Former Soo Thunderbirds defenceman Robert Calisti led all Alps Hockey League blueliners in scoring this past season. Skating for Italian side Asiago, he collected 43 points in 44 contests in the 13-team league, which has clubs based in Italy, Austria, Croatia and Slovenia. Calisti was among 22 NOJHL alumni to play in Europe in 2025-26. Photo credit: Serena Fantini
European clubs represented by 408 CJHL alumni in 2025-26
TORONTO – Making a considerable contribution on the ice in Europe during the 2025-26 season saw 408 Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) alumni do their part for their respective clubs overseas.
Across the continent there, each of the CJHL’s nine-member leagues supplied at least 10, or more, of their former skaters and goaltenders, that took part in 35 various leagues throughout Europe, over the course of the campaign.
The top four leagues in Germany featured the majority of CJHL alums playing there with nearly 120 filling line-ups there.
Meanwhile each of the three main leagues in Frances boasted a solid influx of Canadian Jr. A talent as well, suiting up with 82 in total.
You also had 64 former CJHLers playing for the pair of main operations in the United Kingdom that play out of their English and National Ice Hockey Leagues respectively.
The following link lists the names of the 408 CJHL alumni who competed on European team rosters in 2025-26:
NOJHL ALUMNI – EUROPE
| PLAYER | NAME | POS. | EUROPEAN TEAM | LEAGUE | NOJHL TEAM(S) |
| Liam | Anderson | D | Mulhouse | FFHG2 | Cochrane Crunch |
| Steven | Bellini | D | Asiago | ALPSHL | Soo Thunderbirds |
| Robert | Calisti | D | Asiago | ALPSHL | Soo Thunderbirds |
| Damian | Caringni | F | IJCU Dragons Utrecht | Eredivisie | Kirkland Lake Gold Miners |
| Mario | Culina | G | Hijs Hokij Den Haag | CEHL | Soo Thunderbirds |
| Clay | Ellerbrock | F | EHC Königsbrunn | Regionalliga | Cochrane Crunch |
| Christian | Golic | F | KHL Medvescak | Croatia | Cochrane Crunch |
| Sacha | Guimond | D | Gherdëina | ALPSHL | North Bay Trappers |
| Owen | Headrick | D | Nürnberg Ice Tigers | DEL | Soo Thunderbirds |
| Bradey | Johnson | F | Tranås AIF | Ettan | Rayside-Balfour Canadians |
| Michael | Levin | F | CSV Corona Brasov | Erste League | Powassan Voodoos |
| Robert | McCollum | D | Valenciennes | FFHG | Powassan Voodoos |
| Brett | Ouderkirk | F | ECDC Memmingen Indians | Oberliga | Kirkland Lake Gold Miners |
| Iroquois Falls Eskimos | |||||
| Mattawa Blackhawks | |||||
| Mark | Perone | D | Adendorfer EC | Regionalliga | Elliot Lake Wildcats |
| Drake | Pilon | F | Budapest Jégkorong | Erste Liga | Soo Thunderbirds |
| Zach | Shankar | D | Basingstoke Bison | NIHL | North Bay Trappers |
| Ryan | Smith | F | TuS Harsefeld | Regionalliga | French River Rapids |
| Jordan | Spadafore | D | Milton Keynes Lightning | NIHL | Rayside Balfour Canadians |
| Brett | Thompson | F | Marseille | Ligue Magnus | Sudbury Jr. Wolves |
| Gianni | Vitali | F | Reims | FFHG2 | Soo Eagles |
| Aiden | Wagner | F | HEC Eisbären Heilbronn | Regionalliga | Kirkland Lake Gold Miners |
| Austin | Whelan | F | Besançon | France 4 | Cochrane Crunch |
