Brendan Yarema

Brendan Yarema (born July 16, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in North American minor leagues and throughout Europe.

Career Yarema played junior hockey for the Newmarket Royals of the OHL starting in the 1993–94 season. Following the culmination of the season, the team was sold to the Ciccarelli brothers and moved to Sarnia, becoming the Sarnia Sting. Yarema played for the Sting for two further seasons before turning professional.

Yarema began his professional career in 1996 when he joined the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays, for whom he played 12 regular season games, as well as a further 9 in the playoffs, helping the Stingrays to win the Kelly Cup. During the season he also played for the St. John's Maple Leafs in the AHL, playing 9 games.

In the 1997–98 season, Yarema moved to the Kentucky Thoroughblades also of the AHL, playing 64 games, registering 22 points. Yarema then moved to the IHL's Kansas City Blades for whom he played for two seasons. The London Knights of the BISL was Yarema's team for the 2000–01 season. The Knights fared well both domestically and in continental competition, narrowly losing the IIHF Continental Cup to Swiss outfit ZSC Lions, having beaten the Munich Barons and HC Slovan Bratislava in the final group stage.

Following the year in London, Yarema returned to North America to play for the AHL's Houston Aeros for the 2001–02 season. Yarema stayed in the AHL for the following season for the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, as well as playing 5 games for the ECHL's Charlotte Checkers. For the 2003-04 AHL season, Yarema played for the Chicago Wolves. The following season, Yarema initially played for the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers before being picked up mid-season by the Milwaukee Admirals.

Yarema then moved to Germany in order to play for DEL side Augsburger Panther. He had a career year in south Germany, posting 23 goals and 42 points in 48 games. For the 2006–07 season, Yarema dressed for two teams; SC Langnau in the Swiss NLA, and Swedish side Rögle BK of the HockeyAllsvenskan. Slovenia was Yarema's next port of call, playing in the capital for Olimpija Ljubljana in the EBEL during the 2007–08 season. During the season, Yarema also appeared for Olimpija's Slovenian Ice Hockey League side during the playoffs, where the team lost in the final to HK Jesenice. Yarema played for Olimpija for two further seasons before retiring at the culmination of the 2009–10 season.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1993–94 Newmarket Royals OHL 55 11 4 15 69 — — — — — 1994–95 Sarnia Sting OHL 58 24 25 49 103 4 1 1 2 13 1995–96 Sarnia Sting OHL 48 36 32 68 93 3 0 4 4 2 1996–97 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 12 3 6 9 28 9 1 0 1 38 1996–97 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 9 1 4 5 8 — — — — — 1997–98 Kentucky Thoroughblades AHL 64 8 14 22 172 3 0 0 0 0 1998–99 Kansas City Blades IHL 69 11 21 32 163 3 0 0 0 12 1999–00 Kansas City Blades IHL 34 3 11 14 26 8 1 3 4 4 2000–01 London Knights BISL 39 17 16 33 139 8 0 0 0 6 2001–02 Houston Aeros AHL 77 18 13 31 150 14 9 4 11 15 2002–03 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 59 19 16 35 11 — — — — — 2002–03 Charlotte Checkers ECHL 5 5 0 5 20 — — — — — 2003–04 Chicago Wolves AHL 63 16 17 33 151 10 0 2 2 25 2004–05 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 25 6 11 17 58 — — — — — 2004–05 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 16 3 3 6 24 — — — — — 2005–06 Augsburger Panther DEL 48 23 19 42 129 — — — — — 2006–07 SC Langnau NLA 4 0 1 1 4 — — — — — 2006–07 Rögle BK SWE-2 5 2 3 5 12 5 0 1 1 6 2007–08 Olimpija Ljubljana EBEL 35 18 13 31 104 — — — — — 2007–08 Olimpija Ljubljana SLO — — — — — 6 5 3 8 22 2008–09 Olimpija Ljubljana EBEL 38 12 18 30 80 — — — — — 2008–09 Olimpija Ljubljana SLO — — — — — 1 0 0 0 0 2009–10 Olimpija Ljubljana EBEL 26 7 8 15 47 — — — — —AHL totals 313 71 78 149 674 31 9 6 15 53