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Hi gang, Rick Ostler here, bringing you News and Views from the Ontario Hockey League as well Junior Hockey worldwide. Former Plymouth Whalers Derek Merlini re-signs with Icehawks.

The Port Huron Icehawks of the International Hockey League announced Tuesday that they have added rookie defenseman Derek Merlini to the training camp roster for the 2008-09 season.

Merlini (6-foot-6, 245 pounds) joined the Icehawks in January of the 2007-08 season and finished the campaign with five points (two goals, three assists) and a plus-5 rating in 43 regular-season games. He also had one assist in eight playoff games.

The defenseman came to the Icehawks from the University of Windsor where he played parts of two seasons. He also spent five seasons in the OHL with the Erie Otters and Plymouth Whalers (2006).

“Merlini is a big player who towers above his opponents,” Port Huron coach-GM Stan Drulia said. “He is a capable defenseman and could be a big part of our defense if he uses his size in a physical way.”

The 23-year-old native of Clinton Township still qualifies for rookie status in the International Hockey League because he has played in less than 60 professional games.

Merlini joins two other ex-Whalers on the Icehawks this year as forward Kris Vernarsky (1998-2002) and goalie Larry Sterling (2000-2001) signed over the summer. Thanks to Matt Mackinder; Michigan Junior Hockey: Former Whaler Merlini re-signs with Icehawks

Tags: OHLHockey News, Derek Merlini, Port Huron, IHL, ohl hockey, ohl, Plymouth Whalers, Ontario Hockey League

Derek Merlini
Right Wing
Born Jul 6 1985  -- Clinton Twp., MI
Height 6.06 -- Weight 245 -- Shoots R

                                            --- Regular Season ---  ---- Playoffs ----
Season   Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2002-03  Capital Centre Pride        NAHL    5    0    1    1    2
2003-04  Erie Otters                 OHL    64    5   14   19   58   9   1   6   7  12
2004-05  Erie Otters                 OHL    68    7   17   24  134   6   0   1   1   6
2005-06  Erie Otters                 OHL    20    0    5    5   48  --  --  --  --  --
2005-06  Plymouth Whalers            OHL    34    2    5    7   90  13   0   2   2  31
2006-07  U. of Windsor               CIS     9    2    2    4   18
2007-08  U. of Windsor               CIS    10    0    0    0   14
2007-08  Port Huron Icehawks         IHL    43    2    3    5   35   8   0   1   1   4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Be sure to check out this weeks latest OHL HOCKEY Videos Here:
Rick Ostler, OHL Hockey News.

Former Whaler Sean Haggerty – shown here in 1996 – wore 19 as a Whaler and 91 when the team was known as the Detroit Jr. Red Wings.

Hi gang, Rick Ostler here, bringing you News and Views from the Ontario Hockey League as well Junior Hockey worldwide. Here is an interesting article out of Plymouth on how the Whalers players get to choose their sweater number selection.

In case you missed it, Ontario Hockey League teams have to post their respective rosters onwww.ontariohockeyleague.com by noon today.That’s a league rule.

If you’ve noticed the Whalers roster, a number of players have changed numbers this season.

Patrick Lee goes from 19 to 11, Vern Cooper goes from 9 to 19, RJ Mahalak goes from 11 to 21, Tyler J. Brown goes from 29 to 26, Jordon O’Neill from 34 to 27 and Anthony Donati from 21 to 16.

According to Plymouth equipment manager Marc Baron, there’s a method to players changing numbers every season.

“I take a list of the players from the past season and I work my way down the list, starting with the older players first,” Baron said. “The players are asked if they want their number from the year before. At that point, the older player can make a change if they desire. I’ll continue to work my way down the list.

“The younger players do have some say, but there’s not too many of them who won’t give a veteran player a number.”

This is the scenario that happened between Lee and Mahalak when Lee decided to switch to 11 this season. Good teamwork made the switch seamless.

“I wore 11 all during my minor hockey days and then with Erie,” Lee said. “I asked for it again this year and ‘Mally’ said since it was my last year, that I could have it.”

When Ryan Hayes joined the Whalers last year, he asked for 10. Tyler G. Brown had the number at the time but decided to switch to 12.

“Being that Brown and Hayes had been with the club roughly the same amount of time, it was a case when Hayes had an affinity for that number and Brown had no trouble switching to 12,” Baron said. “And Brown seemed to like the number, because he asked for it again this season.

