Ben Ondrus

Benjamin Matthew Ondrus (born June 25, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Ondrus was never drafted by a National Hockey League (NHL) team, however, he signed as a free agent and worked his way up through the Toronto Maple Leafs system, making his NHL debut in 2006. Ondrus played junior hockey in the Western Hockey League for the Swift Current Broncos. While playing in the American Hockey League for the Toronto Marlies, Ondrus served as team captain.

Playing career Ondrus was the former captain of the Swift Current Broncos, where he was a junior teammate with fellow former Toronto Maple Leafs' prospects Ian White, Wilson McCutchan and Jeremy Williams. He was signed to an American Hockey League (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 in 2003–04. Ondrus made his NHL debut on March 7, 2006, in a game against the Montreal Canadiens.

During his time in Toronto, Ondrus served as the team captain of the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs' AHL affiliates.

On July 9, 2010, he signed as a free agent to a one-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers. Ondrus scored his first ever goal in an Oilers uniform on September 22, as the Oilers defeated Northwest division rivals, the Vancouver Canucks, in a pre-season warm-up at the recently renamed Rogers Arena, in Vancouver.

After a year abroad in Germany with Krefeld Pinguine 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 Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1998–99 Swift Current Broncos WHL 46 4 4 8 58 6 0 1 1 8 1999–2000 Swift Current Broncos WHL 67 14 15 29 138 12 1 0 1 22 2000–01 Swift Current Broncos WHL 69 13 17 30 151 19 2 3 5 46 2001–02 Swift Current Broncos WHL 67 30 41 71 153 12 4 3 7 18 2002–03 Swift Current Broncos WHL 67 33 36 69 98 3 0 1 1 11 2002–03 Idaho Steelheads WCHL 4 0 3 3 0 5 0 1 1 6 2003–04 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 60 6 11 17 102 — — — — — 2004–05 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 78 7 11 18 137 5 0 1 1 7 2005–06 Toronto Marlies AHL 53 12 18 30 104 5 1 2 3 4 2005–06 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 22 0 0 0 18 — — — — — 2006–07 Toronto Marlies AHL 29 8 3 11 35 — — — — — 2006–07 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 16 0 2 2 20 — — — — — 2007–08 Toronto Marlies AHL 59 14 12 26 63 19 1 5 6 14 2007–08 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 3 0 0 0 5 — — — — — 2008–09 Toronto Marlies AHL 57 10 7 17 83 6 0 0 0 2 2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 11 0 0 0 34 — — — — — 2009–10 Toronto Marlies AHL 56 7 7 14 41 — — — — — 2010–11 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 80 8 14 22 72 6 1 1 2 0 2011–12 Krefeld Pinguine DEL 47 3 7 10 64 — — — — — 2012–13 Idaho Steelheads ECHL 55 7 15 22 62 17 2 3 5 22 NHL totals 52 0 2 2 77 — — — — —