Trent Fox has played hockey with his older brother, Dane, countless times in his life. But those times were in their driveway back home in Thamesville, Ontario. This weekend is different. This time, they’re both members of the Erie Otters organization.
“It’s exciting,” said Trent Fox, 16, the club’s fifth-round pick in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection who had 15 goals and 28 points in 27 minor midget games with London Knights Gold this season. “It will be a dream come true (if he earns a roster spot with the Otters. “I just have to do the hard work and do the little things to make it. That’s what I’ll do.”
Dane Fox, 19, who enters his overage season with the Otters, has served as his younger brother’s mentor heading into his first experience at the OHL level. “He’s been asking questions. I’ve just been calming him down and telling him what to expect and what to do and what not to do. He’s listening and asking questions. So I know that he’s ready to come out here and play.
Trent Fox didn’t last long in his first on-ice practice Friday during rookie development camp at Mercyhurst Ice Center. He left the ice early because of an ongoing battle with strep throat.
* News and notes: First-round pick Dylan Strome has officially signed with the Otters. … Strome will wear No. 19 as a rookie next season. Defenseman Artem Kuleshov wore that number as a rookie this season. But he isn’t expected to rejoin the club next season. Goaltender Oscar Dansk occupies one of two spots designated for European-born players. The Otters also hold the No. 5 overall pick in the CHL Import Draft this summer. … Defenseman Justin Felker was cleared to resume skating last week after being off the ice for four months because of a compression fracture in his neck that was originally feared to be career-threatening. … Center Jake Evans (knee) should be cleared to skate in the next two weeks.

- Victor Fernandes

ANCASTER, Ontario – The Erie Otters have depth on defense for the 2012-13 OHL season.
But veteran Kris Grant won’t be a part of that unit.
Grant, 19, who spent the past two seasons with the team, has requested a trade to a team closer to home in the Kingston, Ontario, area. So club officials told Grant to stay away from training camp to avoid being a distraction.
Sherry Bassin, managing partner and general manager, wasn’t surprised by Grant’s decision. “Last year, I was worried that he wasn’t committed to play,” Bassin said.
* An emergency plan: Bassin acquired goaltender Keinan Brown, 19, from Peterborough for a 10th-round draft pick Tuesday. Brown, who joins the team at camp Wednesday, appeared in two games in an emergency role late last season after Ramis Sadikov and Devin Williams suffered concussions.
Brown had an 0-2-0-0 record, 5.01 goals-against average and .873 save percentage with the Otters. Now Brown headlines Bassin’s emergency plan if Oscar Dansk or Williams are injured during the season.
* McCarthy released: The club waived Tyler McCarthy, and then released the overager after he cleared waivers. Bassin was unsure what McCarthy’s plans are for the coming season.
* On their way: Dansk, the third overall pick in the CHL Import Draft who agreed to terms with the Otters Monday, is scheduled to arrive in Toronto shortly after midnight Friday morning, and then join the team at camp later that day.
Meanwhile, second-year winger Sondre Olden and CHL second-round pick Artem Kuleshov are expected to join the team Monday in Erie.
Olden is training with his native Norway’s senior men’s team, which Bassin said gives him a better chance of possibly earning a spot with the national team.
Kuleshov remains unsigned, but “I don’t foresee that being an issue,” said Dave Brown, assistant manager of hockey operations. The transfer paperwork for the Russian-born defenseman is done, Brown said, but club officials still have immigration documents to complete.

- Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters have agreed to terms with goaltending prospect Oscar Dansk, said Sherry Bassin, managing partner and general manager. Dansk, the third overall pick in the 2012 CHL Import Draft, was chosen by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the first pick of the second round in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
Dansk is recovering from a minor knee injury suffered while playing for Sweden’s junior national team recently in Lake Placid, N.Y. Yet Bassin said he should leave Sweden to join the team at camp in the next few days, and he should be ready to play in the next couple of weeks.
Bassin also said he should finalize contracts with other undisclosed prospects in the couple of days.
In other news, defense prospect Riley Robertson and forward prospect Jordan Dunin have joined forward Dane Fox (broken bone in foot) on the Erie Otters’ injured list. Both suffered separated shoulders during the same summer skating session earlier, said Dave Brown, assistant manager of hockey operations. Yet unlike Fox, who isn’t expected to participate in training camp this week, Dunin and Robertson are listed as day-to-day.
Brown also confirmed that Dave Stickney has left the Otters after four seasons as head athletic trainer to take the same position with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Otters have hired Scott McLay, who spent last year as athletic trainer with the hockey programs and other sports at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

