Confirmed Alumni: 2019

Mikhail Grabovski

After one season with Nizhnekamsk Neftekhimik of the Russian Super League, Mikhail Grabovski was drafted in the 5^th round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. Grabovski would spend two more years in the Russian Super League, including one season with Dynamo Moscow, before making the move to North America. He would spend the majority of the 2006-07 season as one of the leading scorers on Montreal’s AHL affiliate in Hamilton but would get his first taste of NHL action midway through that season suiting up for three games. He was later returned to the Hamilton Bulldogs and was an important member of their 2007 Calder Cup Championship run. Due to Montreal’s abundance of centremen, Grabovski would split time between Hamilton and Montreal again the following season before an offseason trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He would quickly solidify himself as a permanent fixture in the Leafs lineup during the 2008-09 season amassing 20 goals and 48 points in his first season with the Blue & White  and finished fourth in team scoring. Grabovski continued to produce offensively for the Leafs over the next four seasons, including a career best 29 goals and 29 assists in 2010-11, before signing with the Washington Capitals as a free agent prior to the 2013-14 season. After one productive season in Washington, he would sign a four year contract with the New York Islanders but injuries would keep him out of the lineup for sizeable portions of the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. On the international stage, Grabovski represented Belarus in the 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2014 World Championships. In all, Grabovski played in 534 career NHL regular season games, scoring 125 goals and adding 171 assists for 296 points.

Michael Zigomanis

Zigomanis played nine years of professional hockey, including stints with the Carolina Hurricanes, St. Louis Blues, Phoenix Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh, helping the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2008-09. Overall, he tallied 21 goals and 19 assists for 40 points in 197 NHL games.

During that time, the Toronto native also suited up for the Lowell Lock Monsters, Peoria Rivermen, San Antonio Rampage and Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL), racking up 155 goals and 287 assists for 442 points in 574 career games. Zigomanis won the Yanick Dupre AHL Man of the Year award for community service in 2012-13.

Nikolai Borschevsky

After a successful decade spent in Russia coming up through the junior and senior ranks of the Dynamo Moscow and Spartak Moscow programs, Nikolai Borschevsky would participate in the 1992 Winter Olympics in France on the United Team. In 8 games, Borschevsky scored 7 goals and added 2 assists which put him in the Top 10 in the tournament’s scoring race and would help lead his team to the gold medal win over Canada. NHL scouts took notice and Nikolai was drafted in the 1992 NHL Entry draft (4^th Round, 77^th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He joined the Maple Leafs for the 1992-93 season and made an immediate impact by scoring 34 goals and adding 40 assists in 78 regular season games played. The Leafs would face-off against a heavily favoured Detroit Red Wings team in the first round of the playoffs that spring and fought back from a two games to none deficit to force a game seven in Detroit. After Doug Gilmour scored late to send the game to overtime, Borschevsky played the role of overtime hero deflecting a Bob Rouse shot into the back of the Red Wings net to send Toronto to the second round against the St. Louis Blues. The following season, Borschevsky would continue to produce while he was in the lineup but he would miss nearly half the season due to injuries. After a slow start to the lockout shortened 1994-95 season, Borschevsky was traded to the Calgary Flames where he’d finish out the season before signing as a free agent with the Dallas Stars prior to the 1995-96 season.  He would only dress in 12 games with the Stars before leaving the NHL to play in Germany with the Kolner Haie to finish out that season. Borschevsky would return to Russia for the 1996-97 season and played two more years with Spartak Moscow before retiring in 1998. In all, Borschevsky played in 162 career NHL regular season games, scoring 49 goals and adding 73 assists for 122 points.

Brad May

A native of Toronto, Ontario, May was claimed 14th overall by the Buffalo Sabres at the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. A member of Canada’s 1991 Gold Medal World Junior Team, May showed plenty of spunk as a rookie with the Sabres in 1991-92 with eleven goals and 309 penalty minutes. In 1992-93, May’s defensive work improved and he scored the overtime winner in the first round playoff match up that eliminated the Boston Bruins.

After parts of seven seasons in Buffalo, May was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in February 1998 and was a steady hardnosed player for them over the next two and a half seasons. In June 2000, he was acquired by the Phoenix Coyotes to add grit to their fast skating team. May also played for the Colorado Avalanche before being dealt to the Anaheim Ducks, the trade proved to be a blessing in disguise as his physical presence led the Ducks to their first Stanley Cup championship in 2007.

Brent Gretzky

The Brantford native was chosen 49th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992 after registering 250 points over three seasons for the OHL’s Belleville Bulls. In 1992-93 he notched 20 goals in his rookie pro season for the Atlanta Knights of the IHL. Over the next two years, Gretzky played briefly in the NHL. He continued to toil in Atlanta and helped the franchise win the Turner Cup in 1994.

The crafty pivot signed as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs prior to the 1995-96 season. He never returned to the NHL but was a popular addition to the St. John’s Maple Leafs of the AHL.

Stéphane Richer

Richer was drafted 29th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft and went on to play in 1,054 career NHL games, scoring 421 goals and 398 assists for 819 points. Richer won a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1986 and with the New Jersey Devils in 1995. Richer scored 50 goals for the Montreal Canadiens in 198788 and 51 in 1989/90, becoming the only player to do so since Guy Lafleur’s prime. To this date, Richer is the last player to have scored 50 goals for the Montreal Canadiens.

