This week, I’ll break down all 20 OHL clubs division by division and unveil my predictions for the 2012-13 season. Today, let’s look at the Western Conference’s Midwest Division (listed in alphabetical order):

Erie Otters
Coach/GM: Robbie Ftorek/Sherry Bassin
2011-12 finish: 10-52-3-3, 5th division, 10th conference
Playoff finish: Did not qualify
Key players: C Connor McDavid (No. 1 pick in 2012 OHL Priority Selection; 33 goals, 39 assists, 72 points in 33 games with Toronto Marlboros minor midget), G Oscar Dansk (No. 3 pick in 2012 CHL Import Draft; 2.82 goals-against average, .910 save percentage in 28 games with Brynas in Sweden), C Dane Fox (23-31-54), RW Connor Brown (25-28-53; Toronto prospect), LW Stephen Harper (24-11-35)
Key losses: G Ramis Sadikov (6-23-3-2, 4.26, .894)
Outlook: The highly anticipated McDavid era begins in Erie, but this team has other promising players at every position. Now these young Otters have to learn how to win after enduring the worst record in franchise history a season ago.

Guelph Storm
Coach/GM: Scott Walker/Mike Kelly
2011-12 finish: 31-31-2-4, 4th division, 7th conference
Playoff finish: Lost to Plymouth 4-2 in conference quarterfinals
Key players: RW Zack Mitchell (37-38-75), G Garret Sparks (27-25-1-3, 3.11, .907, 5 SO; Toronto prospect), RW Cody McNaughton (25-24-49), RW Scott Kosmachuk (30-29-59; Winnipeg prospect), D Andrey Pedan (10-30-40; N.Y. Islanders prospect)
Key losses: C Francis Menard (24-36-60; traded to Peterborough)
Outlook: The Storm are ready to take the next step in this always competitive conference. They play solid defense, led by Sparks in goal and Pedan on the blue line, and they have skill up front in Kosmachuk, Mitchell and McNaughton.

Kitchener Rangers
Coach/GM: Steve Spott
2011-12 finish: 42-24-1-1, 2nd division, 3rd conference
Playoff finish: Lost to London 4-0 in conference finals
Key players: RW Tobias Rieder (42-43-85; Edmonton prospect), D Ryan Murphy (11-43-54, +14; signed with Carolina), C Radek Faksa (29-37-66; signed with Dallas), LW Matt Puempel (34-35-69; acquired from Peterborough, signed with Ottawa), G John Gibson (21-10-0-0, 2.75, .928, 1 SO; signed with Anaheim)
Key losses: C Michael Catenacci (25-44-69), C Andrew Crescenzi (24-23-37; signed with Toronto)
Outlook: The Rangers are a perennial contender in the conference, and they made sure this season was no different with the acquisition of Puempel from Peterborough. Expect the Rangers to be near, if not at, the top of the West in 2012-13.

London Knights
Coach/GM: Dale Hunter/Mark Hunter
2011-12 finish: 49-18-0-1; 1st division, 1st conference
Playoff finish: Won league championship, lost to Shawinigan (QMJHL) in Memorial Cup final
Key players: RW Seth Griffith (45-40-85, Boston prospect), D Scott Harrington (3-23-26, +26; signed with Pittsburgh), D Olli Maatta (5-27-32, +25; signed with Pittsburgh; C Max Domi (21-28-49), C Ryan Rupert (17-31-48)
Key losses: Michael Houser (46-15-0-1, 2.47, .925, 6 SO; signed with Florida), C Greg McKegg (31-44-75; former Otter, signed with Toronto), C Vladislav Namestnikov (30-39-69; signed with Tampa Bay), RW Jared Knight (25-45-70; signed with Boston), C Austin Watson (25-43-68; signed with Nashville)
Outlook: Dale Hunter returns behind the Knights’ bench after leading the NHL’s Washington Capitals to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last season. He has work to do if the Knights are to recapture the success they enjoyed in 2011-12.

