Sherry Bassin continues to deny reports of the Erie Otters’ impending move to Ontario. First, it was Hamilton. Now it’s the Chatham-Kent region.
“Absolutely no truth to it,” Bassin, the OHL club’s managing partner and general manager, said in response to a Chatham-Kent Sports Network report Tuesday stating that a deal has been reached to sell the franchise to a “prominent local businessman.”
Bassin previously has denied reports of the franchise’s potential move to Hamilton, including a report that he has spoken with Michael Andlauer, owner of the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs, about purchasing the Otters. “Everytime I turn around, I’m going to five different places,” Bassin said.
According to the Chatham-Kent Sports Network report, an announcement regarding the Otters likely would be made following the Memorial Cup, the CHL’s annual championship tournament, which begins Friday and runs through May 26 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Bassin said he continues to receive inquiries about the Otters. “That’s it,” Bassin said, referring to not moving any closer to selling the franchise. Bassin said franchises can’t be sold and moved without approval from the OHL through a lengthy league-mandated process. “The process is so complicated. It’s so involved,” he said.
David Branch, OHL commissioner and CHL president, wasn’t immediately available for comment Wednesday, since he was traveling to Saskatoon.
Bassin, who moved the franchise to Erie from Niagara Falls, Ontario, in 1996, has one year left on a two-year lease agreement with the Erie County Convention Center Authority, which operates Erie Insurance Arena. The Otters are set to play the 2013-14 season in a newly renovated arena.
Chatham-Kent Sports Network reported that a recent meeting between the Otters and “the organization that operates their arena” to work on a new lease had been canceled twice in the span of a week. Bassin said he has had no meetings scheduled with the ECCCA. “We’ll look at that. We’ll see how things go,” Bassin said of pursuing a lease beyond next season, referring to waiting to evaluate the final arena renovations and community response toward the team next season. Casey Wells, ECCCA executive director, didn’t immediately respond to a telephone message Wednesday.

- Victor Fernandes

Sherry Bassin continues to deny reports of the Erie Otters’ impending move to Ontario. First, it was Hamilton. Now it’s the Chatham-Kent region.
“Absolutely no truth to it,” Bassin, the OHL club’s managing partner and general manager, said in response to a Chatham-Kent Sports Network report Tuesday stating that a deal has been reached to sell the franchise to a “prominent local businessman.”
Bassin previously has denied reports of the franchise’s potential move to Hamilton, including a report that he has spoken with Michael Andlauer, owner of the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs, about purchasing the Otters. “Everytime I turn around, I’m going to five different places,” Bassin said.
According to the Chatham-Kent Sports Network report, an announcement regarding the Otters likely would be made following the Memorial Cup, the CHL’s annual championship tournament, which begins Friday and runs through May 26 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Bassin said he continues to receive inquiries about the Otters. “That’s it,” Bassin said, referring to not moving any closer to selling the franchise. Bassin said franchises can’t be sold and moved without approval from the OHL through a lengthy league-mandated process. “The process is so complicated. It’s so involved,” he said.
David Branch, OHL commissioner and CHL president, wasn’t immediately available for comment Wednesday, since he was traveling to Saskatoon.
Bassin, who moved the franchise to Erie from Niagara Falls, Ontario, in 1996, has one year left on a two-year lease agreement with the Erie County Convention Center Authority, which operates Erie Insurance Arena. The Otters are set to play the 2013-14 season in a newly renovated arena.
When asked about pursuing a lease extension with the ECCCA, Bassin said, “We’ll look at that. We’ll see how things go.”

- Victor Fernandes

Sherry Bassin, Erie Otters managing partner and general manager, said recently that “there seems to be a fair amount of people that have shown an interest” in purchasing the OHL franchise. Bassin didn’t reveal specifics about potential buyers, although he added that he has received verbal offers.
Yet the Hamilton Spectator in Hamilton, Ontario, has reported that Michael Andlauer, owner of the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs, has spoken with Bassin about the Otters and with David Branch, OHL commissioner and CHL president, about his interest in purchasing an OHL franchise. According to the Spectator, Andlauer wouldn’t disclose if he and Bassin have discussed a purchase price.
“There’s no doubt the league knows I’m desirous of having a team,” Andlauer told the Spectator. “It’s definitely on my radar. It’s all a matter of timing.”
Bassin, 73, has said he hasn’t received interest locally about buying the franchise. “I’m coming to a point where I am going to sell the team,” he said.
Reports began to surface a season ago linking the Otters with a potential move to Hamilton, Ontario. Then in March 2012, Bassin signed a two-year lease with the Erie County Convention Center Authority, which operates Erie Insurance Arena. The lease expires after the 2013-14 season.

