ON AIR

Strongsville native Alaina Giampietro has starred for the Gilmour Gladiators the past two seasons. Her scoring touch attracted the attention of USA Hockey for the U18 National Festival. She recently committed to play collegiately at The Ohio State University.

Former Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jody Shelley began serving as the club's television color analyst on Bally Sports Ohio in 2014-15. In addition to his broadcast duties, the Columbus fan favorite is also actively engaged in various business and community initiatives for the organization.

Shelley retired in 2013 after a career that spanned 16 years and over 600 NHL games. He wrapped up his NHL career with 18-36-54 and 1,538 penalty minutes in 627 games. He also appeared in nine Stanley Cup Playoff games with San Jose and Philadelphia.

Join us for a "very Cincinnati" episode of the Ohio Hockey Digest On Air podcast when we speak with Matt Thomas, the head coach of the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL, new 'Clones broadcaster Andrew Mossbrooks and Jim Mitchell of the Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones - the newest members of the USPHL.

Sophia Bellina has stopped pucks all over the place – for the Cleveland Barons, Gilmour Academy and the Pittsburgh Pens Elite. This past season she took her gear to Indiana to play at Culver Academy for their U18 Girls Prep team.

She is keeping her game sharp this summer by stymying shooters in Ohio Hockey Project’s Futures Hockey League as she prepares for her next trip – to the Rochester Institute of Technology – where she will begin her NCAA Division I career in the fall.

He may consider himself "just a nobody from Centerville, OH", but Nate Leaman has gone from humble beginnings hockey-wise to being one of the top coaches in college hockey. He tells us about his journey from learning how to skate at 13 to an unlikely junior and college playing career to realizing his passion was not environmental science and volunteering with Shawn Walsh at the University of Maine during their national title run in 1999. After taking "the job nobody wanted" at Union so he could be a head coach, and breathing new life into that program, he led a similar resurgence at Providence College which includes winning the 2015 NCAA Championship. Last December, he guided Team USA to the gold medal at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Tournament – a role he will reprise in 2022...and he openly admits having a soft spot for players from Ohio...

Parma native Alex Nedeljkovic starred for the Cleveland Barons and represented the U. S. at the U18 and U20 levels before going on to great success in the Ontario Hockey League and the American Hockey League. He earned Goalie of the Year honors at both levels and guided the AHL's Charlotte Checkers to the 2019 Calder Cup championship. "Ned" saw significant action in the NHL this season with the Carolina Hurricanes, posting a 15-5-3 record with a 1.90 goals-against average and .920 save percentage. He then started nine of the team's 11 games in the Stanley Cup playoffs (2.17/.920). He is one of three finalists for the NHL's 2020-21 Rookie of the Year.

The Athletic's Aaron Portzline previews what has the potential to be a wild and wacky summer in Columbus as the Blue Jackets juggle a coaching search, free agency and the draft along with negotiations (or trades) with several core players. No shortage of topics for the veteran hockey scribe!

At the risk of beating a dead horse, we will convene a panel of (TBD) high school coaches from various levels of the competitive spectrum to discuss the need for an alternative format for the high school post-season in Ohio. We will try to come to a consensus on a specific format to propose to the OHSAA. Potential guests: Our own Tim Sullivan (St. Edward), Pat O'Rourke (Saint Ignatius), Kyle Botos (Avon), Kevin Fisher (Perrysburg), Tim Pennington (Olentangy Liberty), Kevin Brown (Toledo Whitmer) & Steve Bogas (Mayfield)

The Wooster Oilers and Columbus Mavericks are two of six franchises that have joined the USPHL in and around Ohio in recent years. We check in with Wooster owner Marty Kerr and head coach Jordan Roemer to talk about the Oilers' return to the ice in 2020-21 and their plans for Year Two. Nate Handrahan took over behind the Mavericks bench last year and tells us about the players he has been signing - including many Ohioans - for the upcomign season.

Former Cleveland Baron Andrew Perrott 13U player Andrew Perrott saw his fourth season in the Ontario Hockey League wiped out by COVID-19 but was outspoken in the need for the league to return to play. After heading to Slovakia to play pro hockey, he has returned and is part of a group of junior players organizing a pre-draft showcase in Erie, PA (May 31 - June 13) for 2021 draft-eligible players and players who lost their final season of junior hockey to the pandemic. He is the son of former Cleveland Lumberjack (IHL) player and NHLer Nathan Perrott.