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

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.

The Erie Otters had a new goaltender in for the second straight game.

Keinan Brown, on emergency loan from Peterborough, made 33 saves in his Otters’ debut Saturday night at Tullio Arena. But that wasn’t enough, as the Otters lost to Kitchener 6-4 in front of 3,245 fans.

The Otters (10-48-3-3) are assured of setting a new franchise record for fewest wins in a season. They trail the 2006-07 club (15 wins) by five wins with four games left in the season.

The Otters (10-48-3-3) actually built a 2-1 first-period lead on goals from goals from rookie Jake Evans and Mac McDonnell. Evans scored 1 minute, 3 seconds into the game on assists from Sondre Olden and Troy Donnay – 44 seconds after Radek Faksa, the Rangers’ high-scoring rookie, opened the scoring.

Then McDonnell snapped the 1-1 tie on McDonnell’s goal with 7:41 left in the period. Connor Crisp and Mitch Eisenberg assisted on the goal, with Crisp earning his first point of the season in his first game at forward. Crisp, who missed the first five months recovering from shoulder surgery, made his season debut last Sunday as an emergency goaltender in a 13-4 loss at Niagara.

But 1:02 later, Brent Pedersen’s goal tied the score at 2 and sparked the Rangers’ decisive four-goal outburst that built a 5-2 lead. Tobias Rieder scored 10 seconds into the second to give the Rangers (40-22-1-1) the lead for good at 3-2. He scored again, this time on the power play, at the 2:30 mark of the period.

Faksa capped the offensive surge followed with his second goal of the game 5:19 into the period.

Anthony Cortellessa scored twice, with 8:17 left in the second and again 7:37 into the third, to move the Otters within a goal 5-4. But goaltender John Gibson, who stopped Otters forward Luke Cairns on a penalty shot midway through the second, and the Rangers’ defense held off the Otters the rest of the way.

Then Andrew Crescenzi scored into an empty net, his 24^th goal of the season, with 37 seconds to seal the Rangers’ victory. Rieder paced the Rangers with two goals and two assists. Ben Thomson had two assists while Gibson stopped 32-of-36 shots. Cortellessa (two goals), McDonnell (goal, assist) Donnay (two assists) and Eisenberg (two assists) led the Otters with two points apiece.

Kitchener Rangers (39-22-1-1) at Erie Otters (10-47-3-3)

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

Where: Tullio Arena

On the air: WFNN-AM/1330, www.ottershockey.com (live stream)

Up next: vs. Guelph (Sunday, 4:30 p.m.), at Guelph (Wednesday, 7 p.m.)

Fast facts: Connor Crisp will play his first game of the season at forward. Crisp, who had been out since undergoing shoulder surgery in September, made his season debut as the emergency goaltender last Sunday at Niagara. … G Keinan Brown has joined the team on emergency loan from Peterborough. Brown, 19, who played three games for the Petes a season ago, had a 19-8-1-1 record, 3.47 goals-against average and .902 save percentage with Cobourg (Ontario Junior A Hockey League) this season. … Brown teams with G J.P Cesario, 18, who joined the team Wednesday on emergency loan from Owen Sound. The Otters are still without Gs Ramis Sadikov and Devin Williams, who are out with concussions. … Rookie D Travis Wood was released from a hospital late Wednesday night after tests were negative. Wood, who was injured in Wednesday’s loss to Plymouth, was set to undergo cognitive tests to determine the extent of his injury. … The Otters are assured of at least equaling the franchise record for fewest wins in a season. They trail the 2006-07 club (15 wins) by five wins with five games left. The 2006-07 team also holds the mark for most losses in regulation (50). … The Otters have clinched the No. 1 pick in the OHL Priority Selection next month. They also will have the No. 3 pick in the CHL Import Draft in June, behind the worst QMJHL and WHL clubs, respectively. … RW Connor Brown (24 goals, 26 assists, 50 points) and LW Stephen Harper (24-11-35) are tied for second with Kitchener C Radek Faksa (26-33-59) for the OHL’s rookie lead in goals. Brown ranks third in assists and second to Faksa in points among rookies. … RW Johnny McGuire begins serving a two-game suspension for his game misconduct (aggressor in a fight) Wednesday against Plymouth.

- Victor Fernandes

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.

The Erie Otters had their chance to finally post their sixth win of the season Saturday night.

But a third-period collapse turned a two-goal lead into a 6-4 loss to Midwest Division rival Kitchener in front of 3,232 at Tullio Arena. The Rangers (26-11-1-0) scored four goals in the third, headlined by Matia Marcantuoni’s go-ahead goal with 4 minutes, 32 seconds left in the game.

Cody Sol’s empty-net goal, shot from Kitchener’s zone, sealed a fifth straight loss for the Otters (6-31-1-1). Until the final period, Erie’s OHL-worst offense (97 goals) kept pace with the Rangers’ potent attack in the first period.

Jake Evans opened the scoring 12:39 into the game on a rebound of fellow rookie Sondre Olden’s shot. Kitchener tied it at 1 on Zach Lorentz’s goal with 4:02 left in the period.

The Otters regained the lead at 2-1 on Mike Cazzola’s goal with 2:30 left in the period. Dane Fox assisted on the goal for his first point as an Otter, as did Connor Brown. Then 1:10 later, Ben Fanelli’s rebound beat Otters goaltender Ramis Sadikov to pull the Rangers even at 2-2 heading into the intermission.