Owen Sound Attack
Coach/GM: Greg Ireland/Dale DeGray
2011-12 finish: 32-29-304, 3rd division, 6th conference
Playoff finish: Lost to Kitchener 4-1 in conference quarterfinals
Key players: G Jordan Binnington (21-17-0-1, 2.99, .906, 1 SO; signed with St. Louis), C Daniel Catenacci (33-39-72; signed with Buffalo), C Gemel Smith (21-39-60; Dallas prospect), C Cameron Brace (29-27-56), D Keevin Cutting (7-18-25, +20)
Key losses: LW Mike Halmo (40-45-85; signed with N.Y. Islanders), D Jay Gilbert (10-23-33, +8)
Outlook: The Attack lost a 40-goal scorer in Halmo, but they have enough talent from back to front to make a run in the conference. But they need to be more consistent after tailing off late last season and losing in the first round of the playoffs.

- Victor Fernandes

Three former Erie Otters – David Broll, Jaroslav Janus and Greg McKegg – have a chance to win an American Hockey League championship.
The Norfolk Admirals and Toronto Marlies begin the best-of-seven Turner Cup finals today at 7:30 p.m. at Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va. Janus has a 3-1-0 record, 1.69 goals-against average, .937 save percentage and one shutout in four playoff games with Norfolk this spring. He helped the Admirals finish the regular season with 28 straight wins, the longest streak in North American professional hockey history.
McKegg joined the Marlies earlier this week after leading the Ontario Hockey League champion London Knights to the Memorial Cup final.
Broll, who spent the past season and a half with the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, also plays for the Marlies. He has no points in one playoff game. Current Otters winger Sondre Olden is no longer with the Marlies. He reportedly was released from an amateur tryout contract in April.
Game 2 is set for Saturday at 7:15 p.m. in Norfolk. The series heads to Toronto for Game 3 (Thursday, 7 p.m.), Game 4 (June 9, 3 p.m.) and Game 5 (June 10, 3 p.m.). Norfolk hosts Game 6 (June 13, 7:15 p.m.) and Game 7 (June 15, 7:30 p.m.).

SHAWINIGAN, Quebec – The Erie Otters have a connection to Sunday’s Memorial Cup title game.
Former Otters Brett Cook, Greg McKegg and Tyson Teichmann play for the London Knights, which face the host Shawinigan Cataractes at 7 p.m. for the Canadian Hockey League championship.
McKegg has one point, a goal, in three games at the four-team tournament, while Cook has no points, a minus-1 rating and 13 penalty minutes in three games. Teichmann has not appeared in any games.
The OHL champion Knights advanced to the final with a 2-1 record. They beat Saint John, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion, 5-3, before losing to Shawinigan 6-2. Then the Knights beat the Edmonton, the Western Hockey League champion 6-2.
The game can be seen live on NHL Network.

Check out this story from The London Free Press that features former Erie Otters captain Greg McKegg.

The Erie Otters endured two close calls this weekend.

After a one-goal loss to Niagara on Friday, the Otters lost 2-1 in overtime to Peterborough in front of 3,524 at Tullio Arena on Saturday night.

Petes winger Lino Martschini scored 3 minutes, 8 seconds into overtime to send the Otters (5-36-2-1) to London on Sunday with a 10-game losing streak.

The Otters and Petes played to a scoreless tie in the opening period. But the Otters had a chance to take control early in the game. Derek Mathers knee-to-knee hit on Otters winger Dane Fox, which briefly shook up Fox, led to Mathers’ game misconduct and a five-minute power play for the Otters.

Yet the Otters managed only three shots on goal during the extended man advantage. The teams finished the period with 10 shots on goal apiece. Otters goaltender Ramis Sadikov and the Petes’ Mike Morrison traded saves in the opening half of the second period as well.

But the Otters’ Dane Fox snapped the tie. His shot from a tight angle along the side of the net caromed off Morrison and trickled into the net to hand the Otters a 1-0 lead with 6:35 left in the period. Connor Brown and Sondre Olden had assists.

