Benjamin Matthew Ondrus (born June 25, 1982) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

player. Ondrus was never drafted by a

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) team, however he signed as a free agent and worked his way up through the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

system, making his NHL debut in 2006. Ondrus played junior hockey in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

for the Swift Current Broncos. While playing in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

for the

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

, Ondrus served as team captain.

Playing career

Ondrus was the former captain of the Swift Current Broncos, where he was junior teammates with fellow former

' prospects Ian White, Wilson McCutchan and Jeremy Williams. He was signed to an

(AHL) contract after a fine performance at the Leafs' 2003 rookie camp, and earned a contract with Toronto following an encouraging rookie AHL season with the

St. John's Maple Leafs The St. John's Maple Leafs were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, at Memorial Stadium from 1991 to 2001, and at Mile One Stadium from 2001 to 2005. The team was ...

in 2003–04. Ondrus made his NHL debut on March 7, 2006, in a game against the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. During his time in Toronto, Ondrus served as the

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

of the

, the Maple Leafs' AHL affiliates. On July 9, 2010, he signed as a free agent to a one-year contract with the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. Ondrus scored his first ever goal in an Oilers uniform on September 22, as the Oilers defeated Northwest division rivals, the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

, in a pre-season warm-up at the recently renamed Rogers Arena, in Vancouver. After a year abroad in Germany with

Krefeld Pinguine The Krefeld Pinguine (Krefeld Penguins) are an ice hockey team in the DEL2. Their home ice is in Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany at the König Palast. Founded first in 1936 by Willi Münstermann, the pro team became a limited liabil ...

of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, Ondrus returned to North America signing as a free agent to a one-year contract with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL on September 12, 2012.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ondrus, Ben 1982 births Living people Canadian ice hockey right wingers Ice hockey people from Alberta Idaho Steelheads (ECHL) players Idaho Steelheads (WCHL) players Krefeld Pinguine players Oklahoma City Barons players St. John's Maple Leafs players Sportspeople from Sherwood Park Swift Current Broncos players Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlies players Undrafted National Hockey League players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany