiago (17-7-9-16). John played four seasons with the Plymouth Whalers from 2002-03 to 2005-06.

43. Marco Insam, Bolzano (15-11-3-14). Marco played two seasons, 2008-09 and 2009-10, with the Niagara IceDogs.

46. Colin Chaulk, Alleghe (18-3-11-14). Colin played four seasons with the Kingston Frontenacs from 1994-95 to 1997-98.

47. Ryan Martinelli, Valpellice (18-2-12-14). Ryan played three seasons with the London Knights from 2004-05 to 2006-07.

52. Ralph Intranuovo, Asiago (14-6-6-12). Ralph played three seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds from 1990-91 to 1992-93.

55. Nick Plastino, Asiago (18-2-10-12). Nick played four seasons with the Barrie Colts from 2003-04 to 2006-07.

56. Tyler Doig, Val Pusteria (8-1-11-12). Tyler played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2003-04 to 2006-07, split between the Barrie Colts, Guelph Storm and Belleville Bulls.

70. Gerome Giudice, Fassa (15-3-7-10). Gerome played four seasons with the Sudbury Wolves from 2005-06 to 2008-09.

84. John Parco, Asiago (8-3-3-6). John played three seasons with the Belleville Bulls from 1988-89 to 1990-91.

89. David Bowman, Alleghe (18-1-5-6). David played four seasons with the Windsor Spitfires from 2000-01 to 2003-04.

Check out the LIHG’s official website.

Tyler Doig as a member of the Reading Royals of the ECHL.

Twice he was his team’s leader in assists in the East Coast Hockey League. Tyler Doig is every bit the playmaker in the early going with HC Pustertal of Italy’s Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio. Yet to put one in the net, Doig has set up eight in his first six games with the team.

Tyler Doig played in the Ontario Hockey League from 2003-04 to 2006-07. His first season consisted of just one game with the Barrie Colts. He played 2004-05 and 2005-06 exclusively with the Guelph Storm and his final sesaon was split between the Storm and the Belleville Bulls.

With the Storm in 2005-06, Doig contributed 49 points in 68 regular season games. Tyler added seven points in 15 playoff games as the Storm lost out in the Western Conference finals to the London Knights. The following season, he increased his point total to 80 (49 with Guelph and 31 with Belleville). He added 17 points in 15 playoff games as the Bulls made it to the Eastern Conference finals before losing out to the Sudbury Wolves in six games.

Undrafted by an NHL team, Tyler played under the Toronto Maple Leafs organization for his first two seasons in pro hockey. 2007-08 was split between the ECHL’s Columbia Inferno and the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. 2008-09 was split between the ECHL’s Reading Royals and the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. 2009-10 saw Doig move to the New York Rangers Organization where he spent most of the season with the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL and two games with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. He was an ECHL all-star in both 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Tyler led the Reading Royals in assists (41) and points (59) during the 2008-09 season. This past season, 2009-10, he led the Charlotte Checkers in assists (51) and points (68). Doig also added an element of toughness with the Checkers with 142 PIM.

Joining Doig on HC Pustertal is fellow Belleville Bulls grad, Matt Kelly. The two were featured in an earlier post at OHL Alumni Central.

Check out Tyler Doig’s profile page at the LIHG’s official stats page.

Matt Kelly with the ECHL's Victoria Salmon Kings.

A couple of Belleville Bulls alumni will be playing together in Italy for the 2010-11 season with HC Pusteral of the Lega Italiana Hockey Ghiaccio (LIHG).

Matt Kelly enters his second season with the Pusteral Wolves. Matt played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2002-03 to 2005-06, all with the Belleville Bulls. The defenseman played three seasons in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) with the Victoria Salmon Kings before heading to Italy. Additionally, Kelly has a total of ten games in the American Hockey League (AHL), all with the Manitoba Moose. Matt lead the LIHG in 2009-10 with the most assists and points by a defenseman.