- Victor Fernandes

It appears the Erie Otters finally have a place to begin preparing for the 2012-13 OHL season.
A source speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed today that the Otters will hold training camp at Morgan Firestone Arena in Ancaster, Ontario. The source said Sherry Bassin, Otters managing partner and general manager, will make the official announcement Thursday.
The source said the Otters will finish camp by playing their preseason opener Aug. 31 at Firestone Arena. They face Niagara in a 7 p.m. game.
The Otters cannot have their annual week-long camp at Erie Insurance Arena because of ongoing renovations at the downtown facility. The Otters held camp in Erie or Jamestown, N.Y., for the first 16 years of the franchise’s history. Bassin also considered the Ontario towns of Fort Erie and Newmarket, the source said, but ice availability in Ancaster was a key factor in Bassin’s decision. Players report to camp Aug. 27.
Bassin declined to comment Wednesday about the location for training camp. He spent the past few days in Lake Placid, N.Y., watching goaltender Oscar Dansk, the Otters’ first-round pick in the 2012 CHL Import Draft, play for his native Sweden’s junior national team at USA Hockey’s National Junior Evaluation Camp. The camp began this past Saturday and continues through this coming Saturday.
“We’re very impressed,” said Bassin, who was joined by Dave Brown, Otters assistant manager of hockey operations.
Bassin declined to comment further on Dansk, who remains unsigned. But a source said Bassin has been in contact with Dansk’s agent, Peter Wallen, of Alterno Management AB, Sports & Entertainment in Sweden. Bassin and Brown planned on leaving Lake Placid Wednesday to continue negotiations with other draft picks. “When we get back, we’re going to get that done,” Bassin said.

UPDATE: The Otters have scheduled a news conference for Thursday at 11a.m. at Firestone Arena. Bassin and Brown will be in attendance. Details for training camp and sites for exhibition games will be announced.

- Victor Fernandes

Check out every pick from the two-round CHL Import Draft on Wednesday.

The Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League selected Swedish goaltender Oscar Dansk (DAHN-sk) from Brynäs of the Elitserien with the third overall selection in the 2012 CHL Import Draft Wednesday morning.

Born February 28, 1994 in Stockholm, the 6-foot-2, 187-pound Dansk was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the 31st overall pick of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Dansk was ranked second among European goaltenders by NHL Central Scouting in their final rankings for the draft.

In 28 games in the junior-level Super Elitserien, Dansk had a 2.82 goals-against-average and a save percentage of .910 with Brynäs. He also won a silver medal with Sweden at the 2012 IIHF Under-18 World Championships.

Dansk has previously played in North America with the storied Shattuck-St. Mary’s program in Minnesota, which has produced hockey superstars such as Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby, New Jersey Devils left wing Zach Parise and Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews.

Elite Prospects describes Dansk as “A very agile goalie with a large frame. Plays a hybrid style of play. Solid technical skills and is also strong mentally. Uses his size to his advantage and cuts off angles well. A good competitor.”

The Otters will select their next player in the 63rd spot.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Moncton Wildcats used the first overall pick to select Russia left wing Ivan Barbashev. The Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League selected German left wing Leon Draisaitl with the second overall pick.

- From Erie Otters news release

Hurricane Irene battered the East Coast late last week. But the large, powerful storm actually did Sondre Olden a favor.

Olden, the Erie Otters’ top pick in the 2011 CHL Import Draft, turned 19 Monday. Since Irene cancelled his flight from Oslo, Norway, to New York City this past weekend, the Norwegian-born right wing was able to celebrate his birthday at home with his family.

“But finally I’m here,” Olden said Wednesday after entering Tullio Arena for the first time.

He flew from Oslo to Toronto – with a stopover in Frankfurt, Germany – on Tuesday. He arrived in Toronto at 7 p.m. But he didn’t arrive in Erie until 2 a.m. Wednesday after a two-hour delay at the United States-Canadian border because of visa issues.

The total length of his trip was about 15 hours. But after sleeping in Wednesday morning, “I’m ready to start (playing) on the ice,” Olden said.

Olden and the Toronto Maple Leafs, which selected him (as well as Otters captain Greg McKegg) in the third round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, want Olden to play with the Otters so he will learn the North American game, which is more physical than the European style and also played on smaller ice surfaces. “It was not a hard decision,” Olden said.

Olden is best known for being a playmaker who handles the puck a lot. He had seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points for MoDo in Sweden last season, as well as represented Norway at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo last winter. But he said Leafs officials yelled at him for not shooting the puck enough. “So I have to shoot the puck more now,” he said. “I will try to score some goals this year.”

Olden said he hopes for a long, bright hockey career in North America. “I want to play in North America forever,” he said. “I hope it’s a great start for me to learn to play here. It’s a new start (to) my hockey career. I’m excited. It’s going to be fun.”

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Check out every pick in Wednesday’s CHL Import Draft.

The Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League selected Norwegian left wing Sondre Olden from Modo Hockey of the Elitserien with the 31st overall selection in the 2011 CHL Import Draft Wednesday afternoon.

Born August 29, 1992 in Oslo, the 6-foot-4, 180-pound Olden was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round (79th overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Otters captain Greg McKegg was drafted by the Leafs in the same draft, at the 61st overall position.

Olden played for the Under-20 program of MODO last season, grabbing 22 points in 33 games. He also represented his native Norway at the 2011 World Junior Championships in Buffalo.

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The Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League selected Russian center Vladimir Tkachev (Chach-kev) from AK Bars Kazan with the 37th overall selection in the 2011 CHL Import Draft Wednesday afternoon.

Born October 5, 1993 in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, the 6-foot, 180-pound Tkachev earned a bronze medal with Team Russia in the 2011 World Under-18 Hockey Championship in Germany. He had three points in seven games on a team that featured top 2012 NHL Entry Draft prospects Nail Yakupov and Mikhail Grigorenko. Tkachev will also be eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

- From Erie Otters news releases