- Victor Fernandes

BMO CHL MasterCard Top 10 Rankings – Week 1

Rank Team (Record)
1 Quebec Remparts
2 Edmonton Oil Kings
3 London Knights
4 Portland Winterhawks
5 Kitchener Rangers
6 Halifax Mooseheads
7 Plymouth Whalers
8 Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
9 Saskatoon Blades
10 Oshawa Generals

Honorable Mention:
Moncton Wildcats
Kamloops Blazers
Belleville Bulls

Hayden Hodgson had a great summer playing baseball, headlined by two no-hitters. Yet that success, and the potential that comes with being a left-handed pitcher that throws nearly 90 mph, couldn’t keep him from choosing to focus on hockey.
Hodgson made it official Wednesday, as he joined fellow 2012 high-round picks Justin Felker (second round), Kyle Pettit (second) and Riley Robertson (third) in agreeing to terms with the Erie Otters.
“You want to follow your dream and do what you want,” said Hodgson, a third-round pick. “That’s important to me, and that’s important to my family. I leaned towards the sport that I really enjoy the most – hockey. The opportunity and the options at this level really swung me over.”
* Changing his mind?: In April, Millcreek Township native Nate Miller said he would pursue a career as an OHL goaltender. Since then, the Otters have added highly touted CHL pick Oscar Dansk and newly acquired Keinan Brown to their depth in net. Now Miller isn’t as sure about a future in the OHL.
“I don’t want to play as a backup (in the OHL) and ruin my college eligibility,” said Miller, who will play for the Toledo Cherokee in the North American Tier III Hockey League this coming season. “If I were to play her, I’d want a good chance to play and not sit on the bench.”
Miller, who hopes to earn a college scholarship in the future, isn’t surprised about the Otters’ moves in goal. “I expected it to happen,” he said. “But I wanted to prepare myself anyway in case I got the opportunity.”
* Numbers game: Sherry Bassin, Otters managing partner and general manager, wishes he could have kept Robertson and fellow 2012 picks Darren Raddysh (fifth round), Gregory Allen (sixth) and Bryan Sienerth (13th).
But the league rule limiting teams to four under-agers (five with a goalie) prompted Bassin to cut all four prospects today. Felker, Pettit and Hodgson likely will join No. 1 overall pick Connor McDavid on the roster this season.
“If players aren’t going to play for you this year, get them back to school and to their (Tier II) team,” said Bassin, who described Sienerth, a Millcreek Township, as “outstanding.”
* News and notes: Club officials sent a contract offer for Russian D Artem Kuleshov to his agent, former NHL goaltender MIke Liut, today. No word yet if an agreement was reached. … Former Otters D Paul Cianfrini participated in the afternoon practice today. He spent the 2011-12 season with Toledo (ECHL), and had re-signed with the Walleye. But he recently signed with Rapid City (CHL) after the possible NHL lockout cost him a spot in Toledo. Prospects from Chicago and Detroit would fill those spots in Toledo if a lockout occurs.

- 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

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that goaltender Andrew D’Agostini of the Peterborough Petes is the 2011-12 recipient of the Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy presented to the OHL’s Humanitarian of the Year.

D’Agostini, a 19-year-old from Scarborough, ON, earns the award for his efforts in support of Cystic Fibrosis Canada shown large in part through his support and friendship of six-year-old Anthony Romanelli who was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis three years ago. D’Agostini is the fifth member of the Petes to receive this award and the second straight following Jack Walchessen who was last year’s recipient.

“I would like to thank the Peterborough Petes and the OHL for this great honour,” said D’Agostini. “Peterborough has always made me feel welcome and I have enjoyed every minute giving back to them. The real heroes are people like Anthony and his family who understand how precious every day is.”

D’Agostini first reached out to Cystic Fibrosis Canada after hearing the affects of the disease when the local chapter spoke to the Petes’ organization on December 17 prior to club’s fundraising efforts and team skate in support of the foundation. D’Agostini took it upon himself to meet the presenter, Tracy Romanelli, and her son Anthony, and expressed his interest in helping to raise money for the cause. The meeting turned into an ongoing and impactful friendship where D’Agostini has maintained constant communication with Anthony and his family providing gracious comfort and support. D’Agostini is now the spokesman for the Cystic Fibrosis Great Strides Walk which takes place on May 27, 2012, and captains the team “Shutout for Anthony” which has already raised over $5,000.

“Seeing the boys together is just amazing,” said Tracy Romanelli. “Andrew had said to me in that first meeting that he was going to help make a difference in Anthony’s life. I realize it is not easy for a young man to get involved with a sick child but Andrew has given Anthony the dream of becoming a goalie and the hope that one day he may not have to deal with Cystic Fibrosis.”