Meanwhile, Sadikov stopped the Petes (21-18-3-3) on all 15 shots in the period. But he couldn’t stop Nick Ritchie’s tying goal 37 seconds into the third. Alan Quine turned a blocked shot at the Petes’ blue line into a centering pass to Ritchie for the goal.

Sadikov and Morrison stood tall for the rest of the period, with Sadikov stopping 11-of-12 in the third. But Martschini’s shot slipped past Sadikov and tucked into the left corner of the net to keep the Otters winless in the second half of the season.

Sadikov finished with 39 saves while Morrison stopped 28-of-29 shots. Former Otter Andrew Yogan, who had two goals in the Petes’ home win against the Otters last month, had no points and was a minus-1 in his first game in Erie since being traded in August.

The Otters face off against London – and former teammates Brett Cook, Greg McKegg and Tyson Teichmann – at John Labatt Centre on Sunday at 2 p.m. Fox and Troy Donnay play against the Knights for the first time since the trade earlier this month.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Petes 2, Otters 1 (OT)

Peterborough  0  0  1  1  —  2

Erie  0  1  0  0  —  1

1^st Period — None. Penalties — Glass (E) high sticking, 1:39; Mathers (P) 5-min. kneeing, 10:03; Mathers (P) game misconduct, 10:03; Erie, too many men (served by McDonnell), 19:10.

2^nd Period — 1. Erie, Dane Fox 17 (Brown, Olden), 13:25. Penalties — Donnay (E) roughing, 1:18; Hatcher (P) hooking, 17:14.

3^rd Period — 2. Peterborough, Nick Ritchie 10 (Quine), :37. Penalties — None.

Overtime — 3. Peterborough, Lino Martschini 12 (unassisted), 3:08. Penalties — None.

Shots on goal — Peterborough, 10-15-12-4—41; Erie, 10-9-8-2—29.

Goaltenders — Peterborough, Mike Morrison 8-12-2-3 (29 shots, 28 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 3-17-2-1 (41 shots, 39 saves).

Power plays — Peterborough (0-3), Erie (0-2).

Referees — Ben Wilson, Jason Goldenberg. Linesmen — Ryan Wilson, Rick Janco.

Attendance — 3,524.

Three stars

* Ramis Sadikov, Otters (39 saves) ** Dane Fox, Otters (goal) *** Mike Morrison, Petes (28 saves)

The new-look Sarnia Sting looked better than the new-look Erie Otters Friday night.

Ryan Spooner had two goals and an assist and J.P. Anderson stopped all 30 shots to lead the Sting to a 4-0 win against the Otters in front of 2,395 at Tullio Arena.

With the win, the Sting (20-14-1-4) snapped a two-game losing streak to the rebuilding Otters (5-31-1-1), which lost their fourth straight game.

The Sting unveiled the newly acquired Anderson, defenseman Adrian Robertson and forwards Spooner and Tyler J. Brown. Forward Dane Fox and defenseman Troy Donnay made their debuts for the Otters.

Fox and Donnay were acquired Thursday in the trade that sent veterans Greg McKegg, Brett Cook and Tyson Teichmann to London. The newest members of the Sting made an immediate impact.

Spooner and Brown assisted on rookie Connor Murphy’s first OHL goal, a power-play score that opened the scoring with 2:12 left in the first period. Then Spooner fired a wrist shot past Otters goaltender Ramis Sadikov with 34.6 seconds left in the period. Robertson assisted on Spooner’s 100^th career goal.

Meanwhile, Anderson stopped all 13 shots he faced. He was acquired from Mississauga St. Michael’s on Friday for former Otters draft pick Brandon Maxwell and two picks. The Sting built a 3-0 lead with 8:48 left in the second, as Craig Hottot’s shot trickled past Sadikov and just across the goal line.

