Kitchener Rangers Grad Jakub Kindl Signs for 4 More With Detroit

In celebration of Jakub Kindl signing a four year deal with the Detroit Red Wings, through the 2016-17 season, we’ll take a look back at the 2006-07 Kitchener Rangers. 2006-07 was the last of Kindl’s three years in the Ontario Hockey League, all with the Rangers.

In 2004, Jakub was the fifth overall pick at the CHL Import Draft by Kitchener. The following spring, he was taken 19th overall at the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Red Wings. In his final two years in the OHL, Kindl played for the Czech Republic at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships...

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Simon Nolet 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee Rookie Card

The other day, we featured Guy Charron in an article. It seems fitting that we move on to Simon Nolet. Why? Because I always get the two mixed up. They both played prominent roles in the two year history of the Kansas City Scouts. They both are French-Canadian. They both sort of look alike. Other than that, there’s really not that much in common…

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Unorthodox Views of Garden Perennials

As I’m still sequestered at home in Orangeville, Ontario with little income and a one year old, I continue to shrink my world of photography, as well. I never used to give a crap about the gardens my wife was planting around the house. Now, I’m realizing that when one can’t travel off to explore new worlds, one may have a whole new world available on his own modest property...

See the awesome images here: Garden Flowers

2 OHL Grads Return to Krefeld Pinguine Through 2014-15

Krefeld Pinguine of Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) have secured two Ontario Hockey League grads through the 2014-15 season. Kyle Sonnenburg and Herberts Vasiljevs are not new to the scene in Krefeld. Sonnenburg has been with the club since the 2011-12 season while Vasiljevs will be going into his ninth year with the Pinguine...

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Guy Charron: The Best Player in the History of the Kansas City Scouts

Guy Charron was just one of those players in the pre-Bettman era that suffered from the non-parity in the National Hockey League. Charron played 734 NHL games between 1969-70 and 1980-81, all during the regular season. He had the misfortune of never playing in a single Stanley Cup playoff game. For that, he owns the infamous record for the most games played in an NHL career without appearing in the post season...

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Former NHLer Ric Jackman Signs in Austria's EBEL

After two years in South Korea with the Anyang Halla Ice Bucks, Ric Jackman is returning to a somewhat traditional hockey environment for the 2013-14 season. The Ontario Hockey League grad has signed for one year with Székesfehérvár, a team located in Hungary that plays in Austria’s Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (EBEL).

Ric Jackman

Ric played three years in the OHL from 1995-96 to 1997-98, all with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. In 1997, he played for Canada at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships held in Geneva, Switzerland. Canada won gold, despite not placing a single player among the top ten point getters. The Gold was obtained with a 2-0 shutout of the United States in the final game...

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Dusseldorfer Signs 2 OHL Grads for 2013-14 DEL Season

Dusseldorfer EG, formerly DEG Metro Stars, hope to improve vastly on their last place 2012-13 finish in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). So far, as the summer signing season continues, the only Ontario Hockey League grads on the roster come in the form of two defensemen, Andrew Hotham and Marc Zanetti...

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2 OHL Grads With Arystan Temirtau in Kazakhstan for 2013-14

Arystan Temirtau of Kazakhstan’s elite hockey league having begun to stock up for the 2013-14 season. So far, on the roster are two Ontario Hockey League grads. Both will start their first year with Temirtau.

Jordan Morrison

Morrison played four years in the Ontario Hockey League from 2002-03 to 2005-06, all with the Peterborough Petes. He was selected eleventh overall by Peterborough at the 2002 OHL Priority Selection. In 2005-06, the Petes won the Robertson Cup with a victory over the London Knights in the finals...

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1968-69 O-Pee-Chee Danny Grant Rookie Hockey Card

Like his teammate with the Peterborough Petes and Detroit Red Wings, Mickey Redmond, Danny Grant may have very well been on his way to a Hockey Hall of Fame worthy career until injuries took him down in his prime. The same fate met Redmond.

Grant played four years of junior hockey in the OHA with the Peterborough Petes from 1962-63 to 1965-66. In 1964-65, he tied for fourth in the OHA with 106 points. The leader that year, with 123 points, was Ken Hodge of the St. Catherines Black Hawks. Peterborough teammate Andre Lacroix finished second to Hodge with 119 points...

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Sheffield Steeldogs Employ 2 Ontario Hockey League Grads

The Sheffield Steeldogs of Great Britain’s English Premier Ice Hockey League (EPIHL) have signed a veteran and Ontario Hockey League grad to join forces with player-coach Andre Payette. Payette is also an OHL alumnus who has been with Sheffield for the team’s entire league history.

The Steeldogs have been in the EPIHL since the 2010-11 season and play out of the 1,500 seat IceSheffield, a fairly new venue built in 2003. In 2012-13, Sheffield finished ninth in the ten team league during the regular season and did not qualify for the post season...

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21 From 2009-10 Windsor Spitfires Active in 2012-13

The 2009-10 Windsor Spitfires have a spot in Ontario Hockey League history as one of the best teams ever put together. The Spitfires, led by Eddie Powers Trophy winning Taylor Hall, finished first in the Western Conference with 106 points. Windsor finished second overall to the Barrie Colts who finished first in the East with an amazing 116 points.

