Erie Otters

Erie Otters
City	Erie, Pennsylvania
League	Ontario Hockey League
Conference	Western
Division	Midwest
Founded	1996 (1996)–97
Home arena	Erie Insurance Arena
Colors	Navy blue, red, gold, white
General manager	Sherwood Bassin
Head coach	Kris Knoblauch
Website www.ottershockey.com
Franchise history
1946–53	Windsor Spitfires
1953–60	Hamilton Tiger Cubs
1960–74	Hamilton Red Wings
1974–76	Hamilton Fincups
1976–77	St. Catharines Fincups
1977–78	Hamilton Fincups
1978–84	Brantford Alexanders
1984–88	Hamilton Steelhawks
1988–96	Niagara Falls Thunder
1996–present	Erie Otters

The Erie Otters are a major junior ice hockey team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the Ontario Hockey League, one of only three American teams in the circuit. The team takes its name from the North American river otter, a semiaquatic mammal commonly found by Lake Erie.

History

The Erie Otters were previously located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, where they were called the Niagara Falls Thunder. They moved to downtown Erie's Erie Insurance Arena in 1996.

The Otters' first three seasons in Erie were not kind to them, especially because they were eliminated in the first round of the OHL playoffs each year. However, they saw success in 1999 by capturing the Holody Trophy, which is the league's award for winning the Midwest Division championship. It would be their first of three consecutive Midwest Division championships, culminating in an J. Ross Robertson Cup in 2001–02. Additionally, Dave MacQueen won the Matt Leyden Trophy in 2000–01 as the OHL Coach of the Year and Sherwood Bassin was awarded OHL Executive of the Year for his role in building a championship team as general manager. The Erie Otters became the second American team to win the OHL Championship after the 1995 champions Detroit Junior Red Wings (now the Plymouth Whalers).

The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) officially partnered with the Erie Otters in 2012. As part of the deal, LECOM is the team's official medical provider.

Uniforms and logos

The Erie Otters' colors are navy blue, red, gold, and white. Their primary logo includes a red circle with a fierce-looking otter holding a hockey stick and wearing playing equipment. The "Otters" wordmark is superimposed over the design in red with gold and navy blue outline. The team's home uniforms comprise a solid navy blue design with red and gold accents while the away uniforms feature a white jersey and socks.

Arena

The Erie Otters play home games at the Erie Insurance Arena located in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania. The arena was built in 1981 and seats 5,500 spectators. The arena is part of the Erie Civic Center Complex, which includes Jerry Uht Park — a baseball stadium for the Double-A Erie SeaWolves.

Championships

• J. Ross Robertson Cup (OHL Champions)
  2001–2002
• Wayne Gretzky Trophy (Western Conference Champions)
  2001–2002
• Hamilton Spectator Trophy (1st place regular season)
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• Holody Trophy (Midwest Division Champions)
  1999–2000, 2000–2001, 2001–2002

Coaches

Dave MacQueen won the Matt Leyden Trophy in 2000–01 as the OHL Coach of the Year.

Multiple years in parentheses

• 1996–1997 Chris Johnstone, Dale Dunbar
• 1997–1998 Dale Dunbar (2)
• 1998–1999 Paul Theriault
• 1999–2006 Dave MacQueen (7)
• 2006–2007 Peter Sidorkiewicz (2)
• 2007–2012 Robbie Ftorek (4)
• 2012–present Kris Knoblauch

Players

A total of 21 players have been selected at the National Hockey League Entry Draft since the franchise relocated to Erie, including a five-year stretch from 1997–2001 in which seven members of the team were selected in the first round: (1997 Jason Ward, 11th, Montreal Canadiens; 1998 Michael Rupp, ninth, New York Islanders; 1999 Tim Connolly, fifth, New York Islanders; 2000 Nikita Alexeev, eighth, Tampa Bay Lightning; Brad Boyes, 24th, Toronto Maple Leafs; 2001 Carlo Colaiacovo, 17th, Toronto Maple Leafs; and Adam Munro, 29th, Chicago Blackhawks).

