Erie Otters center Dane Fox stands 46th among North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, which was released Monday. Five teammates join him on the list, including first-tim selection Luke Cairns. The veteran center is considered No. 189 among North American skaters after not appearing on Central Scouting’s preliminary and midterm lists.
Right wing Connor Brown (No. 110 from No. 85 in the midterm rankings) as well as defensemen Adam Pelech (No. 120 from No. 54), Troy Donnay (No. 122 from No. 115) and Liam Maaskant(No. 195 from No. 134) slipped down the list.
Former Otters winger Chris Marchese, now with Windsor, stands at No. 122. Center Drake Caggiula, the Otters’ third-round pick in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection, appears at No. 185. Caggiula, who played for Stouffville in the Ontario Junior A Hockey League this season, has committed to play NCAA Division I hockey at North Dakota.
Sarnia’s duo of right wing Nail Yakupov and Alex Galchenyuk rank first and fourth, respectively, followed by Ottawa defenseman Cody Ceci (sixth), Kitchener center Radek Faksa (seventh) and London defenseman Olli Maatta (eighth). Belleville’s Malcolm Subban (first), Saginaw’s Jake Paterson (third) and Kitchener’s Frank Palazzese (ninth) rank among the top 10 North American goaltenders.
The NHL draft takes place June 22-23 at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. Check out the the complete rankings by clicking on the link.

Third-year forward Dane Fox and second-year defenseman Adam Pelech headline five Erie Otters named to NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings for the NHL Entry Draft in June.

Fox, 18, who was acquired along with second-year defenseman Troy Donnay from London last week, stands 48th among North American skaters. Pelech, 17, is six spots back at No. 54. Rookie winger Connor Brown, 17, stands at No. 85. Donnay, 17, and rookie defenseman Liam Maaskant, 17, are Nos. 115 and 134, respectively.

Former Otters winger Chris Marchese, who was traded to Windsor for winger Anthony Cortellessa last month, stands at No. 97. Center Drake Caggiula, the Otters’ third-round pick in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection, is at No. 197. He plays for Stouffville in the Ontario Junior A Hockey League and has committed to the University of North Dakota.

Sarnia winger Nail Yakupov ranks first overall among North American skaters. The OHL has eight other skaters among the top 20 – Kitchener C Radek Faksa (No. 4), London D Olli Maatta (No. 6), Belleville C Brendan Gaunce (No. 11), Guelph D Matthew Finn (No. 15), Ottawa D Cody Ceci (No. 16), Peterborough D Slater Koekkoek (No. 17), Belleville LW Daniil Zharkov (No. 19) and Owen Sound C Gemel Smith (No. 20). Belleville’s Malcolm Subban ranks first among North American goaltenders.

Check out the complete lists on NHL.com, including the top European goaltenders. Sherry Bassin, Otters managing partner and general manager, has said the 2012 CHL Import Draft in June features goaltenders that could be selected in the first round of the NHL draft.

Bassin likely will focus on the CHL draft to find a goaltender to replace overager Ramis Sadikov next season. Rookie backup Devin Williams, who has played 18 minutes in his brief OHL career, is currently the most experienced prospect in the organization.

Brett Thompson (Contributed/Terry Wilson, OHL Images)

A decade after acquiring Cory Pecker from Sault Ste. Marie, Erie Otters GM Sherry Bassin has made his next huge splash with a former Greyhound.

It’s been a long wait – four losing seasons and seven-year playoff drought long. But it came at the perfect time – for their success on the ice and in the crowd.

With the addition of Brett Thompson, one of the OHL’s top goal scorers the past two seasons (67 goals in 117 games), the Otters are a legitimate contender in the wide-open Western Conference title chase – and even for the Memorial Cup.

With Mississauga St. Michael’s hosting the CHL’s 2011 championship tournament, the champion of the West earns an automatic berth if the Majors win the East.

The Otters have the right pieces in place to accomplish that.

These Otters can score goals as well as any team in the league. Opposing teams “have to pay attention to all three (top) lines,” Bassin said.

The Otters are solid defensively with a veteran group in front of Ramis Sadikov. “We’ve got a lot of guys up front now, and our defense has been strong all year,” captain Greg McKegg said. “We’ve got a really good lineup right now. Hopefully we can put it all together.”

Fans hope that happens, too. They have waited a long time for a championship-caliber team – since the 2001-02 team won the 15-year-old franchise’s only league title. Fans have suffered through the down years and rebuilding seasons.

“They’re not fair-weather fans. They’re always there for us,” McKegg said. “It’s nice to have them there.”

Yet they have grown tired of having to ‘Wait till next year.’

If Bassin hadn’t acquired Thompson – and in turn, confirmed the Otters are making a run at the championship  this season – perhaps the fan base would have begun to dwindle. Why support that never seems to be in position to win? But now, this team is in great shape, especially when forward Andrew Yogan (shoulder surgery) and defenseman Tyler Hostetter (broken hand) rejoin the lineup.

“To have the team we have right now is exciting for them and for us,” McKegg said. “It’s going to be a good second half. They’ve waited a few years for this.”

* News and notes: Six to eight clubs inquired about Bassin’s group of seven 2010 OHL draft picks that are currently playing in Tier II and Junior B. “I said they’re not going anywhere,” Bassin said of a group that includes forwards Drake Caggiula (third round) and Mitchell Eisenberg (ninth round) and defenseman Liam Maaskant (eighth round). “They’re just too good.”

- Victor Fernandes

Goaltending prospect Adam Wood, who won consecutive starts in an emergency role for the Erie Otters last season, headlined the list of 10 players cut from training camp following Friday’s workouts.
That leaves the club with 30 players entering Saturday’s 5 p.m. preseason opener against the Niagara IceDogs at Tullio Arena.
Six prospects from the 2010 OHL Priority Selection – defenseman Nathan Glass and forwards Connor Brown, Drake Caggiula, Mitchell Eisenberg and Brandon Johnston and Jesse Schwartz. The other cuts were forwards from the 2009 draft – Johnny McGuire, Mitchell McIntosh and Matthew Wildman.

- Victor Fernandes

The Team Ontario Under-17 Program is holding a final camp July 6-10 in Oshawa, Ontario, featuring 77 players that were selected in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection, including five prospects from the Erie Otters.
Forwards Chris Marchese, Connor Crisp, Luke Cairns and Drake Caggiula and defenseman Adam Pelech will represent the Otters at the selection camp. The Otters have been well represented at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, with David Broll (2009), Ryan O’Reilly (2008) and Brett Cook (2008) all skating for Team Ontario.
The camp is hosted by the Ontaro Hockey Federation with representation from the Ottawa District Minor Hockey Association and Hockey Northwestern Ontario.
The camp will serve as a key evaluation for the selection of Team Ontario that will compete at the 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, which takes place December 29th to January 4th in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Team Ontario captured gold in the 2008 event in London, Ontario, and the 2009 event in Port Alberni, British Columbia, before falling to the United States in the finals last season in Timmins, Ontario, with a roster that included 20 OHL players.

- From Erie Otters news release