
For some of our Markham Royals alumni, the journey doesn’t stop in the OJHL or even with their post-secondary commitments. Several former Royals, Red Wings, Kilty B’s (1973-2003) and Waxers have gone on to play at some of the highest levels in hockey, including nineteen NHLers.
Active Alumni In The NHL
- Zach Hyman, Edmonton Oilers – The NHL’s top goal scorer in the 2023/24 Stanley Cup Playoffs got his start in the Royals organization, playing the entirety of his OJHL career with the Hamilton Red Wings between 2008/09 and 2010/11. Captain of the team for two seasons, Hyman was drafted 123rd overall in 2010 by the Florida Panthers straight out of the OJHL, before heading to the University of Michigan for four seasons. He went pro in 2015/16 with the AHL Toronto Marlies, got called up to the Maple Leafs by the end of his first season, and hasn’t looked back soon, becoming one of the NHL’s top net-front presences.
- Lucas Condotta, Montreal Canadiens – Lucas is the first alumni of the Royals era to make his way to the NHL, paving the way for the next generation. Condotta joined the team late in their last season in Hamilton in 2014/15 and played three full seasons in Markham, including two as captain. Condotta then played four years at UMass-Lowell before signing with the Montreal Canadiens in March 2022. Condotta scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game and split last season between the Canadiens and the AHL Laval Rocket.
- Chris Tanev, Toronto Maple Leafs – Tanev played a season and a half with the Markham Waxers, joining the team in 2007/08 and playing a full season in 2008/09. In one of the more incredible rises up the ladder in recent history, Tanev played just one year of NCAA hockey at RIT before joining the Vancouver Canucks in time for their 2011 Stanley Cup Finals run. By 2013/14, he was a mainstay on their blue line and quickly became known as one of the NHL’s best defensive defencemen. Tanev returned home in July 2024, signing a six-year contract to play for the Maple Leafs.
- Brandon Tanev, Seattle Kraken – Two years after Chris, his younger brother Brandon burst onto the scene, going from two years away from the game to one of the Waxers’ top scorers in his first year of junior hockey. He followed a similar path to his brother, playing college hockey at Providence College before signing with the Winnipeg Jets. Brandon now plays for the Seattle Kraken, who selected him in the 2021 expansion draft.
- Cam Talbot, Detroit Red Wings – Before becoming one of the NHL’s most respected journeyman goaltenders, Talbot began his minor and junior hockey career in Hamilton, eventually joining the Red Wings in 2004-05 and playing three seasons with the team. Following three years of college hockey, he signed in the New York Rangers organization, securing himself a backup role in 2013/14. He’s been a full-time NHLer since, with stints in Edmonton, Philadelphia, Calgary, Minnesota, Ottawa, Los Angeles, and now one again in a Red Wings sweater – this time, the big one in Detroit.
- Graeme Clarke, New Jersey Devils – An affiliate player with the Royals in the 2016/17 season, Clarke made his NHL debut with the Devils in the 2023/24 season. Clarke has been one of the to players for the Devils’ AHL affiliates over the last four years.
Markham Royals Professional Alumni
Royals Alumni | Years In Org | Years Pro | Top Level |
---|---|---|---|
Sam Hu | 2016-17 | 2017-2023 | KHL |
Sam Hu, known in the Royals family as Sammy, was the first player to make his way to an elite professional league after the team moved to Markham. Born in Guangzhou, Hu went straight from the Royals to the Kunlun Red Star program in the KHL, which was founded to grow the game in China. Hu played for five years in the organization before playing in Norway and returning to North America for a year in the ECHL in 2022/23.