Ethan Moreau

Moreau made his NHL debut with Chicago, playing there for four years and serving as an assistant captain. After his time in Chicago, Moreau went on to become one of the longest-tenured members of the Edmonton Oilers franchise over the following decade. Moreau’s 653 games in Edmonton rank 13th in the franchise’s history, and he recorded 112 goals and 100 assists in that time. He scored a career-best 20 goals during the 2003-04 season with the Oilers and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player that season.

In the 2005-06 postseason, Moreau played in 21 games as Edmonton advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, eventually falling in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes. Moreau served as the Oilers’ team captain for three seasons from 2007 to 2010. He was also awarded the 2009 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, given each year to an NHL player for exemplary leadership qualities on and off the ice in addition to humanitarian contributions. Moreau played with the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2010-11 season and served as an assistant captain for the team.

Steve Thomas

Born in Stockport, England, Steve Thomas would star in the OHL as a member of the Toronto Marlboros and, after scoring 51 goals in the 1983-84 season, would sign as an undrafted free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Steve would spend a majority of the 1984-85 season with Toronto’s AHL affiliate in St. Catharines and amassed an impressive 42 goals & 48 assists for 90 points in 64 games. He was named to the AHL’s First All-Star Team, won the Dudley “Red” Garrett Award as the AHL’s top rookie and earned his first call-up to the Maple Leafs for an 18 game stint where he’d score his first NHL goal. He began the 1985-86 season back in the AHL but after tallying 32 points in 19 games, Steve would earn a permanent call-up to the Maple Leafs and finished his rookie season in the NHL with 57 points in 65 games and 14 points in 10 playoff games.

Thomas went on to have a successful sophomore season with the Blue & White but was traded along with Rick Vaive & Bob McGill to the Chicago Blackhawks for Al Secord & Ed Olczyk prior to the 1987-88 season. While his first two seasons in Chicago were cut short due to injuries, Steve would spend parts of 5 seasons with the Blackhawks and was a key offensive contributor when he was in the lineup: 198 points in 231 games. Early in the 1991-92 season, Steve was traded to the New York Islanders and his offensive production continued to blossom. While in New York, Steve would have his most productive NHL season when he scored 37 goals & added 50 assists for 87 points in 1992-93. As a follow up, Steve would score a career high 42 goals during the 1993-94 season.

Just prior to the 1996-97 season, Thomas was traded to New Jersey and spent two seasons with the Devils before returning to Toronto as a free agent for his second tour of duty with the Maple Leafs. In Toronto, Steve regained his scoring touch and helped lead the Leafs to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Buffalo Sabres in the 1999. After two more seasons in Toronto, he would return to the Chicago Blackhawks for parts of two seasons before a trade deadline deal landed him with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for the 2003 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Although he was 40 years old, Thomas turned into a key addition for the Ducks and helped lead them to the Stanley Cup Finals that spring. He became a free agent after the playoff run and signed with the Detroit Red Wings a month into the 2003-04 season. He made 44 regular season appearances for the Red Wings and scored at a half point per game pace as a 41 year old in his final NHL season. In total, Steve Thomas played in 1235 NHL regular season games and produced 421 goals & 512 assists for 933 points and 1306 penalty minutes.

Colton Orr

A graduate of the WHL, Colton Orr played four seasons with the Swift Current Broncos, Kamloops Blazers and Regina Pats between 1999-2003 before making his professional debut in 2002-03 after signing as a free agent with the Boston Bruins. Colton spent the first two years of his professional career playing with the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League, amassing 536 penalty minutes in 125 games, before making his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins for one game during the 2003-04 season.

He would establish himself as one the NHL’s most feared enforcers by the 2005-06 season, splitting time between the Boston Bruins & New York Rangers, and went on to spend the next three season in the Big Apple before signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent prior to the 2009-10 season. He was brought to Toronto to add more “pugnacity, testosterone and truculence” as stated by former Maple Leafs General Manager, Brian Burke, and would spend parts of the next six seasons with the Blue & White before finishing his career with the Stockton Heat (AHL) during the 2015-16 season. In all, Colton played in 477 career regular season games, scoring 12 goals and 12 assists while adding 1186 penalty minutes.

Matthew Barnaby

Matthew was the fourth round, 84th overall selection of the Buffalo Sabres in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft.

In his first full season with the Buffalo Sabres the NHL the Ottawa, Ontario native led the league with 335 minutes in penalties.

After a run of almost five seasons in the Buffalo organization, Barnaby was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins before he was shipped off to Tampa Bay. Always noticeable when on the ice, Barnaby became a fan favorite in Tampa Bay with his feisty play and give all attitude. In 2001-02, he was off to the New York Rangers. Barnaby jumped from Colorado to Chicago to Dallas over three seasons. As a member of the Stars, he would suit up for 39 games with the club before suffering a concussion in a January 9, 2007 in a game against the Coyotes. The concussion Barnaby suffered caused him to miss the remainder of the season and eventually end his career after 834 career NHL games played.