“Hayesy came from Boston College, so I thought he had a lot more rank than me because I was a rookie,” Tyler G. Brown said. “So you do whatever you have to do when you’re a rookie. Numbers aren’t a big deal to me, anyway. It’s whatever is on the front of your jersey that matters. So I took 12 and I like that number.”

Tyler J. Brown and rookie Scott Wedgewood worked a similar exchange.

“29 didn’t mean anything to me and he wanted it,” Brown said. “I wore 26 during my Compuware youth days, so I switched.”

Joe Gaynor switched from 25 in 2006-07 to 24 last year. Jordon O’Neill switched from 34 to 27 this season. “I wanted a fresh start, so I switched,” Gaynor said. “It seemed to work.” “That’s my story,” O’Neill said. “34 wasn’t working for me last year. Maybe 27 will be better.”

Rookie Peter Neal said he wanted any number with double digits. His older brother – Whaler alum James Neal – remains a close friend of former Whaler Jared Boll, now with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Boll wears 40 in Columbus, so the younger Neal now wears 40 with Plymouth.

Christian Steingraber wears his number for family reasons. “8 is my mother’s (Rene’) favorite number,” Steingraber said. “I’m happy to wear it.”

Chris Terry wore 7 during his minor hockey day growing up in Brampton, ON and was hoping to receive it as a Whaler pup in 2005. It didn’t happen.

“There was talk that John Mitchell was coming back and he wore 7 when he played here,” Terry said. “So I had to choose between 29 or 20. 20′s been pretty good so far.”

Certain OHL teams (London, Ottawa) allow player to wear high numbers. Others (Peterborough, Belleville) are like the Whalers, going a more traditional route.

Players used to be wear any number they wanted, but the team changed that rule to just numbers 1-through-40 when they moved to Plymouth.

The Whalers adopted their current numbering system when the time the team moved from Detroit to Plymouth. In the early days of the Plymouth franchise, the Whalers – known first as the Detroit Ambassadors (1990-92) and then the Detroit Jr. Red Wings (1992-95) – were allowed to wear high numbers. Sean Haggerty (91), Nic Beaudoin (93), Duane Harmer (55), Kevin Brown (44) and Shayne McCosh (77) are prime examples.

But that’s changed. “We adopted 1-through-40 13 years ago,” Baron explained. “We feel we don’t need the high numbers here in Plymouth – we’re more about the front of the sweater and not the back of the sweater. We figure 1-through-40 with the exception of 14 (Pat Peake’s retired number) are plenty of numbers for the players to choose.”

The Whalers office receives inquiries about game-worn jerseys regularly. Baron explained the method by which Plymouth game-worn jerseys are sold.

“Our blue and white jerseys are sold in November and December,” Baron said. “We sell them during approximately six home games at a silent auction. Those jerseys are typically the ones that the players didn’t want to purchase the season before.

“We’re one of the few teams in the OHL that lets the players purchase their own jerseys. Sometimes they buy them for a keepsake, or maybe they give them to their families or billet families. Whatever blue and white jerseys are not purchased by the players are made available at the silent auction.”

The Whalers game-worn green jerseys are sold during the team’s annual Green Out in March.

“We usually have one hundred percent success (in selling) those jerseys to the public,” Baron said. “It’s the one chance our fans have in purchasing any jersey in our lineup, provided they have the highest bid.”

For more information about Plymouth game-worn jerseys, check www.plymouthwhalers.com.

Next season, fans will see a subtle change in all OHL jerseys.

“The National Hockey League Edge jersey that Reebok put together is the jersey that the OHL is going to switch to in 2009-10,” Baron said. “The changes will be with the blue and white jerseys only. The green will stay the same for 2009-10. Then two years down the road (2010-11) the green jersey will change to Reebok.”

Because of corporate and licensing agreements, any re-design of an OHL jersey or logo changes must be done a least a year in advance. “If we want to change our design, we have to notify the OHL a year in advance,” Baron said. “Then we would have to start working on the color schemes and logo changes and get those approved.”Would you make any changes to the Whalers jersey? Email us a peterk@plymouthwhalers.com.

Thanks to; Whalers Jerseys Are a Number Game – Whale Tales – MLive.com

Be sure to check out this weeks latest OHL HOCKEY Videos Here:
Rick Ostler, OHL Hockey News.

Tags: OntarioHockey League, OHL Hockey News, ohl, ohl hockey, plymouth whalers, detroit jr red wings,