Bes Made Most of Professional Career
February 8, 2016 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Guelph Storm News Release
As a rookie with the Hamilton Dukes, Jeff Bes moved to the Royal City with the beginning of the Guelph Storm before going on to play 19 seasons of professional hockey.
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It was 26 years ago that 1973-born forward Jeff Bes began his career in the Ontario Hockey League.
The beginning was with the Hamilton Dukes for the 1990-91 season, registering 70 points (23 goals, 47 assists) in 66 games played - good enough for second on team scoring as a league-freshman.
From one beginning to the next, Dukes and Bes moved to the Royal City the following season, becoming the Guelph Storm.
As a sophomore, Bes surpassed the 100-point plateau, recording 40 goals for 102 points in 62 games as Guelph's leading point-getter for the 1991-92 season.
Bes led the way again for the Storm in the 1992-93 season - his final year of major junior hockey - setting a new career-best with 115 points (48 goals, 67 assists) in 59 games. The total, standing first on Guelph's roster, was also good enough for 10th best in the OHL.
Before concluding his major junior tenure, though, Bes was invited to represent Canada at the 1993 World Junior Championships in Sweden. The gold-medal winning team included the likes of Chris Pronger, Manny Legace, Jason Smith, Rob Niedermayer, Martin Lapointe, and Bes' tournament linemate, Paul Kariya.
Previously selected in the third round (58th overall) by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, Bes never saw regular season time in the National Hockey League, however, went on to play professional hockey for 17 different teams in seven different leagues spanning five different countries over his career, covering Slovenia, Finland, Germany, and the United States with the International Hockey League (IHL), the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), and the American Hockey League (AHL).
Spending the last eight seasons of his playing career with the Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League (CHL), Bes surpassed the 100-point plateau in a single season twice, registering 117 points in 2003-04 and 106 in 2007-08.
Two seasons later, Bes finished 11th in league scoring with 75 points in 64 games for the 2009-2010 campaign.
Looking back to 2007, Bes added on coaching responsibilities with the Bucks, acting as both a player and an assistant coach.
From there, Bes was hired as the head coach of the Mississippi Surge of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). With the Surge folding in May of 2014, Bes was later hired to coach the SPHL's Fayetteville FireAntz.
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Jeff Bes
OHL Totals: 121 games played, 88 goals, 129 assists, 217 points
Playoffs: Five games played, three goals, five assists, eight points
Named eighth all-time forward in Guelph Storm history
Selected in the third round (58th overall) by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft
Played 19 seasons of professional hockey
Represented Canada at the 1993 World Junior Championships (Gold Medal)
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