Hamilton Red Wings Professional Alumni
Red Wings Alumni | Years In Org | Years Pro | Top Level |
---|---|---|---|
Buddy Robinson | 2009-2011 | 2013-Pres | NHL |
Tyler Gaudet | 2010-2011 | 2013-Pres | NHL |
Nick Pageau | 2004-2005 | 2013-Pres | AHL |
Zac Rinaldo | 2006-2007 | 2010-2022 | NHL |
Matt Carey | 2009-2012 | 2013-2022 | NHL |
Spencer Abbott | 2006-2008 | 2011-2021 | NHL |
Peter Leblanc | 2003-2006 | 2010-2020 | NHL |
Matt Beca | 2003-2004 | 2009-2020 | AHL |
Marc Hagel | 2006-2008 | 2013-2019 | AHL |
Kyle Hagel | 2002-2004 | 2008-2017 | AHL |
Joey Diamond | 2008-2009 | 2012-2017 | AHL |
David Brown | 2001-2003 | 2007-2016 | AHL |
Josh Van Dyk | 2005-2007 | 2011-2013 | AHL |
Vladimir Bessonov | 2008-2009 | 2010-2013 | KHL |
Pat Quinn | 1960-1962 | 1963-1977 | NHL |
The aughts were a golden era for professional player development in the Red Wings organization, with fourteen high-level pros playing for us in Hamilton between 2003 and 2010. This includes six players who played in the NHL, two of whom (Spencer Abbott and Tyler Gaudet) even returned home and played stints in the Maple Leafs organization.
Zac Rinaldo is the longest-tenured NHLer on this list, not including our active NHL alumni. Rinaldo played one season for the Red Wings in 2006-07, and after three OHL seasons that followed, began a 374-game NHL career.
In the pre-modern era for the Red Wings, the late Pat Quinn began junior playing days in Hamilton, well before his NHL career as a player and legendary run as a Head Coach and General Manager.
Markham Waxers Professional Alumni
Waxers Alumni | Years In Org | Years Pro | Top Level |
---|---|---|---|
Joseph Cramarossa | 2008-2009 | 2013-Present | NHL |
Adam Oates | 1979-1982 | 1985-2004 | NHL |
Steve Thomas | 1980-1982 | 1984-2004 | NHL |
Ron L. Wilson | 1972-1975 | 1976-1996 | NHL |
Bruce Boudreau | 1971-1972 | 1975-1992 | NHL |
Mike Liut | 1971-1972 | 1979-1992 | NHL |
Mike Palmateer | 1970-1972 | 1974-1984 | NHL |
The Waxers’ close relationship with the OHA’s Toronto Marlboros in the 1970s meant that they were a popular place for high-level players to play, whether it was a stepping stone into Major Junior or just to play where there was a lot of attention. The result was a star-studded list of graduates in the 1970s and 1980s.
Perhaps none shone brighter than the pair of Adam Oates and Steve Thomas, who were dominant across their two full seasons in Markham blue. In their final season of 1981/82, Oates put up 59 goals and 110 assists in just 40 games, while Thomas put up 68 goals and 57 assists. The pair were inducted into the first class of the OJHL Hall of Fame in 2024.
Hamilton Kilty B’s Professional Alumni
Kilty B’s Alumni | Years In Org | Years Pro | Top Level |
---|---|---|---|
Josh Soares | 1998-2003 | 2007-2018 | AHL |
Ed McGrane | 1996-1999 | 2003-2014 | AHL |
Steve Staios | 1989-1990 | 1993-2012 | NHL |
David Shantz | 2000-2002 | 2006-2009 | AHL |
Tyrone Garner | 1994-1995 | 1998-2007 | NHL |
Last but not least, the original rendition of the Kilty B’s adds a few more alumni to the mix, including two NHL graduates in Tyrone Gardner and longtime player and current Ottawa Senators General Manager Steve Staios, who each played a season in Hamilton.
The Kilty’s era doesn’t only impact the NHL on the ice, though. Todd Reynolds, who spent a year between the pipes with the team in 1989-90, has become one of the league’s top agents, representing the likes of Zach Hyman, Tyler Bertuzzi, Ty Dellandrea and Sam Carrick.
Perhaps the team’s best player in his OJHL days was Josh Soares, who played his whole junior career in Hamilton, scoring 171 goals and adding 233 assists in 230 games across four years with the Kilty B’s and one as a Red Wing. Soares joined Oates and Thomas in being part of the OJHL’s first Hall of Fame class.