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

CAMP ROSTER
(subject to change)
Goaltenders (5)
Oscar Dansk – 2012 CHL Import Draft (1st round), 2012 NHL Entry Draft (Columbus, 2nd round)
Daniel DeKoning – 2012 OHL Priority Selection
Jake Ireland – 2012 OHL Priority Selection
Nate Miller – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (9th round; Millcreek Township native)
Devin Williams – Veteran

Left defense (9)
Kyle Allan – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (15th round)
Greg Allen – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (6th round)
Travis Dermott – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (9th round)
Justin Felker – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (2nd round)
Kris Grant – Veteran
Artem Kuleshov – 2012 CHL Import Draft (2nd round)
Adam Pelech – Veteran
Sebastian Stangherlin – Free-agent invite
Travis Wood – Veteran

Right defense (10)
Troy Donnay – Veteran
Nathan Glass – Veteran
Nathan Kohler – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (14th round)
Liam Maaskant – Veteran
Jimmy McDowell – Veteran
Patrick Murphy – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (5th round; played 9 games with Erie in 2011-12)
Darren Raddysh – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (5th round)
Riley Robertson – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (3rd round)
Troy Saunders – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (12th round)
Francesco Tolfa – Free-agent invite

Centers (9)
Luke Cairns – Veteran
Jake Evans – Veteran
Blake Jones – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (14th round)
Justin Maiolino – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (13th round; played 2 games with Erie in 2011-12)
Connor McDavid – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (No. 1 overall)
Mac McDonnell – Veteran
Aidan Muir – Free-agent invite
Kyle Petit – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (2nd round)
Bryan Sienerth – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (13th round; Millcreek Township native)

Left wing (10)
Anthony Cortellessa – Veteran
Connor Crisp – Veteran
Jordan Dunin – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (7th round)
Mitch Eisenberg – Veteran
Nathan Feric – Free-agent invite
Dane Fox – Veteran (fractured foot; not expected to participate in camp)
Stephen Harper – Veteran
Quentin Maksimovich – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (11th round)
Lucas Venuto – Free-agent invite
Kurt Wolff – Free-agent invite

Right wing (7)
Nick Betz – Veteran
Connor Brown – Veteran, 2012 NHL Entry Draft (Toronto, 6th round)
Sean Darroch – 2011 OHL Priority Selection (8th round; played 7 games with Erie in 2011-12)
Hayden Hodgson – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (3rd round)
Thomas Lattavo – 2012 OHL Priority Selection (6th round)
Johnny McGuire – Veteran
Sondre Olden – Veteran

No. 1 overall pick Connor McDavid headlines a group of 26 rookies and prospects invited to the Erie Otters’ rookie camp Friday and Saturday at Mercyhurst. Players report Friday morning before starting off-ice workouts on the soccer field at 10 a.m. They head to Mercyhurst Ice Center at 2 p.m. for a two-hour practice and a scrimmage On Saturday, they will have on-ice sessions from 9-11 a.m. and 2:45-4:45 p.m.

The players invited are as follows:
2012 draft picks
Gregory Allen
Daniel Dekoning
Travis Dermott
Justin Felker
Hayden Hodgson
Jake Ireland
Nathan Kohler
Dylan Larkin
Thomas Lattavo
Quentin Maksimovich
Connor McDavid
Kyle Pettit
Darren Raddysh
Riley Robertson
Bryan Sienerth (Millcreek Township native)

2011 draft picks
Sean Darroch
Jordan Dunin
Blake Jones
Justin Maiolino
Nate Miller (Millcreek Township native)
Patrick Murphy
Sean Power
Troy Saunders
Jordan Schneider

2010 draft picks
Brent Hambly
Eric Kimmerly

Erie native Nick Jenkins, a free-agent invite who plays hockey for Fort LeBoeuf, survived the Otters’ opening round of cuts Wednesday night.

“He earned the right to stay. He had a (great) camp,” said Sherry Bassin, Otters managing partner and general manager. “He’s a smart player and he works hard.”

But Bassin was unsure if Jenkins would return to camp Thursday.

“He’s concerned about his schooling,” Bassin said of Jenkins, 17, a senior at Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy. “We left the decision up to him.”

According to OHL rules, unsigned prospects are allowed to participate in camps after the initial 48-hour period if they pay for all expenses. The 48-hour period ended Wednesday.

Millcreek Township native Nate Miller, a 2011 ninth-round pick, wasn’t as fortunate.

The 16-year-old goaltender was among 12 prospects on the cut list, which reduced the roster to 41 players. Five other 2011 picks – goaltender Corey Foster (fourth round), right wing Brandon Johnston (sixth round), defenseman Jordan Schneider (10th round), center Blake Jones (14th round) and center Liam Walker (15th round) – also were cut.