But Fox scored his first goal as an Otter – a rebound past goaltender Franky Palazzese 37 seconds into the second period to give the Otters a 3-2 lead. Moments later, a faulty pane of glass prompted a 30-minute delay in which the players warmed up, headed to the dressing room and then warmed up again.

The Otters maintained their one-goal lead after play resumed. Then newly acquired Troy Donnay joined Fox in scoring his first goal with the Otters – and in Donnay’s case, his first OHL goal. The second-year defenseman scored late in a two-man advantage to hand the Otters a 4-2 lead with 6:16 left in the period.

Kitchener sliced Erie’s lead to 4-3, as Marcantuoni redirected Fanelli’s pass past Sadikov 5:57 into the third. Then Radek Faksa turned an errant pass at the Otters’ blue line into the tying short-handed goal with 6:11 left. Marcantuoni snapped the tie less than two minutes later.

Cazzola (goal, two assists) and Fox (goal, assist) paced the Otters while Brown had two assists. Sadikov stopped 32-of-37 shots. Marcantuoni, who was injured late in the game, and Fanelli’s goal and two assists led the Rangers. Sol and Lorentz had a goal and assist apiece. Palazzese finished with 28 saves.

- Victor Fernandes

SUMMARY

Rangers 6, Otters 4

Kitchener  2  0  4  —  6

Erie  2  2  0  —  4

1^st Period — 1. Erie, Jake Evans 3 (Olden), 12:39. 2. Kitchener, Zach Lorentz 13 (Ming, Fanelli), 15:58. 3. Erie, Mike Cazzola 2 (Brown, Fox), 17:30. 4. Kitchener, Ben Fanelli 2 (Ming, Lorentz), 18:40. Penalties — None.

2^nd Period — 5. Erie, Dane Fox 14 (Glass, Cazzola), :37. 6. Erie, Troy Donnay 1 (Brown, Cazzola), 13:44 (pp). Penalties — Grant (E) hooking, 10:21; Lorentz (K) hooking; 11:51; Murphy (K) unsportsmanlike conduct, 11:51; Betz (E) tripping, 17:34; Sadikov (E) unsportsmanlike conduct (served by Cortellessa), 20:00; Sol (K) unsportsmanlike conduct, 20:00.

3^rd Period — 7. Kitchener, Matia Marcantuoni 8 (Fanelli, Sol), 5:57. 8. Kitchener, Radek Faksa 17 (unassisted), 12:49 (sh). 9. Kitchener, Marcantuoni 9 (Crescenzi, Genovese), 15:28. 10. Kitchener, Cody Sol 8 (unassisted), 19:41 (en). Penalties — McGuire (E) 5-min. fighting, 2:13; Genovese (K) 5-min. fighting, 2:13; Pelech (E) checking from behind, 3:37; Pedersen (K) checking from behind, 11:32.

Shots on goal — Kitchener, 18-8-12—38; Erie, 10-11-11—32.

Goaltenders — Kitchener, Franky Palazzese 12-5-1-0 (32 shots, 28 saves); Erie, Ramis Sadikov 3-13-1-1 (37 shots, 32 saves).

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

Referees — Dave Gauthier, Jason Faist. Linesmen — Adam Harris, Ryan Holmstead.

Attendance — 3,232.

Three stars

* Matia Marcantuoni, Rangers (2 goals) ** Mike Cazzola, Otters (goal, 2 assists) *** Dane Fox, Otters (goal, assist)

Liam Maaskant chose the perfect time to score his first OHL goal.

“Absolutely,” the rookie defenseman said after his goal 3:22 into overtime snapped the Erie Otters’ eight-game losing streak in a 4-3 win against Kitchener in front of 2,329 at Tullio Arena on Saturday night.

Maaskant’s shot from the point slipped through a crowd and past Rangers goaltender Franky Palazzese to cap a strong effort from the Otters’ rookie class. First-round pick Stephen Harper recorded the first two-goal and three-point outings of his short career. Tyler McCarthy and Jake Evans also had points.

The Otters (2-12-0-0), which rallied from two-goal deficits twice to force overtime, won for the first time since a 7-5 home victory against defending league champion Owen Sound Oct. 7.

A night after making 43 saves in a loss to the Rangers (8-5-1-0), Otters goaltender Ramis Sadikov (26 saves) had a rough start early in the finale of this home-and-home series. He allowed highly touted rookie center Radek Faksa’s goal on Kitchener’s first shot for a 1-0 Rangers’ lead 1:25 into the opening period.

Then on Kitchener’s fourth shot, Matia Marcantuoni scored on Sadikov to hand the Rangers a 2-0 lead at the 6:07 mark. Yet the Otters responded 26 seconds later, as Johnny McGuire scored his first goal of the season and second of his career on assists from McCarthy and Evans. McCarthy recorded his first OHL point while Evans netted a point for his second straight game.

Kitchener regained a two-goal lead 22 seconds into the second on Tobias Rieder’s team-best ninth goal of the season. He scored during a scramble in front of Sadikov. But the Otters struck back 51 seconds later on Harper’s first of two goals to slice Kitchener’s lead to 3-2.

Then Harper scored again to tie the score at 3 at the 2:37 mark of the third and eventually force overtime. While standing with his back to the net, the rookie winger deflected Brett Cook’s point shot past Palazzese.

Then Harper joined fellow rookie Connor Brown in assisting on Maaskant’s game-winning goal. Faksa had a goal and assist for the Rangers while Ben Thomson had two assists. Palazzese made 31 saves.

- Victor Fernandes