Add another major publication – Sports Illustrated – to the always growing list of media outlets throughout North America that have done feature stories on hockey phenom Connor McDavid since he joined the Erie Otters as a 15-year-old at the start of the 2013-14 OHL season.
Sports Illustrated has a four-page article in its latest magazine entitled “The Next Next Next One.” McDavid, the highly touted No. 1 pick in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection who’s already expected to be the top pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, also has been featured by media outlets such as the New York Times, USA Today and ESPN.com, The Hockey News, Toronto Sun, The Globe and Mail in Toronto) and Le Journal de Montreal.
McDavid, 16, a native of Newmarket, Ontario, finished second among all OHL rookies with 66 points in the regular season. He won a gold medal, and led all scorers with 14 points in seven games, with Canada in the IIHF U18 World Championship in Sochi, Russia.

Veteran D Spencer Abraham figures Dane Fox and Jimmy McDowell are locks for two of the Erie Otters’ three overager spots for the 2013-14 OHL season. The departure of D Jack Kuzmyk, who recently informed club officials he has chosen to enroll in school instead of trying to play his final season in major juniors, leaves as Abraham as the only other OA on the current roster.
Yet Abraham doesn’t think he’s a sure thing right now. “I’m going to have to earn my spot,” he said. OAs need to be among the best players on the team. So where doe Abraham feel he fits in?
“I can be a depth guy,” he said, who can serve as a mentor to younger Ds like returnees Justin Felker and Darren Raddysh, soon-to-be signed 2013 second-round pick Jesse Saban and highly-touted 2012 pick Travis Dermott.
“They’re young guys coming into the league,” said Abraham, who heads into his fourth year in the OHL. “It’s a tough league. I can show them the way they need to work and the way they need to act.”
* Taking the next step: Defense prospect Patrick Murphy needed to get thinner, faster and stronger to have a chance to play for the Otters next season. He’s spending the offseason doing just that.
A more streamlined version of the Otters’ fifth-round pick in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection looked impressive during the club’s rookie development camp this weekend at Mercyhurst Ice Center.
“I wasn’t fast enough and too soft in the corners. That’s where I needed to step up to stick around,” said Murphy, who spent brief stints with the club the past two seasons.
* Hitting his mark: First-round pick Dylan Strome tossed a strike Friday night at Jerry Uht Park, when he threw the ceremonial first pitch before the Erie SeaWolves game. Strome wishes he was more accurate with his shots in Saturday’s scrimmages at MIC. He scored in the first scrimmage featuring mainly players with 1996 and 1997 birth years.
Yet he was stopped on a few quality chances in the second scrimmage.
Yet on the plus side, he quickly learned how much of a jump he will face from minor midgets to the OHL. Besides being a faster game, he said, “you’ve got to brace yourself for every hit.”
* A weekend off: C Connor McDavid enjoyed a leisurely weekend at MIC. He didn’t skate because he’s only a week removed from winning a gold medal at the IIHF U18 World Championship in Sochi, Russia. Besides, he’s still savoring the memorable experience, and not because he led all players in the tournament with eight goals and 14 points.
He enjoyed playing some of the best players in the world in that age group. McDavid also appreciated what he saw on the ice at MIC this weekend.
“It looks good out there,” he said. “I’m looking forward to training camp.”
* Getting offensive: C Kyle Pettit developed into a reliable defensive forward for the Otters last season as a 16-year-old rookie. Yet he focused on his offensive game this offseason. He has worked strictly on offense four days a week.
“It’s nice to get an offensive approach to my game,” he said.

Erie Otters center Connor McDavid captured the gold medal Sunday, as Canada defeated the four-time defending champion United States 3-2 in the title game of the IIHF U18 World Championship in Sochi, Russia. McDavid didn’t record a point for the second straight game, but he still led all players with eight goals and 14 points in seven games and tied for the lead with six assists. He was named the most valuable player and best forward.
McDavid set Canadian records for goals and points in the tournament. Meanwhile, Canada won gold for the first time since 2008.

