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An assortment of familiar OHL faces from across the globe have converged on Riga, Latvia for the 2021 IIHF World Hockey Championship that got underway this past week.
A total of 47 OHL alumni from across 16 different countries are chasing gold in the annual clash of international bodies, including a total of five players that competed in the Ontario Hockey League during the 2019-20 campaign.
Canada leads the way with 10 OHL products on its roster followed by Belarus with seven and the United States and Latvia with four apiece.
A pair of returning-eligible talents in Saginaw Spirit forward Cole Perfetti of Canada and Mississauga Steelheads defenceman Ole Bjorgvik-Holm of Norway are among the players participating. Both had strong showings in the American Hockey League this past season.
OHL Alumni competing at 2021 IIHF Worlds:
^- competed in OHL during 2019-20 season
*-2002-born player, eligible to return in 2021-22
Players listed in correspondence of graduating OHL team paired with current club
BELARUS (7):
Stepan Falkovsky (Ottawa 67’s/Dynamo Minsk)
Vladislav Kodola (Saginaw Spirit/Cherepovets Severstal)
Sergei Kostitsyn (London Knights/Bratislava Capitals)
Geoff Platt (Erie Otters/Ufa Salavat Yulayev)
Shane Prince (Ottawa 67’s/Dynamo Minsk)
Ilya Solovyov (Saginaw Spirit/Dynamo Minsk)^
Danny Taylor (Kingston Frontenacs/Dynamo Minsk)
CANADA (10):
Connor Brown (Erie Otters/Ottawa Senators)
Michael Bunting (Soo Greyhounds/Arizona Coyotes)
Michael DiPietro (Ottawa 67’s/Vancouver Canucks)
Liam Foudy (London Knights/Columbus Blue Jackets)^
Adam Henrique (Windsor Spitfires/Anaheim Ducks)
Andrew Mangiapane (Barrie Colts/Calgary Flames)
Colin Miller (Soo Greyhounds/Buffalo Sabres)
Nick Paul (North Bay Battalion/Ottawa Senators)
Cole Perfetti (Saginaw Spirit/Manitoba Moose)^*
Gabriel Vilardi (Kingston Frontenacs/Los Angeles Kings)
CZECH REPUBLIC (3):
Filip Hronek (Saginaw Spirit/Detroit Red Wings)
Dominik Kubalik (Kitchener Rangers/Chicago Blackhawks)
Jiri Sekac (Peterborough Petes/Avangard Omsk)
DENMARK (3):
Mikkel Boedker (Kitchener Rangers/HC Lugano)
Sebastian Dahm (Niagara IceDogs/KAC Klagenfurt)
Nicklas Jensen (Oshawa Generals/Jokerit Helsinki)
FINLAND (1):
Olli Maatta (London Knights/Los Angeles Kings)
GERMANY (3):
Tom Kuhnhackl (Niagara IceDogs/Bridgeport Sound Tigers)
Mathias Niederberger (Barrie Colts/Eisbaren Berlin)
Tobias Rieder (Kitchener Rangers/Buffalo Sabres)
GREAT BRITAIN (2):
Liam Kirk (Peterborough Petes/Sheffield Steelers)^
Ben O’Connor (Mississauga IceDogs/Sheffield Steelers)
ITALY (1):
Justin Fazio (Sarnia Sting/HC Bolzano)
KAZAKHSTAN (1):
Jesse Blacker (Owen Sound Attack/Barys Nur-Sultan)
LATVIA (4):
Kaspars Daugavins (Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors/Vityaz Podolsk)
Andris Dzerins (Kingston Frontenacs/Dinamo Riga)
Renars Krastenbergs (Oshawa Generals/VSV Villach)
Arturs Kulda (Peterborough Petes/Nuremburg Ice Tigers)
NORWAY (3):
Ole Bjorgvik-Holm (Mississauga Steelheads/Cleveland Monsters)^*
Sondre Olden (Erie Otters/Sheffield Steelers)
Mathis Olimb (Sarnia Sting/Grizzlys Wolfsburg)
RUSSIA (2):
Sergey Tolchinsky (Soo Greyhounds/Avangard Omsk)
Nikita Zadorov (London Knights/Chicago Blackhawks)
SLOVAKIA (1):
Marian Studenic (Hamilton Bulldogs/New Jersey Devils)
SWEDEN (1):
Rickard Rakell (Plymouth Whalers/Anaheim Ducks)
SWITZERLAND (1):
Vincent Praplan (North Bay Battalion/SC Bern)
UNITED STATES (4):
Sasha Chmelevski (Ottawa 67’s/San Jose Sharks)
Kevin Labanc (Barrie Colts/San Jose Sharks)
Jason Robertson (Niagara IceDogs/Dallas Stars)
Anthony Stolarz (London Knights/Anaheim Ducks)
Follow along with the 2021 IIHF Worlds at IIHF.com.