With the exception of the Eastern Conference final against the Kitchener Rangers that went seven games, the Spitfires swept their way to a Robertson Cup championship. In the opening round, it was a sweep of the Erie Otters, followed by a sweep of the Plymouth Whalers. In the finals, Windsor swept the mighty Barrie Colts...

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Hockey Trivia Featuring the OHL's Brampton Battalion

The Brampton Battalion have been a franchise in the Ontario Hockey League since the 1998-99 season. The team has enjoyed relative success with a perennial defensive minded and disciplined system. After years of poor attendance, the franchise has closed up shop in Brampton and moved north to North Bay.

The North Bay Battalion will play out of the North Bay Memorial Gardens. The Gardens will be upgraded and seats 4,246. OHL hockey returns to the city after the Centennials left to become the Saginaw Spirit after the 2001-02 season. The Battalion will retain their god-awful colour scheme and logo...

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Rookie Cards of the NHL's Bentley Brothers

The Bentley brothers, Max, Doug and Reg, made National Hockey League history during the 1942-43 season when they formed the first ever all-brother line. Reg played just eleven games that season, his only ever NHL action. Max and Doug went on to both be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame...

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OHL Grads Dickenson and Jacina to Play 2013-14 Together in Norway

Two veteran Ontario Hockey League grads will play together for just the second time since their OHL careers began. Greg Jacina and Lou Dickenson both began play in the OHL for the 1998-99 season. Both played five years and both are well-travelling in Europe. Jacina and Dickenson will play 2013-14 with Rosenborg IHK Elite in Norway’s Get Ligaen. The only other time they played together was in 2004-05 with the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League...

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Brampton Beast of the Central Hockey League

The Brampton Beast enter the Central Hockey League for the 2013-14 season as the first ever Canadian team in the league inaugurated for the 1992-93 season. The Beast will play out of the Powerade Centre, recently vacated by the Brampton Battalion. The Battalion have, of course, moved to North Bay. The Beast hope to fill much more of the 4,800 seat arena than the Battalion did. The CHL average in 2012-13 was 3,707 per game.

The Central Hockey League will consist of eleven teams in 2013-14, up one from 2012-13. In are the Beast and the St. Charles Chill. Out are the Bloomington Blaze who have jumped to the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). The Chill are the reincarnation of the Laredo Bucks, a CHL franchise that ceased after 2011-12...

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2 Bruins and 1 Blackhawk to Win the Conn Smythe Trophy

Interestingly, just three different players from the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins have ever won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, considering that the Conn Smythe is a relatively new piece of NHL hardware, maybe it’s not that surprising.
The Conn Smythe Trophy was first handed out in 1964-65. The first ever winner was Jean Beliveau of the Montreal Canadiens. The most recent winner, at least for the next week or so, is Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings, winning the trophy in 2011-12 after the Kings took down the New Jersey Devils...

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Joel Quenneville Rookie Card

Quenneville played his junior hockey with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (at the time the OMJHL). He appeared with the Spitfires for three years from 1975-76 to 1977-78. In his final year, the defenseman scored 27 goals and assisted on 76 for 103 points in 66 games. 1977-78 was a record breaking year in the OHL with Bobby Smith of the Ottawa 67′s and Wayne Gretzky of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds shattering marks for assists and points. Yet, Joel still finished sixth in the league with his assist total...

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Bruins and Blackhawks: 7th Playoff Meeting All-Time

It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. The Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins have been in the National Hockey League for the better part of 90 years. Yet, the teams have met in the post season just six times before this season and will meet in the Stanley Cup final for the first time ever in 2012-13. To date, Boston has had the definite advantage, winning five of the six matchups...

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Will Colbert to Play in the Netherlands for 2013-14

The Tilburg Trappers of the Eredivisie in the Netherlands will have an Ontario Hockey League flavour for the 2013-14 season. With the signing season just underway in Europe, the Trappers have signed a former top notch defenseman from the Ottawa 67′s. Behind the bench will be another OHL grad from the 1970′s who played nearly 450 regular season games in the National Hockey League...

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Niederberger, Richmond and Bois: 3 OHL Alumni with EHC Munich

EHC Red Bull Munchen (Munich) of Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) will have the help of a trio of Ontario Hockey League grads in an attempt to make the post season in 2013-14. The team was promoted from the tier 2 2.Bundesliga for the 2010-11 season and have failed to qualify for the playoffs over the past two years. This past season, Munich placed 12th in the 14 team DEL. The club plays out of the 6,256 seat Olympia-Eisstadion, built in 1967.

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Cam Neely and the 1982-83 Portland Winterhawks

For the Portland Winterhawks, it was business as usual in the 1982-83 Western Hockey League. The franchise had been dominant in the WHL since relocating from Edmonton, Alberta for the 1976-77 season. The Winterhawks are descendants of the original Edmonton Oil Kings team.

In 1982-83, Portland finished first in the West Division and second overall in the WHL with 50 wins and 100 points over the 72 game regular season schedule. The only team with a better record was the East Division leading Saskatoon Blades with 105 points. The Winterhawks led the WHL with 495 goals...

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