OHL Alumni Central

Greg Chambers as a Basingstoke Bison.

Greg Chambers was a 40 goal scorer in two of his three Ontario Hockey League seasons. The NHL shunned him but Great Britain cherishes him. Greg played three seasons with the Peterborough Petes from 2000-01 to 2002-03. He led the Petes in total points for the 2001-02 season and was just slightly overshadowed by Eric Staal for the team lead in 2002-03.

Chambers played one season in the ECHL with the Pensacola Ice Pilots in 2003-04 before heading to Europe. He played a season in Italy’s LIHG before settling down in Great Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).

Greg spent his first four seasons with the now defunct Basingstoke Bison of the EIHL. This past season was his first with the Coventry Blaze and he contributed 75 points in 51 games while helping the Blaze to the EIHL title.

For the past three seasons, Chambers has represented Great Britain at the D1 World Championships. In 2007-08, he lead all scorers in the tournament with 11 points. In 2008-09, while helping Great Britain to a bronze medal, Greg led the tournament with six assists. This past world championship, 2009-10, Chambers had the distinction of being the most penalized player in the tournament.

Greg has signed on for the 2010-11 season with the Coventry Blaze. This upcoming season looks to be a fantastic season for the EIHL as more and more imports find their way to Great Britain and mix with some great local talent. The Blaze are looking to be one of the front-runners again. Word is, ice hockey is taking over as the country’s most popular sport.

Check out Greg Chambers’ profile page on the Coventry Blaze official website.

Above photo courtesy of BRLD @ Flickr.

John Parco played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League from 1988-89 to 1990-91, all with the Belleville Bulls. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario born player provided the Bulls with plenty of offence, totalling 257 regular season points in just 195 games.

John was a late, 12th round pick, of the Philadelphia Flyers back in 1991. He played just two seasons of North American hockey. The bulk of the 1994-95 season was played with the Hampton Roads Admirals of the ECHL but he also made short appearances with the San Diego Gulls of the IHL (6 games) and 3 games with the Saint John Flames of the AHL (3 games). He went back and played one more season with the Admirals in 1999-00.

A long standing veteran with Asiago HC of Lega Italiana Hockey su Ghiaccio, Italy’s top hockey league. He played with the club in 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1995-96 before returning to stay in 2001-02. This season was his 8th consecutive with the team and he is currently the team captain. Parco has also played professionally in Germany and Great Britain.

John will appear at the 2010 IIHF World Championships in Germany as a member of Team Italy.

To view John’s profile on Asiago HC’s official website, click here and scroll across until his name and picture come up. Simply click on his picture to view the profile. Parco won’t be the only name on Asiago HC familiar to OHL fans. To read a previous post on OHL alumni playing for Asiago HC, click here.

Oskar Osala with Finland's Espoo Blues during the 2007-08 season.

Oskar Osala played two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Mississauga IceDogs, 2005-06 and 2006-07.

Despite being selected 97th overall by the Washington Capitals in the 2006 NHL draft, Oskar went back to his homeland for the 2007-08 season and played for the Espoo Blues of Finland’s SM Liiga.

He would return to North America for the 2008-09 season and play the majority of his time with Washington’s AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. The Bears would finish first in the Eastern Conference and would go all the way to a Calder Cup victory as the league’s playoff champion. During that season, Osala would play two games with the Capitals.

This season saw him traded to the Carolina Hurricanes organization where he played with their AHL affiliate, the Albany River Rats. Oskar saw one game with the Hurricanes, bringing his NHL career total to 3 games.

Oskar is currently on the roster of the Finnish National Team that will compete at the 2010 IIHF World Championships in Germany this May.

To view Oskar Osala’s profile page on the AHL’s official website, click here.

Check out this post of a popular OHL grad playing in Finland:

Scott Barney Playing for Saipa in Finland