BOBRUISK, Belarus – Erie Otters forward Greg McKegg and Canada fell 5-0 to the United States in a preliminary-round game of the IIHF World Under-18 Championships on Friday. McKegg recorded two shots and a two-minute penalty for delay of game, which led to Team USA’s second goal in a decisive three-goal first period.

Canada (1-2) completes the preliminary round on Sunday against Sweden at 8:30 a.m. ET. Canada needs a win to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. Otherwise, Canada moves to the relegation round. The U.S. (2-1) faces host Belarus at noon ET.

BOBRUISK, Belarus – Erie Otters forward Greg McKegg’s goal and three assists led Canada to an 11-3 win over host Belarus in preliminary-round action at the IIHF World Under-18 Championships on Thursday.

McKegg assisted on two of Sudbury forward John McFarland’s three goals, as Canada (1-1) rebounded from Tuesday’s opening-game loss to Switzerland. Canada built a 4-1 first-period lead and then sealed the win with a five-goal third period. McKegg scored the second goal in that third-period barrage.

Canada returns to action Friday at noon ET against the United States. Team USA (1-1) followed an opening loss to Sweden on Tuesday with a 5-1 win against Switzerland on Wednesday.

Erie Otters forward Greg McKegg finished a close second to Peterborough center Ryan Spooner in voting for the OHL’s William Hanley Trophy, awarded annually to the league’s most sportsmanlike player. Each player received 48 total points (five for first place, three for second and one for third) in voting conducted by the league’s 20 general managers. GMs couldn’t vote for their team’s player.

But Spooner earned the honor because he had more first-place votes than McKegg. Saginaw winger Jordan Skellett, a former Otter, finished third with 32 points. Former winners of the award include Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky (Sault Ste. Marie, 1977-78), Chicago Blackhawks defenseman and former Buffalo Sabre Brian Campbell, St. Louis Blues center and former Otter Brad Boyes (2000-01 and 2001-02) and Philadelphia Flyers center Jeff Carter (Sault Ste. Marie, 2004-05).

Spooner will receive the award at the 2009-10 CHL Awards Ceremony, set for June 9 at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

- From OHL news release

BOBRUISK, Belarus – Erie Otters forward Greg McKegg’s initial experience at IIHF World Under-18 Championships wasn’t a good one.

His native Canada lost 3-1 to Switzerland Tuesday in their opening game of the preliminary round.

McKegg was scoreless despite tying for the team lead with four shots. The Canadians fell behind 2-0 after one period. Quinton Howden, of the Western Hockey League’s Moose Jaw Warriors, sliced Switzerland’s lead in half midway through the second. But Switzerland’s empty-net goal with five seconds left sealed the win.

Canada returns to action on Thursday against host Belarus. The United States also lost their opening game 4-2 to Sweden on Tuesday. The U.S. faces Switzerland today.

Erie Otters forward Greg McKegg rose 29 spots in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings for 2010 draft prospects, which was released Wednesday. He stands 66th among North American skaters after placing 94th on the mid-term list unveiled in January.

McKegg stands five spots behind fellow Otters forward Andrew Yogan. He moved up to 61st after ranking 65th on the midterm list. Meanwhile, goaltender Ramis Sadikov is 12th among North American goaltenders – third among OHL goaltenders.

Plymouth center Tyler Seguin moved past Windsor left wing Taylor Hall as the No. 1 North American player in the draft. Hall slipped to the No. 2 spot.

Forward Brett Connolly (Prince George – WHL) is third. Kingston defenseman Erik Gudbranson and Windsor defenseman Cam Fowler complete the top five.

The NHL Entry Draft is set for June 25-26 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Check out the complete lists of the top North American skaters, North American goaltenders, European skaters and European goaltenders by clicking on the link.

TORONTO – The National Hockey League will release the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s final rankings for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft on Wednesday at noon ET.  The rankings, featuring the top 210 skaters and 30 goaltenders in North America as well as the top 150 skaters and 10 goaltenders from Europe, will be available on NHL.com and announced on the NHL’s daily radio show, NHL Live!™.

Also tune in to NHL Network’s On the Fly Wednesday night, as E.J. McGuire, Director of Central Scouting, will be in studio to discuss the final ranking surprises and the top rated players in this year’s draft class. The 2010 NHL Entry Draft will take place at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on June 25-26.

Erie Otters forwards Andrew Yogan and Greg McKegg are expected to appear on the list of North American skaters. Yogan and McKegg 65th and 94th, respectively, in the mid-term rankings, released in January. Former Otters’ draft picks Riley Sheahan, now at Notre Dame, and Joe Basaraba, headed to Minnesota Duluth in the fall, were fifth and 39th, respectively, on the same list.

- From NHL news release, staff report

Erie Otters forward Greg McKegg has been selected to represent his native Canada in the IIHF World Under-18 Championship. He will join 21 other players – 12 from the OHL – at the tournament, set for April 13-23 in Minsk and Bobruisk, Belarus.

McKegg will compete in his second international competition. He won a gold medal with Team Ontario in the 2009 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. He’s the fourth player in Otters’ history to play in the World U-18 tournament, joining Ryan O’Reilly (2009), Zack Torquato (2007) and Ryan O’Marra (2005).

Team Canada meets in Toronto today before heading to Europe on Tuesday. Canada will have one exhibition game against Finland on Friday before preparing for the tournament. McKegg was one of the OHL’s top offensive performers this season with a career-high 37 goals and 85 points. He made a league-high, 67-point improvement from the 2008-09 season, his rookie year.

The OHL players are defensemen Geoffrey Schemitsch (Owen Sound), Erik Gudbranson (Kingston), Nathan Chiarlitti (Sarnia), Stephen Silas (Belleville), Ryan O’Connor (Saginaw) and Brock Beukeboom (Sault Ste. Marie) and forwards Steven Shipley (Owen Sound), Michael Sgarbossa (Saginaw), Christian Thomas (Oshawa), John McFarland (Sudbury), Ryan Spooner (Peterborough) and Freddie Hamilton (Niagara).

Check out Canada’s complete roster by clicking the link.

- Victor Fernandes

Erie Otters forwards Greg McKegg and Andrew Yogan are among the top 100 NHL draft prospects invited to participate the annual NHL Scouting Combine. The four-day combine is set for May 24-29 in Toronto, Ontario.

Notre Dame center Riley Sheahan, the Otters’ fourth-round pick in 2007 OHL Priority Selection, is invited. So has right wing Joe Basaraba, a senior at Shattuck-St. Mary’s – a private high school in Faribault, Minn., with a storied hockey tradition – who the Otters chose in the second-round of the 2008 OHL draft. Basaraba has committed to Minnesota Duluth.

Check out the complete list of invited players by clicking the above link.

TORONTO – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the results of the 2009-10 Western Conference Coaches Poll.

Forward Greg McKegg was the only Erie Otter to appear on the list, as he was selected as the Most Improved Player in the Western Conference.

In his second year of OHL duty, McKegg had the greatest improvement over last season than anyone in the league with a 67-point bulge. McKegg tallied 85 points in 67 games this season to finish 11th in the OHL, compared to 18 points in his rookie year.

The OHL Coaches Poll provides member club coaches with the opportunity to recognize the top three players in 16 different skill categories within their own conference.

Each team submits one nominee per category and coaches then vote for the top three players for each category within their conference and are not permitted to vote for players on their own team. Players receive five points for a first place vote, three points for a second place vote, and one point for a third place vote.

- From Erie Otters news release:

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Check out this story on Erie Otters forward Greg McKegg‘s rise up one NHL draft ranking.