Anderson continued his strong start, as he stopped 9-of-9 shots to keep his shutout bid intact. Then Spooner scored his second goal on an unassisted breakaway for a 4-0 Sting lead 4:37 into the third. Anderson capped his first shutout of the season and ninth of his career. Hottot had a goal and assist. Sadikov made 26 saves in a losing effort for the Otters.

In other news, McKegg had a goal and assist in his debut for the Knights, a 3-1 win in Sudbury on Friday. Cook had an assist and was a plus-1. Teichmann didn’t dress for the Knights. Derek Holden didn’t play for Windsor on Friday in Sault Ste. Marie. But former Otter Chris Marchese scored twice in the Spitfires’ 5-3 win. He has five goals and seven points in six games.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Sting 4, Otters 0

Sarnia  2  1  1  —  4

Erie  0  0  0  —  0

1^st Period — 1. Sarnia, Connor Murphy 1 (Spooner, Brown), 17:48 (pp). 2. Sarnia, Ryan Spooner 15 (Hottot, Robertson), 19:25. Penalties — Hottot (S) high sticking, :49; Dundas (S) interference, 10:03; Grant (E) cross checking, 17:12.

2^nd Period — 3. Sarnia, Craig Hottot 14 (Thompson, DeAngelo), 11:12. Penalties — Basso (S) checking to head, 2:13; Donnay (S) high sticking, 9:11.

3^rd Period — 4. Sarnia, Spooner 16 (unassisted), 4:37. Penalties — McGuire (E) cross checking, 6:32.

Shots on goal — Sarnia, 13-9-8—30; Erie, 11-8-11—30.

Goaltenders — Sarnia, J.P. Anderson 16-11-1-3 (30 shots, 30 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 3-12-1-1 (30 shots, 26 saves).

Power plays — Sarnia (1-3), Erie (0-3).

Referees — T. J Foster, Craig Spada. Linesmen — Ryan Wilson, Daryl Wolfe.

Attendance — 2,395.

Three stars

* Ryan Spooner, Sting (2 goals, assist) ** Craig Hottot, Sting (goal, assist) *** J.P. Anderson, Sting (30 saves, shutout)

The deals needed to be done.

GM Sherry Bassin needed to trade Greg McKegg, Brett Cook and Derek Holden in order t officially begin rebuilding the Erie Otters. None will be in the OHL next season.

It’s too early to know if third-year forward Dane Fox and second-year defenseman Troy Donnay will develop into the players that will help turn the Otters into contenders in the next couple of seasons. But the first step is done.

Fox is a proven young player who has averaged nearly a point per game in London (13 goals, 32 points in 34 games) this season. He arrives in Erie as the team’s leading scorer. Now he has to evolve into a frontline scorer on a team that will rely heavily on youth (Stephen Harper, Connor Brown, etc.) to produce offensively.

At 6 feet 7 inches and 183 pounds, Donnay should grow into an imposing presence with what should be decidedly greater ice time with the Otters. He has only 48 games of OHL experience to date.

But here’s the problem I have with the two deals the Otters made Thursday – Tyson Teichmann. What happens in goal?

Bassin traded 18-year-old defenseman Brady Austin to Belleville in August to acquire Teichmann. He was supposed to be in the future in net along with fellow 18-year-old Chris Festarini. They were entrenched enough to make overage goaltender Ramis Sadikov expendable – the same Sadikov who last season set a franchise record with 36 wins and nearly led the Otters past Windsor in the first round of the playoffs despite having a torn groin.

Festarini was traded to Niagara in October. Now Teichmann is in London. So barring an unforeseen deal, Sadikov is the team’s No. 1 goaltender for the rest of the season. Interest in Sadikov from other teams has waned. “We spent the better part of a month talking to some teams about Ramis,” said Dave Brown, Otters assistant manager of hockey operations.

But teams aren’t interested in a goaltender that fills precious OA and Import spots on a roster. Besides, 16-year-old backup Devin Williams has 18 minutes of OHL experience. That makes me think Bassin will dangle players like forwards Mike Cazzola and Sondre Olden in front of fellow GMs in hopes of landing a young goaltender to back up Sadikov this season and lead the way in net next season.

