A Showdown of OHA Alumni in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final
JUNE 11 – A spot on a National Hockey League (NHL) roster is something that every player ultimately wants to earn; to live the life of a professional hockey player is the goal for every single skater in the Ontario Hockey Association.
Each season the OHA takes a look at its alumni who will be playing in the NHL Final, who will have a chance to hoist the greatest trophy in all of sports, the Stanley Cup.
This season the OHA boasts eight Alumni members spread out over the final two clubs. Both the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks have players with ties to one another dating back over 13 seasons ago.
On the Eastern Conference Boston Bruins, Gregory Campbell was a key reason why the club has made it this far. Sadly Campbell suffered a broken leg in the conference final and will most likely be sidelined for the remainder of the season. With ties for Campbell bringing him back to both Aylmer and St. Thomas, Ontario, you can bet that there are two communities hoping that he can enjoy his second Stanley Cup championship. Back in 1998-99 Campbell scored 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists) in 49 games as a 15-year-old with the Aylmer Aces Junior C Hockey club (now the Aylmer Spitfires). The following season, Campbell took his developing game with him to St. Thomas where he scored 20 points (12 goals, 8 assists). He then went on to a successful OHL Career in the OHL where he won a Memorial Cup with the Kitchener Rangers.
This post season Nathan Horton has helped out at all ends of the ice. The Boston Bruins have enjoyed having him this time around, as he suffered a concussion and was unable to play in the finals for the Bruins when the won the Cup two seasons ago. In 2000-2001, Horton was a key member of the Thorold Blackhawks. In just a single season Horton netted 47 points in 41 games. He was just 15-years-old and managed to win the OHA’s BJ Monro Memorial Trophy as the OHA’s top player. Following Horton’s season in the OHA, he went on to play two seasons in the OHL before being drafted by the Florida Panthers third overall in the 2003 NHL Draft. He would, like many of his current teammates in Boston, win a cup with the Bruins in 2011.
Chris Kelly, another key member of the Boston Bruins 2011 Stanley Cup winning team is also a former OHA player. During the 1996-97 seasons, playing for the Aurora Tigers as a 16-year-old, Kelly netted 34 points (14 goals, 20 assists) in 49 games. Kelly went on to play four seasons in the OHL before being drafted in the NHL Entry Draft, 69th overall in 1999. Kelly is currently in his ninth year as a NHL player, a true example of determination and desire.
In 1999 as a member of the Welland Cougars (now Canadians), Daniel Paille was a massive reason why the club had so much success. Scoring 31 points in 42 regular season games, Paille proved to be a real asset to the Cougars in the post season. In 16 playoff games that year, he scored an outstanding 16 goals and 16 assists for a total of 32 points in 16 games. The Welland native played four seasons with the Guelph Storm of the OHL following that performance. In 2002, Paille was selected 20th overall by the Buffalo Sabres. He would go onto play five seasons with the Sabres before being dealt to the Boston Bruins in 2009. Winning the Stanley Cup in 2011, Paille is looking forward to calling himself a champion once again.
The final member of the Boston Bruins who is looking at hoisting the coveted Stanley Cup for a second time in his career is Rich Peverley. As a 16-year-old back in 1998, Peverley was outstanding on the Kitchener Dutchmen. In 47 games he managed to score 43 points. That following season he played with the Milton Merchants (now Icehawks) where he scored 45 points in 45 games. Choosing an NCAA scholarship, the Guelph native had a successful career in the NCAA, playing with the St. Lawrence University Skating Saints. He led the team in scoring three of his four seasons with the team. Undrafted into the NHL, Peverley had stints in the ECHL with the South Carolina Stingrays and the Reading Royals, before playing three seasons in the AHL. In 2007 Peverley finally found his way to the NHL, playing with the Nashville Predators. He would later get traded to the Atlanta Thrashers before making his way to the Boston Bruins in February 2011, just in time for the playoffs and a Bruins championship.
Back in 2001 as member of the Milton Merchants (now Icehawks), a 16-year-old Daniel Carcillo scored 31 points in 47 games. That same season the King City, Ontario native managed to get 162 penalty minutes. This caught the eye of the Sarnia Sting of the OHL where he would go on to play three seasons with the club before being dealt to the Mississauga Ice Dogs. In 2003 Carcillo would get drafted to the Pittsburgh Penguins 73rd overall in the NHL Entry Draft. It would be in 2006 that he would find his way into the NHL with the Phoenix Coyotes. Carcillo would eventually get traded in 2008 to the Philadelphia Flyers. In 2011 he would get traded to the Chicago Blackhawks and with this being his first time in the cup finals, you can bet he wants nothing more than a shot at hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup.
As a 17-year-old, Jamal Mayers was an outstanding force when he played in the OHA. For his single season in 1991 this young man made his presence felt as a member of the Thornhill Thunderbirds when he scored an amazing 107 points (38 goals, 69 assists) in 56 games. Mayers would go on to play in the NCAA with Western Michigan University where he would become a star player in his four seasons at the school. Drafted 89th overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues, Mayers would go onto play nine seasons with the team before getting dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs. After just a season and a half in Toronto he would end up playing with the Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks before signing with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2011. In 15 NHL seasons, Mayers has never won the Stanley Cup, this could be his year.
The last 2013 NHL finalist who was also an OHA Alumni member is also none other than Blackhawks backup Ray Emery. The Blackhawks picked Emery up as a free agent in 2011 and he’s enjoyed his time with the team since then. Prior to his NHL career, the Hamilton Ontario native played Junior C Hockey with the Dunnville Terriers. In 1998 with the Terriers, Emery managed to win three games out of his 22 starts. The following season he would graduate to a higher level of hockey, playing with Daniel Paille in Welland with the Cougars. On the Cougars Emery would go on to win 13 of his 23 games. Following that season with the Cougars, he would go on to play three seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. In 2001 the Ottawa Senators selected him 99th overall in the NHL Entry Draft. If the Blackhawks can pull off their second Stanley Cup win in four years it would be Emery’s first in his seven year NHL career.
With nine former OHA players participating in the 2013 NHL Final, the OHA certainly has much to boast about. In the OHA the slogan “Where the Best Develop,” is certainly apparent with the large number of alumni players who are making their way to the top hockey league in the world. To the nine players on both the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks, we wish you the best of luck.