Award winners

• 1999–2000 - Brad Boyes, CHL Scholastic Player of the Year Award, Bobby Smith Trophy (OHL Scholastic Player of the Year)
• 2000–01 - Brad Boyes, Red Tilson Trophy (Most Outstanding Player), William Hanley Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike Player)
• 2000–01 - Joey Sullivan, Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy (Humanitarian of the Year)
• 2001–02 - Brad Boyes, CHL Sportsman of the Year Award, Red Tilson Trophy (Most Outstanding Player), William Hanley Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike Player), Wayne Gretzky 99 Award (Playoffs MVP)
• 2001–02 - Cory Pecker, Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy (Overage Player of the Year)
• 2003–04 - Chris Campoli, CHL Humanitarian of the Year, Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy (OHL Humanitarian of the Year)
• 2006–07 - Derrick Bagshaw, Roger Neilson Memorial Award (Top Academic University Player)
• 2007-09 - Ryan O’Reilly, Jack Ferguson Award (First Overall draft pick)
• 2011-12 - Connor McDavid, Jack Ferguson Award (First Overall draft pick)

NHL alumni

• Nikita Alexeev
• Adam Berti
• Michael Blunden
• Brad Boyes

• Chris Campoli
• Carlo Colaiacovo
• Tim Connolly
• Brett MacLean

• Steve Montador
• Adam Munro
• Ryan O'Marra
• Ryan O'Reilly

• Jeff Paul
• Nick Palmieri
• Geoff Platt
• Michael Rupp

• Stephen Valiquette
• Jason Ward
• Jeff Zehr

Retired numbers

• Brad Boyes (#16)
• Vince Scott (#18)

Current roster

Updated March 17th, 2013

Goaltenders
#		Player	Born	Place of birth	Drafted
31		Devin Williams	1995	Saginaw, Michigan	Undrafted
38		Oscar Dansk	1994	Tumba, Sweden	CBJ – Round 2, 31 overall– 2012

Defencemen
#		Player	Born	Place of birth	Drafted
3		Darren Raddysh	1996	Caledon, Ontario	Eligible 2014
4		Jimmy McDowell	1993	Dimondale, Michigan	Undrafted
5		Justin Felker	1996	St. Catherines, Ontario	Eligible 2014
9		Spencer Abraham	1993	Campbellville, Ontario	Undrafted
19		Artem Kuleshov	1995	Moscow, Russia	Eligible 2013
21		Jack Kuzmyk	1993	Bradford, Ontario	Undrafted
27		Adam Pelech	1994	Toronto, Ontario	NYI – Round 3, 65 overall – 2012
37		Travis Wood	1995	Hudson, Wisconsin	Eligible 2014
57		Troy Donnay	1994	Fenton, Michigan	Undrafted

Forwards
#		Player	Position	Born	Place of birth	Drafted
7		Jake Evans	C	1995	Thorold, Ontario	Eligible 2013
10		Stephen Harper	LW	1995	Burlington, Ontario	Eligible 2013
11		Hayden Hodgson	RW	1996	Leamington, Ontario	Eligible 2014
12		Nick Betz	RW	1995	Clinton Township, Michigan	Eligible 2013
14		Joe Wigle	RW	1994	Brantford, Ontario	Undrafted
15		Kyle Pettit	C	1996	Komoka, Ontario	Eligible 2014
17		Thomas Lattavo	RW	1996	Caledon, Ontario	Eligible 2014
22		J.P. Labardo	C	1992	Bolton, Ontario	Undrafted
23		Connor Crisp	C	1994	Alliston, Ontario	Undrafted
28		Connor Brown	RW	1994	Etobicoke, Ontario	TOR – Round 6, 156 overall – 2012
40		Luke Cairns	C	1994	Stoney Creek, Ontario	Undrafted
74		Dane Fox	C	1993	Thamesville, Ontario	Undrafted
97		Connor McDavid	C	1997	Newmarket, Ontario	Eligible 2015