Erie Otters center Connor McDavid was held without a point for the first time in six games at the IIHF U18 World Championship in Sochi, Russia. Yet the Canadians still beat Finland 3-1 in the semifinals today to earn a spot in Sunday’s gold-medal game against the United States, which beat Russia 4-3 in the other semifinal.
Canada will play for the U18 title for the first time since winning in 2008. McDavid, who had hat tricks in his previous two games, still leads all players with eight goals and 14 points. He’s tied for the lead with six assists. He already has set Canadian records for goals and points in this tournament.

Erie Otters center Connor McDavid’s second straight hat trick led Canada to a 6-0 quarterfinal win Thursday in the IIHF U18 World Championship in Sochi, Russia. Canada (5-0) moves into today’s semifinal matchup against Finland, with the United States and Russia in the other semifinal. Meanwhile, McDavid added to his tournament-leading totals of eight goals, six assists and 14 points after netting a hat trick in a 6-0 win against Sweden in the final preliminary-round game Tuesday. He already has set Canadian records for goals and points in this tournament with as many as two goals left to play.

Erie Otters center Connor McDavid leads all players with five goals, six assists and 11 points in four games for unbeaten Canada in the IIHF U18 World Championship in Sochi, Russia. McDavid, 16, capped his dominant performance in the preliminary round with a hat trick in a 6-0 win against Sweden Tuesday. Canada also beat Slovakia 4-1 last Thursday, Germany 3-1 Saturday and Switzerland 10-1 Monday to win Group B with a 4-0 record and secure a quarterfinal matchup with Czech Republic Thursday. The Czechs finished fourth in Group A with a 1-3 record. The United States finished third in Group A with a 2-2 record, and will meet Group B runner-up Sweden (3-1) in a quarterfinal.

Erie Otters center Connor McDavid will play for his native Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 team at the IIHF U18 World Championship, which runs from Thursday through April 28 in Sochi, Russia. McDavid, 16, the OHL’s rookie of the year who had 25 goals and 66 points in 63 games this season, will be joined by 10 other OHL players on the 23-player roster – goaltender Spencer Martin (Mississauga), defensemen Chris Bigras (Owen Sound) and Roland McKeown (Kingston) and forwards Nick Baptiste (Sudbury), Sam Bennett (Kingston), Jason Dickinson (Guelph), Hunter Garlent (Guelph), Zach Nastasiuk (Owen Sound), Nick Ritchie (Peterborough) and Carter Verhaege (Niagara).
Canada begins the tournament Thursday at 10 a.m. against Slovakia, followed by games against Germany (Saturday at 4 a.m.), Switzerland (Monday at 4 a.m.) and Sweden (Tuesday at 4 a.m.). Medal-round play begins April 25 and is capped by the gold-medal and bronze-medal games April 28.

The OHL will unveil the winner of the Emms Family Award for OHL rookie of the year Thursday at 11 a.m. Erie Otters center Connor McDavid (25 goals, 41 assists, 66 points) headlines a list of finalists that also includes forwards Sam Bennett (18-22-40 with Brampton), Blake Clarkee (19-32-51) with Brampton, Michael Dal Colle (15-33-48 with Oshawa), Nikolay Goldobin (30-38-68 with Sarnia) and Sergey Tolchinsky (26-25-51 with Sault Ste. Marie).