Either that, or Bassin heads a familiar route – the CHL Import Draft – for another Sadikov or Jaroslav Janus. Either way, the Otters need a proven goaltender next season to make this rebuild work. As Bassin always says, goaltending is 75 percent of the game. Unless you don’t have one, then it’s 100 percent. And right now, the Otters don’t have one.

- Victor Fernandes

BARRIE, Ontario – The Erie Otters will begin 2012 with a three-game losing streak.

Barrie scored twice in the third period to snap a tie and hand the Otters a 5-3 loss in front of a New Year’s Eve crowd of 4,276 at Barrie Molson Centre.

Colin Behenna’s goal 9 minutes, 11 seconds into the third handed the Colts (21-13-2-1) a 4-3 lead. Eric Locke’s goal with 7:45 left extended the lead to 5-3.

Barrie then stymied the Otters (5-30-1-1) on two late power plays to seal Erie’s fate. The teams traded goals in the first period, with Barrie’s Dylan Smoskowitz and Erie’s Greg McKegg scoring in the first five minutes. The Colts took a 2-1 on Alex Lepkowski’s goal 1:37 into the second period.

But the Otters turned that one-goal deficit into a 3-2 lead on Travis Wood’s goal at the 8:47 mark and Connor Brown’s team-leading 14^th goal of the season with 6:02 left in the period. Yet the Colts tied the score at 3 with the man advantage, as Reid McNeill scored with 3:38 left in the period. Barrie then took the control in the third on the strength of an 18-9 shot advantage. Barrie outshot the Otters 46-29.

Tyson Teichmann stopped 41-of-46 shots for the Otters. Brown finished with a goal and assist while Mike Cazzola had two assists. Daniel Erlich paced the Colts with four assists. The Otters return to action next weekend with games at Tullio Arena against Sarnia on Friday and Kitchener on Saturday.

SUMMARY

Colts 5, Otters 3

Erie  1  2  0  —  3

Barrie  1  2  2  —  5

1^st Period — 1. Barrie, Dylan Smoskowitz 3 (Erlich, Buonomo), 1:23. 2. Erie, Greg McKegg 12 (Cazzola, Brown), 4:24. Penalties — Cairns (E) holding, 9:53; Evans (E) hooking, 12:23; Bradford (B) hooking, 14:36.

2^nd Period — 3. Barrie, Alex Lepkowski 5 (Buonomo), 1:37. 4. Erie, Travis Wood 6 (Cook, Betz), 8:47. 5. Erie, Connor Brown 14 (Pelech, Cazzola), 13:58. 6. Barrie, Reid McNeill 2 (Erlich, Bradford), 16:22 (pp). Penalties — Bell (B) slashing, 1:50; Erie, too many men (served by McKegg), 16:07; Locke (B) interference, 17:43; Cook (E) hooking, 18:32.

3^rd Period — 7. Barrie, Colin Behenna 14 (Erlich, Hall), 9:11. 8. Barrie, Eric Locke 7 (Beyers, Erlich), 12:15. Penalties — Grant (E) cross checking, 4:10; Cook (E) roughing, 4:29; Locke (B) slashing, 15:44; Lepkowski (B) holding, 18:31; Cazzola (E) roughing, 20:00; Buonomo (B) roughing, 20:00.

Shots on goal — Erie, 5-15-9—29; Barrie, 8-20-18—46.

Goaltenders — Erie, Tyson Teichmann 1-15-0-0 (46 shots, 41 saves); Barrie, Mathias Niederberger 13-81-0 (29 shots, 27 saves).

Power plays — Erie (0-5), Barrie (1-6).

Referees — Korey Bannerman, Scott Oakman. Linesmen — Ryan Wilson, Mike Zujko.

Attendance — 4,276.