Note: (OA) = Overage player

Team records

Team records for a single season
Statistic	Total	Season
Most points	102	2000–01
Most wins	45	2000–01
Most goals for	281	2010–11
Least goals for	181	2002–03
Least goals against	171	2000–01
Most goals against	378	2006–07

Individual player records for a single season
Statistic	Player	Total	Season
Most goals	Cory Pecker	53	2001–02
Most assists	Zack Torquato	62	2009–10
Most points	Cory Pecker	99	2001–02
Most points, rookie	Connor McDavid	66	2012–13
Most points, defenceman	Chris Campoli	66	2003–04
Best GAA (goalie)	Adam Munro	2.31	2000–01
Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played

Season-by-season results

Regular season

Legend: OTL = Overtime loss, SL = Shootout loss

Season	Games	Won	Lost	Tied	OTL	SL	Points	Pct %	Goals For	Goals Against	Standing
1996–97	66	23	36	7	-	-	53	0.402	240	260	5th Central
1997–98	66	33	28	5	-	-	71	0.538	261	252	4th West
1998–99	68	31	33	4	-	-	66	0.485	271	297	3rd Midwest
1999–2000	68	33	28	4	3	-	73	0.515	224	229	1st Midwest
2000–01	68	45	11	10	2	-	102	0.735	264	171	1st Midwest
2001–02	68	41	22	4	1	-	87	0.632	246	218	1st Midwest
2002–03	68	24	35	6	3	-	57	0.397	181	248	5th Midwest
2003–04	68	29	26	6	7	-	71	0.471	221	212	5th Midwest
2004–05	68	31	26	6	5	-	73	0.500	186	207	4th Midwest
2005–06	68	26	35	-	4	3	59	0.434	219	266	5th Midwest
2006–07	68	15	50	-	1	2	33	0.243	209	378	5th Midwest
2007–08	68	18	46	-	2	2	40	0.294	206	343	5th Midwest
2008–09	68	34	29	-	3	2	73	0.537	208	254	3rd Midwest
2009–10	68	33	28	-	5	2	73	0.537	257	259	4th Midwest
2010–11	68	40	26	-	1	1	82	0.603	281	229	3rd Midwest
2011–12	68	10	52	-	3	3	26	0.191	169	338	5th Midwest
2012–13	68	19	40	-	4	5	47	0.346	206	312	5th Midwest
Total:	1152	485	551	52	44	20	1086	-	3849	4473	-

Playoffs

• 1996–97 Lost to Guelph Storm 4 games to 1 in division quarter-finals.
• 1997–98 Lost to London Knights 4 games to 3 in division quarter-finals.
• 1998–99 Lost to Guelph Storm 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
• 1999–2000 Defeated Brampton Battalion 4 games to 2 in conference quarter-finals.
  Lost to S.S. Marie Greyhounds 4 games to 3 in conference semi-finals.
• 2000–01 Defeated London Knights 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
  Defeated Brampton Battalion 4 games to 1 in conference semi-finals.
  Lost to Plymouth Whalers 4 games to 1 in conference finals.
• 2001–02 Defeated Sarnia Sting 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
  Defeated London Knights 4 games to 2 in conference semi-finals.
  Defeated Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 1 in conference finals.
  Defeated Barrie Colts 4 games to 1 in finals. OHL CHAMPIONS
  Lost to Victoriaville Tigres 5-4 (OT) in the Memorial Cup semi-finals.
• 2002–03 Out of playoffs.
• 2003–04 Defeated Sarnia Sting 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
  Lost to London Knights 4 games to 0 in conference semi-finals.
• 2004–05 Lost to Kitchener Rangers 4 games to 2 in conference quarter-finals.
• 2005–06 Out of playoffs.
• 2006–07 Out of playoffs.
• 2007–08 Out of playoffs.
• 2008–09 Lost to London Knights 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
• 2009–10 Lost to Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 0 in conference quarter-finals.
• 2010–11 Lost to Windsor Spitfires 4 games to 3 in conference quarter-finals.
• 2011–12 Out of playoffs.
• 2012–13 Out of playoffs.

See also

• Erie Blizzard

External links

• Erie Otters
• Erie Otters coverage at Erie Times-News