My apologies, this didn’t post for some reason yesterday …

Sean Day was happy and relieved to hear the news Thursday. The Ontario Hockey Federation announced that Hockey Canada granted exceptional player status to the 15-year-old defenseman , which allows him to enter the OHL Priority Selection a year early.
He joins former current New York Islanders center John Tavares (Oshawa, 2005), Barrie Colts defenseman Aaron Ekblad (2011) and Erie Otters center Connor McDavid (2012) as the only players to receive early entry into the league.
Unlike his predecessors, Day reportedly isn’t guaranteed to be the No. 1 pick in the April 6 draft. Speculation has arisen about the Ottawa 67′s and their choice. Under league rules, the 67′s aren’t required to choose Day with that top pick. Day isn’t required to report to the club that picks him.
However, Day said during Thursday’s conference call that “I’m prepared to go anywhere,” he said. “Part of getting this (status) is to play in the OHL.”
Meanwhile, the Otters hold the No. 2 pick because they finished with the league’s second-worst record (19-40-4-5). Sherry Bassin, managing partner and general manager, was tight-lipped earlier this week regarding the pick. “We’ve got a pretty good idea,” Bassin said. “We’ll go with the best player.”
The Otters need help on a defense that allowed 312 goals this season, the second-worst total in the league. Day, a 6 foot 2 inch, 197-pound offensive defenseman, had 11 goals and 35 points in 63 games with Detroit-area Compuware’s minor midget club. “If you need me to play good defense, I can play that,” Day, a Belgian-born Canadian citizen who lives in Rochester, Mich., said during a conference call. “If you need a fourth forward, I can jump into the play.” Yet forwards such as Travis Konecny (Elgin Middlesex Chiefs) and Dylan Strome (Toronto Marlboros) are highly regarded. Earlier this week, Bassin said he needed the right complementary players to play alongside skilled performers like McDavid.
Keith Day, Sean’s father, said there has been no contact yet with officials from the 67′s or Otters.

- Victor Fernandes

Erie Otters (18-40-3-5) at Guelph Storm (38-23-1-4)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Sleeman Centre – Guelph, Ontario
On the air: WJET-AM/1400, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)*
Upcoming schedule: Saturday vs. Guelph, 7 p.m. (season finale)
What to expect: The Otters enter the final weekend of the season tied with the 2007-08 club (18-46-2-2) for the third-fewest, single-season wins in the franchise’s 17-year history. They currently have the fourth-worst, single-season winning percentage (.333) in franchise history, behind only the 2011-12 club (.191), 2006-07 club (.243) and 2007-08 club (.294). … The Otters have topped 300 goals against for the second straight season and fourth time in the past seven years. … The Otters have clinched the No. 2 pick in the OHL Priority Selection April 6. Ottawa (16-43-0-5) will have the No. 1 pick. … Otters C Connor McDavid (25 goals, 37 assists, 62 points) entered Thursday trailing Sarnia RW Nikolay Goldobin (27-36-63) by one point for the league’s rookie scoring title. McDavid leads his counterpart by one assist and trails him by two in goals. The Sting faced Oshawa at home Thursday night. … McDavid needs one point to set a new franchise mark for points by a rookie in a season. He’s tied with Tim Connolly, who had 62 points in the 1997-98 season. McDavid already has broken the club’s mark for assists by a rookie in a season originally held by Brad Boyes (36 in 1998-99). … RW Connor Brown (26-41-67) could finish the season among the league’s top 20 scorers. … C Jake Evans (5-11-16) remained on crutches for Wednesday night’s loss to London at Erie Insurance Arena. … The Otters are holding a raffle as part of their annual Mario Lemieux Foundation Night. Tickets are $5 for one, $20 for five and $50 for 15 and will be drawn Saturday night. The list of 15 prizes include a framed Lemieux sweater signed by 15 players from his fantasy camp and sweaters signed by Lemieux, a Hockey Hall of Famer and Penguins co-owner, and current Penguins Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. … Guelph stands four points behind Midwest Division rival Kitchener with two games left. The Storm need to sweep the Otters this weekend and Rangers losses in Sault Ste. Marie and Saginaw this weekend to clinch the fourth seed and home-ice advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. … The Storm are fourth in the league with 247 goals scored despite having one player among the top 20 in goals (RW Scott Kosmachuk, 33) and no players among the top 20 in points.
* Saturday’s game will air on WFNN-AM/1330

- Victor Fernandes