OHL Alumni Central

With a measly 50 wins in 2009-10, the Windsor Spitfires won the Robertson Cup / Memorial Cup combo for the second consecutive year. The Barrie Colts had the best record in the Ontario Hockey League, ten points better than the Spitfires, but it was Windsor who prevailed when the two met in the OHL finals.

Nine players from the 2009-10 Spitfires moved on to pro hockey jobs in 2010-11. Two other sought higher education and played OUA hockey in Ontario. Six of the nine players saw action in the National Hockey League and two played their full seasons in the NHL.

Mark Cundari played in 69 games for the American Hockey League’s Peoria Rivermen.

Cam Fowler played in 75 on the point for the Anaheim Ducks and had a season worthy of Calder Memorial Trophy consideration.

Harry Young, playing in the New Jersey Devils organization, played 52 games with the AHL Albany Devils and three with the ECHL Trenton Devils.

The first overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Taylor Hall, played in 65 games with the Edmonton Oilers before a season ending injury. Hall scored 22 in those 65 games with the lowly Oilers and is being considered for the Calder.

Adam Henrique played the bulk of his first pro season with the AHL’s Albany Devils. He got up to the NHL Devils for one game.

Dale Mitchell avoided the abusive Toronto press by staying with the Maple Leafs farm clubs, the Toronto Marlies and Reading Royals.

Greg Nemisz played six games with the NHL’s Calgary Flames but played most of the season with their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat.

Scott Timmins appeared in 19 games with the Florida Panthers and spent the rest of his time with their AHL club, the Rochester Americans.

Eric Wellwood played 73 games in the AHL with the Adirondack Phantoms. Wellwood was a call-up for three games with the NHL Philadelphia Flyers.

Goaltender Josh Unice and left winger Conor O’Donnell played university hockey in the OUA. Unice played for the University of Western Ontario Mustangs and O’Donnell played for Nipissing.

Jason Ward changed course for 2010-11 and played his first season outside of North America, fifteen years after starting in the Ontario Hockey League. Ward has spent the season with EHC Linz  in Austria’s Erste Bank Eishockey Liga, a team that sits right in the middle of the EBEL at fifth place out of ten teams.

Ward played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1995-96 to 1998-99. He began with the Niagara Falls Thunder and moved with the team in his second year when they became the Erie Otters. His third season began with the Otters and ended with the Windsor Spitfires. His final season started with Windsor and ended with the Plymouth Whalers.

Twice, Jason played in the IIHF Under-20 World Junior Championships for Team Canada. In 1998, Canada finished out of medal contention. In 1999, the team lost a squeeker to Russia in the final game and took home the silver medal.

Ward was a first round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, going eleventh overall. Jason played parts of four seasons with the Canadiens and has also played NHL hockey for the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and Tampa Bay Lightning.

In 2002-03, with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL, Ward finished just out of the top ten point-getters with 72. The team went to the Calder Cup finals before being eliminated by the Houston Aeros in seven games. That season, Jason played on Team Canada at the AHL All-Star, contributing a goal and an assist. He was honoured with the Les Cunningham Award as the AHL’s Most Valuable Player.

It is not know where Jason will play in 2011-12. He was joined on EHC Linz this season by another Ontario Hockey League grad, Rob Shearer.

Check out Jason Ward’s profile page at the EHC Linz official website.

The Netherlands likes Ontario Hockey League goaltenders. Two of the eight teams in the Eredivisie, the country’s elite hockey league, used OHL grads as their main keeper this season.

Matt Anthony played three years in the Ontario Hockey League from 2001-02 to 2003-04, all with the Windsor Spitfires. He played a backup role in his first two seasons. Anthony played the bulk of Windsor’s games in 2003-04, appearing in 54 with a goals against average of 3.00 and a save percentage of .902.

This is Matt’s third season with Eindhoven Kemphanen. This season, the team finished fifth out of eight teams during the regular season. Anthony’s 3.75 GAA was good enough for fourth in the highly offensive Eredivisie.

At 6’3″, Stephane Cesar is a radical contrast to Anthony who stands at 5’9″. Cesar played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League as a backup in 2006-07 and 2007-08. Stephane appeared in nine games with the London Knights in 2006-07 and eight more in 2007-08 before being shipped to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. In four games with the Greyhounds, Cesar posted great numbers with a 2.10 GAA and .921 save percentage.

This is Stephane’s second season in the Eredivisie. He played last season with Heerenveen Flyers and this season he’s the number one goalie for Nijmegen Devils. The Devils are the reigning Eredivisie champions and finished fourth out of the eight teams this season.

Matt Anthony’s profile can be found at the Eindhoven Kemphanen official website.

Stephane Cesar’s profile can be found at the Hijmegen Devils official website.

A few days ago, we featured another Ontario Hockey League grad playing in the Eredivisie, Marc Lefebvre.

He was Ahren Nittel with the Windsor Spitfires. He’s usually now listest as Ahren Spylo-Nittel. His current team, Biel of Switzerland’s National League A simply lists him as Ahren Spylo. No matter the name, this Ontario Hockey League grad is going strong in Europe.

Ahren played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2000-01 to 2002-03. He started his OHL career with the Windsor Spitfires and moved over to the Oshawa Generals midway through his final season.

Spylo-Nittel was taken by the New Jersey Devils in the third round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, 85th overall. Ahren played three seasons with New Jerseys AHL affiliate, the Albany Rivers Rats, from 2003-04 to 2005-06. In his second season, while only playing 50 games, he led the team in goals with 25.

He made the jump to European hockey in 2006-07 and with exception to a couple of games played in the ECHL in 2009-10, he has been there since. Ahren has made stops in Germany and Russia as well as his current league in Switzerland. With the Nürnburg Ice Tigers of Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga in 2007-08, he led the team in goals (41) and points (61) in 56 games. He was selected to Team Nord Amerika for the 2008 DEL All-Star game. As a member of the DEL’s Adler Mannheim, he competed in the 2009 Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland.

This is his first season with Biel and he currently leads the team in goals and points, running neck and neck with teammate and Ontario Hockey League grad, Rico Fata. The team has just extended Spylo-Nittel’s contract through next season.

You can check out Ahren Spylo-Nittel’s profile at the Biel official website.

Michal Jordan played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 2007-08 to 2009-10. Jordan began his OHL career with the Windsor Spitfires before being traded midway through is first season to the Plymouth Whalers.

During his first season in the Ontario Hockey League, Michal represented the Czech Republic at both the Under-18 and Under-20 World Hockey Championships. Jordan would appear in the Under-20 Tournament in each of his three OHL seasons and was the captain of the Czech team in 2010.

Michal Jordan was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the fourth round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, 105th overall. The following year, Jordan was taken in the fourth round of Russia’s KHL draft, 80th overall by SKA St. Petersburg.

Jordan is currently playing with Carolina’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. Michal is under contract in the Carolina organization until the end of the 2012-13 season.

Check out Michal Jordan’s profile page at the Charlotte Checkers official website.