Tyler Doig played in the Ontario Hockey League for four seasons from 2003-04 to 2006-07. His first season in the OHL consisted of just one game with the Barrie Colts. The following two and a half seasons were spent with the Guelph Storm. In his final Ontario Hockey League season, 2006-07, Doig was traded to the Belleville Bulls mid-season. Tyler played 25 regular season games and 15 playoff games with the Bulls. In his final season, he contributed 80 points in 61 regular season games as well as 17 points in 15 playoff games with the Bulls.

For the three seasons since leaving the OHL, Tyler Doig has played for three different ECHL teams (Columbus Inferno, Reading Royals, Charlotte Checkers) and two different AHL teams (Toronto Marlies, Hartford Wolf Pack). Pusteral is looking forward to Doig’s consistent offensive abilities.

The team plays out of Bruneck which is located in the far northeast of Italy, very near the border with Austria. 83% of the population speak German and only 15% speak Italian. The team plays out of the Leitner Solar Arena which seats just 2,100 for hockey.

Read the article on Tyler Doig’s signing that appears on the team’s official website (sorry – only in Italian and German).

Check out Matt Kelly’s profile page on the team’s official website.

The New York Rangers system consists of the main team, their AHL affiliate in Hartford and their ECHL affiliate in Charlotte. There are 24 Ontario Hockey League alumni between these three teams. In this post, and the following two, we’ll spotlight the OHL grads on each of these teams.

The Charlotte Checkers are a shared affiliate of the Rangers and the Colorado Avalanche. There are 9 OHL grads on the Checkers. Click on the player’s name to view their profile page on the Charlotte Checkers official website.

Ryan Munce played three seasons between the pipes for the Sarnia Sting from 2002-03 to 2004-05. He has played most of professional career in the ECHL with short stops in the AHL, amounting to 13 games. From junior to the pros, Ryan has consistently attained a .914 save percentage, never dropping below .904.

Trevor Hendrikx put in five solid seasons on the blueline with the Peterborough Petes from 2001-02 to 2005-06. A recent aquisition by the Checkers, Trevor started the season with the ECHL’s Johnstown Chiefs. A Columbus Blue Jacket draft pick, Trevor has yet to reach higher than the ECHL.

Steve Ward played five seasons in the OHL. 2002-03 and 2003-04 were spent with the Sarnia Sting and he was a Plymouth Whaler from 2004-05 to 2006-07. 2008-09 was a year of travel for Steve, to say the least. By the time he landed in Charlotte, he’d spent time on five other rosters over the course of the season. Starting with the Reading Royals, there were stops in Albany, San Antonio, Norfolk and Portland. He has settled in with the Checkers and has put in a solid season this year with just the one team.

Tyler Doig’s first season in the OHL, 2003-04, consisted of just one game with the Barrie Colts. 2004-05 and 2005-06 were spent with the Guelph Storm. 2006-07 was split between the Storm and the Belleville Bulls. Tyler is currently the leading point-getter on the Checkers.

Devin DiDiomete played for the Sudbury Wolves for 3 seasons from 2004-05 to 2006-07 before finishing off his OHL career with the Sarnia Sting in 2007-08. Devin played a good portion of this season with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL before being sent down to the Checkers.

Daniel Tkaczuk had a stellar OHL career with the Barrie Colts from 1995-96 to 1998-99. He represented Canada at the World Junior Tournament in 1999 and came home with a silver medal. Daniel spent 6 seasons in Europe before returning to the North American game this season.

T.J. Reynolds played his first two OHL seasons, 1998-99 and 1999-00 with the Oshawa Generals. 2000-01 was split between the Generals and the St. Michael’s Majors. 2001-02 was split between the Majors and the Mississauga IceDogs. This is T.J.’s first season with the Checkers and he is, by far, the team’s PIM leader, averaging around 4.7 minutes per game in the box.

Randy Rowe played for the Belleville Bulls from 1997-98 to 2000-01. The highlight of his OHL career was a 64 goal performance in 63 games during the 2000-01 season. Randy is property of the Lake Erie Monsters (Colorado Avalanche) and has split this season between the Monsters and the Checkers.

Chris Chappell is a Charlotte Checker but is currently not on the active roster. Chris played for the Saginaw Spirit from 2005-06 to 2008-09. He spent time with both the Wolf Pack and the Checkers in this, his first pro season.