The others were defenseman Kevin Zugec from Pittsburgh (ninth round in 2009), left wing Mark Jones (fourth round in 2008) and four free agents – center Chris Chiste, defenseman Elias Haziprodromu, defenseman Jordan Furlane and McDowell senior winger Zachary Poe. Jones didn’t practice this week because he was sick. Poe left camp after Monday’s workouts.

Zugec’s career might have ended Wednesday. On Tuesday, he said “this could be my last big thing” in hockey, since he hadn’t received interest from any other clubs. Zugec, 18, who graduated from high school last spring, said he would consider enrolling in college.

The next cuts are expected Friday.

- Victor Fernandes

Hurricane Irene battered the East Coast late last week. But the large, powerful storm actually did Sondre Olden a favor.

Olden, the Erie Otters’ top pick in the 2011 CHL Import Draft, turned 19 Monday. Since Irene cancelled his flight from Oslo, Norway, to New York City this past weekend, the Norwegian-born right wing was able to celebrate his birthday at home with his family.

“But finally I’m here,” Olden said Wednesday after entering Tullio Arena for the first time.

He flew from Oslo to Toronto – with a stopover in Frankfurt, Germany – on Tuesday. He arrived in Toronto at 7 p.m. But he didn’t arrive in Erie until 2 a.m. Wednesday after a two-hour delay at the United States-Canadian border because of visa issues.

The total length of his trip was about 15 hours. But after sleeping in Wednesday morning, “I’m ready to start (playing) on the ice,” Olden said.

Olden and the Toronto Maple Leafs, which selected him (as well as Otters captain Greg McKegg) in the third round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, want Olden to play with the Otters so he will learn the North American game, which is more physical than the European style and also played on smaller ice surfaces. “It was not a hard decision,” Olden said.

Olden is best known for being a playmaker who handles the puck a lot. He had seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points for MoDo in Sweden last season, as well as represented Norway at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo last winter. But he said Leafs officials yelled at him for not shooting the puck enough. “So I have to shoot the puck more now,” he said. “I will try to score some goals this year.”

Olden said he hopes for a long, bright hockey career in North America. “I want to play in North America forever,” he said. “I hope it’s a great start for me to learn to play here. It’s a new start (to) my hockey career. I’m excited. It’s going to be fun.”

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Kevin Zugec regrets not attending Erie Otters training camp last summer.

Perhaps his future in hockey would appear brighter than it does this week.

If Zugec doesn’t earn a roster spot with the Otters, the Pittsburgh native said, “this could be my last big thing” in a hockey career that began at the age of 4. He currently has no other viable options for the 2011-12 season.

Zugec, 18, a 6 foot 5 inch, 200-pound defenseman, hasn’t received interest from the New Mexico Mustangs, the North American Hockey League expansion team he played for this past season. He had two goals, four points and a minus-24 rating in 47 games for the Mustangs, which finished with the NAHL’s second-worst record at 19-35-4.

He doesn’t believe playing for a team in Pittsburgh would help his development.

“I’ve got to make a big impact” in camp, said Zugec, a 2009 ninth-round pick who saw another potential spot on defense vanish Tuesday. The Otters announced the signing of 2010 pick Liam Maaskant. The club also signed 2008 pick Tyler McCarthy earlier this month.

Club officials are “definitely happy to see me back,” Zugec said. “They were bummed that I didn’t come last year.”

At the time, Zugec didn’t think he was ready. But now, he said, “I wished I would have gone last year.”

Zugec would like to continue playing at the highest level as much for his parents as for himself. “They’ve sacrificed a lot. The options just there aren’t right now,” said Zugec, who would consider enrolling in college if his career ends.

*No surprises: The 3-mile run Monday was grueling. Other off-ice conditioning was equally challenging. The shots on the ice were definitely much harder. “It’s exactly what I expected it to be,” Millcreek Township native and McDowell sophomore Nate Miller, 16, said of his first day at Otters camp Tuesday. “But if you make the team, it’s worth it.”

As a goaltender, Miller figures he wouldn’t earn a roster spot with the Otters until he’s at least 17 or 18 years old. But that’s fine. He still hasn’t chosen between the OHL and NCAA. “I’ll wait a bit. I want to see where I go with college options,” said Miller, who has received interest from NCAA Division I schools such as Ohio State and Western Michigan.

Choosing the NCAA route would be simpler if he hadn’t been picked by the Otters in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection.

“I’d love to play for the hometown team,” he said.

- Victor Fernandes