Ortmeyer played junior hockey with the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) for two seasons. He finished his first season with the Lancers, the 1997–98 season, third on the team in scoring with 48 points in 54 games.[2] During his second season with the Lancers, the 1998–99 season, he led the team in goals with 23 and points with 59.[3] During Ortmeyer's two-year stint with the Lancers, he played with future NHLersDuvie Westcott and Ryan Malone.[2][3] After two years with the team, he left to begin his NCAA college hockey career.
Undrafted by an NHL team, Ortmeyer was signed by the New York Rangers on May 10, 2003.[8] During the 2003–04 NHL season, Ortmeyer split time between the Rangers and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. He made his Rangers' debut on November 15, 2003 against the New Jersey Devils.[9] He then scored his first NHL goal on November 25 against Nikolai Khabibulin of the Tampa Bay Lightning.[10] He went on to finish the season with 2 goals and 4 assists with the Rangers.
Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Ortmeyer spent the entirety of the following season with the Wolf Pack. He returned to the Rangers full-time in the 2005–06 NHL season, playing on a line with Dominic Moore and Ryan Hollweg, which was known as the "HMO Line".[11] Former Rangers Head CoachTom Renney reflected upon the "HMO Line", saying, "They were high-octane energy and in your face and just played hard two-way Hockey."[11] Ortmeyer also played on the Rangers' penalty kill unit.[11]
During the 2006 off-season, the "HMO Line" was broken up when Dominic Moore was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins.[12] During that same off-season, Ortmeyer was sidelined indefinitely on August 14, 2006, after he was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism.[13] On January 2, 2007, Ortmeyer returned to the Rangers line-up after a conditioning stint with the Wolf Pack, playing 5:35 over 9 shifts.[8][14] On January 13, in his sixth game since returning, he scored on a shorthandedpenalty shot against the Boston Bruins to assure a 3–1 Rangers victory.[15] On January 29, 2007, Ortmeyer posted 3 assists and was named the first star in another game against the Bruins in Boston.[16]
Becoming a free agent in the 2007 off-season, Ortmeyer signed a two-year contract with the Nashville Predators on July 2.[8] Playing in his first season with the Predators, Ortmeyer tore his ACL for the second time in his career on February 23, 2008, and missed the remainder of the 2007–08 season.[18] He had surgery to repair his knee, but due to inactivity from the surgery he suffered from blood clots in the leg and missed the first two months of the 2008–09 season.[18] On December 3, 2008, Ortmeyer was placed on waivers by the Predators.[19] After clearing, he was assigned to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL.[19]
Ortmeyer signed a one-year deal with the San Jose Sharks on July 16, 2009.[8]
On September 27, 2010, Ortmeyer accepted an invitation to the New York Islanders training camp on a Professional Tryout (PTO).[8] He was released on October 3.[8] He then played on PTOs with the San Antonio Rampage and Houston Aeros of the AHL before signing with the NHL's Minnesota Wild on January 4, 2011.[20][8] The next day, the Wild assigned him to the Aeros, their AHL affiliate.[8] Ortmeyer spent the rest of 2011 and 2012, spanning over two seasons, being shuttled between the Wild and the Aeros.[8]
Ortmeyer's younger brother, Jake Ortmeyer, is a retired college and professional hockey player who was the head coach for the Omaha AAA Hockey Club Peewee, Bantam, and 16, and 18u teams.[23] Jake Ortmeyer played college hockey at Miami (Ohio), at the time a CCHA conference rival of Jed's Michigan teams, meaning the Ortmeyer brothers faced each other several times in their college careers.
In July 2009, Jed married his high school girlfriend, Maggie Jacobson. They went on to have two children, Tova and Dax Ortmeyer.
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