Steelheads Sign Former Vernon Viper Goaltender Olthuis:

The East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) Idaho Steelheads have signed former Vernon Vipers goaltender Jon Olthuis as an emergency backup.  Olthuis retired from hockey after last season and is currently an accountant in Anchorage, Alaska.   

Olthuis played last season with the Central Hockey League (CHL) Tulsa Oilers and the Southern Professional League (SPHL) Augusta RiverHawks.  Olthuis played one game with the Oilers going 0-1 with a 13.94 GAA while playing in 24 games with the RiverHawks going 15-6-3 with one shutout and a 2.83 GAA. 

Olthuis played two seasons in Vernon (2004-2006) In 67 regular season games with the Vipers going (45-16-2) with 6 shutouts.

Jon Olthuis's Player Profile:

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=84007

This was in the Anchorage Daily News:

Notes: (Greenham, McBride, Lovdahl; and Johnny Olthuis in the house!)

Published: March 14, 2013

By Doyle Woody, dwoody@adn.com — Anchorage

Former UAF goaltender Scott Greenham of the ECHL's Bakersfield Condors has been loaned to the St. John's IceCaps of the AHL, who are coached by former Alaska Aces bench boss Keith McCambridge.

Greenham is 11-18-2 with a 3.33 goals-against average and .910 save percentage for the Condors, who are last in the Western Conference. He played four AHL games last season as a rookie. Greenham has stopped 25 of 26 shots in shootouts this season, which is stupid ridiculous.

In other notes, the Hull Stingrays of the Great Britain-based EIHL say defenseman Shane Lovdahl, the former Seawolf from Anchorage is retiring. And former Alaska Aces forward Brock McBride, according to eliteprospects.com, has signed a two-year deal with Austrian team Villacher, moving over from Olimpija Ljublajana in the same circuit. McBride this season went 15-39--54 in 51 games.

And, on the local ECHL front, the Idaho Steelheads, in town for a three-game series with the Aces, have added former UAA goaltender Jon Olthuis as an emergency backup goalie. That became necessary when the AHL Texas Stars recalled Tyler Beskorowany. Olthuis will back up Josh Robinson, who was excellent in Idaho's 4-3 OT win over the Aces on Wednesday.

Olthuis has a Steelheads connection -- he played for their first-year head coach, Brad Ralph, in the Southern Professional Hockey League and speaks highly of Ralph. Olthuis, one of the good guys, is an accountant in Anchorage.