Three stars

* Daniel Erlich, Colts (4 assists) ** Reid McNeill, Colts (goal) *** Connor Brown, Otters (goal, assist)

OSHAWA, Ontario – The Erie Otters are nearly healthy for the first time this season.

Except for forwards Connor Crisp (shoulder) and Sondre Olden (reported minor injury), the Otters were at full strength for Wednesday night’s game against Oshawa at General Motors Centre.

But that didn’t keep the Otters from falling 4-1 to the Generals in Erie’s second-half opener. Special teams led to Erie’s downfall. The Otters (5-28-1-1) failed to score on six power-play chances while surrendering two power-play goals and a short-handed score.

The Otters squandered three power-play chances, including a pair of two-man advantages, in the opening four minutes of the game. However, the Generals (14-18-1-3) scored twice on a 5-on-3 late in the period.

Christian Thomas, a 54-goal scorer a season ago, scored his 14^th goal of the season with 2:13 left in the first to open the scoring. Then Scott Laughton scored 49 seconds later to hand the Generals a 2-0 lead.

Oshawa’s lead reached 3-0 on Jimmy McDowell’s first goal of the season – and seventh in 139 career games – with 1:01 left in the second period. The Otters finally snapped goaltender Daniel Altshuller’s bid for his first career shutout on Greg McKegg’s goal with 8:58 left in the game. Mike Cazzola and Adam Pelech assisted on the goal. Cazzola, who has endured two hand injuries, played in his first game in a month and eighth game this season. Brett Cook (knee) also played for the first time in a month.

But Laughton’s short-handed goal with 1:54 left stymied Erie’s comeback hopes. Tyson Teichmann stopped 36-of-40 shots in a losing effort for the Otters. Altshuller made 31 saves.

The Otters head to Peterborough today for a 7:05 p.m. game. They will face former teammate Andrew Yogan for the first time since he was traded in August. He has 15 goals and 31 points in 32 games.

- Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters couldn’t snap their long losing streak, even with Brad Boyes in attendance.

The Niagara IceDogs erased a two-goal deficit with a four-goal barrage in the second period to hand the Otters their seventh straight loss, 6-4, in front of 3,076 at Tullio Arena on Wednesday night.

Andrew Agozzino, Joel Wigle, Freddie Hamilton and Ryan Strome scored in the decisive period for the IceDogs (6-6-0-1), which turned a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead.

Dougie Hamilton led the IceDogs with a goal and two assists. Agozzino had two goals while Freddie Hamilton and Strome had two points apiece.

A surprise visit from Boyes, the Buffalo Sabres forward and most revered player in Otters’ franchise history, seemed to inspire the home team. The Otters overcame Agozzino’s goal 1:15 into the game by scoring three straight goals, starting with Brett Cook’s tying goal at the 4:04 mark of the period.

Cook turned assists from Greg McKegg and Brett Thompson into his second goal of the season. Then the Otters scored twice in less than three minutes late in the period to take a 3-1 lead into the intermission.

Rookie winger Sondre Olden scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season, this one on the power play, on assists from Connor Brown and Kris Grant to snap the 1-1 tie with 5:31 left in the first. Then first-round pick Stephen Harper scored his second goal on an assist from Brown with 2:14 left in the period.

But things fell apart for the Otters in the second, as the IceDogs scored four goals to take a 5-3 lead.

Agozzino scored his second goal of the night, this time with the man advantage, at the 6:42 mark. Then the IceDogs capitalized on sloppy play from the Otters’ power play to take a two-goal lead.

Freddie Hamilton scored short-handed on an assist from David Pacan with 6:33 left in the period. Then a mix-up in front of Otters goaltender Tyson Teichmann led to Strome’s short-handed goal 10 seconds later. Erie rebounded early in the third with a short-handed goal, as Thompson and McKegg teamed to pull the Otters within 5-4 at the 2:45 mark while the IceDogs were on a 5-minute power play. But the IceDogs responded on the same power play, with Dougie Hamilton scoring 57 seconds later.

- Victor Fernandes