In addition to his work for Cystic Fibrosis, D’Agostini has contributed over 250 hours in the past three seasons to various causes such as the Petes’ “Partners in Education Program”, while spending time in the pediatric ward of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre, playing floor hockey with a local group of Special Olympians, and visiting a young Petes’ fan after returning home from an extended stay in the hospital as a result of a car accident leaving a Petes’ game earlier in the season. On the ice, D’Agostini played in 38 games between the pipes posting a record of 17-15-1-1 with one shutout, a goals-against-average of 3.90 and save percentage of .890. He was last year’s recipient of the Ivan Tennant Memorial Award presented to the league’s top High School Student Athlete of the Year.

“The Peterborough Petes are very proud of Andrew and the announcement of him being named the recipient of the Dan Snyder Memorial Award as OHL Humanitarian of the Year,” said Petes’ Assistant General Manager Aaron Garfat. “This is an award that the Petes take great pride in nominating a player for. Andrew’s involvement in the community goes above and beyond and is a true reflection of his character. He is a great role model for the youth of our community both on and off the ice.”

Each year the OHL awards a player that has demonstrated outstanding qualities as a positive role model in the community with the Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy. The Ontario Hockey League Board of Governors announced in 2004 that the OHL Humanitarian of the Year award would be renamed in recognition of the former Owen Sound Platers captain, who was twice named his team’s Humanitarian of the Year in recognition of his tremendous efforts in supporting community activities.

In addition to D’Agostini and Walchessen, other Petes to win the award include Brent Tully (1994), Mike Martone (1997), and Jeff MacDougald who was the first player to receive the award in recognition of Snyder in the 2004-05 season. This is the third time where a team has had back-to-back recipients following Chris Terry and Ryan Hayes of the Plymouth Whalers in 2009 and 2010, while David Silverstone and Michael Mole earned the award as members of the Belleville Bulls in 2002 and 2003 respectively.

D’Agostini will be the OHL’s nominee for Humanitarian of the Year at the annual CHL Awards on May 26 and will be formally presented with the Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy at the OHL Awards Ceremony which takes place June 5 at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

- From OHL news release

2011-12 Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy Nominees
Barrie – Dylan Smoskowitz*
Belleville – Luke Judson
Brampton – Mitchell Porowski
Erie – Mac MacDonnell
Guelph – Kyle Pereira
Kingston – Cody Alcock
Kitchener – Ben Fanelli*
London – Scott Harrington
Mississauga – Brett Foy
Niagara – Mark Visentin
Oshawa – Kevin Bailie
Ottawa – Shane Prince
Owen Sound – Jay Gilbert
Peterborough – Andrew D’Agostini
Plymouth – Colin MacDonald
Saginaw – Eric Locke
Sarnia – Nathan Chiarlitti**
Sault Ste. Marie – Brandon Alderson
Sudbury – Nathan Pancel
Windsor – John Cullen

*repeat nominee
** three-time nominee

Erie Otters teammate Dane Fox (Team Cherry) and Adam Pelech (Team Orr) will play against each other in the Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game on Wednesday. The game will be televised live on NHL Network starting at 10 p.m. from Prospera Place in Kelowna, British Columbia.

They also will compete for their respective teams in tonight’s skills competition. Pelech will compete in the Hardest Shot event, while Fox is entered in the Show-Down Breakaway Contest. This event won’t be televised.

Sarnia, ON – General Manager Jacques Beaulieu announced this morning that forward Nail Yakupov will not be attending this year’s Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

Beaulieu has released the following statement on behalf of the hockey club:

“Dr. R. Giffin of the Fowler Kennedy Clinic in London has advised the hockey club that it is in the best interest of the player not to partake in the Top Prospects game on Wednesday in Kelowna.”

When Yakupov first suffered from injury following the World Junior Championship he was removed from the Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game rosters. After returning and playing in all three of the Sting’s games this past weekend there was hope that he would be healthy enough to be added back into the lineup.

- From OHL news release

The Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League have announced that defenseman Adam Pelech will participate in the 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, which will take place Wednesday, February 1 in Kelowna, British Columbia.

The 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game will mark the 17th annual showcase of the CHL’s top-40 NHL draft eligible players featuring talent from the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The two-day event also features an exciting skills competition and three-on-three challenge taking place on Tuesday, January 31.

Pelech is the first Otters defenseman to participate in the Top Prospects Game since Brian Lee in 2002 and is the 14th player from Erie selected to play in the game. Andrew Yogan (2010), Ryan O’Reilly (2009), Nick Palmieri (2007) and Zack Torquato (2007) are some of the recent players to have participated in the Top Prospects Game.

In an injury-shortened season, Pelech has excelled with six assists and a plus-two rating in eight games. He appeared in all but three games last season and was selected as the team’s Rookie of the Year at the Annual Summer Awards Banquet in June. Pelech has also won gold medals at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge with Team Ontario and at the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka with Team Canada.

- From Erie Otters news release