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 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.

Erie Otters forward Andrew Yogan’s season could end prematurely – again.

Yogan has been fitted with a permanent cast on his fractured left foot, which he injured blocking a shot against Guelph in a March 3 game at Tullio Arena. The boot was too big for Yogan’s foot, athletic trainer David Stickney said. The permanent cast will keep his foot in place, Stickney said.

Coach Robbie Ftorek said “the way (Yogan) walked put pressure, stress on where (his foot) was broken.”

Stickney didn’t rule out Yogan returning this season. Ftorek wasn’t as positive about the prognosis. He said Yogan’s season possibly is over. “It doesn’t look too good for him,” Ftorek said.

It was originally believed that Yogan fractured his left leg. Ftorek and Stickney confirmed the foot injury on Tuesday. Stickney said it ordinarily takes three to six weeks for this type of injury to heal, “depending on what type of break it is, where it is.” Yogan was evaluated Tuesday by Dr. David Babins, the team’s orthopedic physician. But Stickney said he didn’t know what type of fracture Yogan suffered.

The Otters complete the OHL’s regular-season schedule with games against Guelph and London this weekend. They are expected to begin the Western Conference playoffs the following weekend.

Yogan’s return “depends on how long it takes him to heal, how long it takes him to get back into playing shape,” Stickney said. Yogan’s 2008-09 season, his first with the Otters, was cut short by a concussion suffered Feb. 13, 2009, in London. He ranks fifth on the 2009-10 team in goals (25) and points (55).

In other Otters’ injury news, defensemen Tyler Hostetter and David Shields suffered undisclosed strains in Saturday’s game at Owen Sound. Both missed Tuesday’s practice at Ice Center of Erie. But they should be able to skate Wednesday, Ftorek said.

- Victor Fernandes

Erie Otters forward Andrew Yogan has a fractured left leg, coach Robbie Ftorek confirmed Thursday.

Yogan suffered the injury while blocking a shot early in the second period of a 4-1 home loss to Guelph Wednesday night. He finished the shift before heading to the bench. A short time later, Yogan glided off the ice on his right skate and then hopped down the hall to the dressing room.

He was taken to Hamot Hospital during the game for x-rays, which found the fracture. The severity of Yogan’s injury and prognosis won’t be determined until he’s evaluated in the next week by Dr. David Babins, the team’s orthopedic physician, Otters athletic trainer David Stickney said. However, Ftorek said he didn’t believe Yogan suffered a season-ending injury.

Yogan will wear a walking boot “for a little while,” Stickney said. Ftorek said he expected Yogan to wear the boot for a couple of weeks, which would take him to the start of the OHL playoffs.

“It’s week to week basically and we’ll go from there,” Stickney said. “He’ll be looked at by Dr. Babins and we’ll plan a course of treatment from there. (His prognosis) depends on what we find out from getting him evaluated.”

Yogan ranks fifth on the team in goals (25) and points (55). He began the season as a potential high-round pick in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft, although his stock has slipped a bit during the season. He had 17 goals and 34 points in 35 games with the Otters last season after being acquired from Windsor on Nov. 7, 2008. But he suffered a season-ending concussion Feb. 13 in London.

Before Thursday’s practice, Ftorek hadn’t decided who will replace Yogan on the No. 2 line.

“I only found out the information (Thursday) morning,” Ftorek said. “We’ll get through the day and we’ll think about it (Friday).”

- Victor Fernandes

Erie Otters forward Andrew Yogan suffered an apparent left leg injury while blocking a shot early in the second period of a 4-1 loss to Guelph Wednesday night at Tullio Arena. He hopped on his right skate to the dressing room and then was taken to a hospital for x-rays. Coach Robbie Ftorek was unaware of Yogan’s condition after the game.

- Victor Fernandes

The Erie Otters qualified for the OHL playoffs Wednesday night.

Perhaps they should consider giving the spot back.

The Otters failed to control their own postseason destiny for the second straight game, as they lost to Guelph 4-1 in front of 3,158 at Tullio Arena. Yet, the Otters (31-26-5-2) clinched a Western Conference berth because London beat Owen Sound 4-3 Wednesday.

The Otters remain seventh in the Western Conference, one point behind sixth-place Saginaw and two behind No. 5 Sault Ste. Marie. The Spirit have a game in hand. The Greyhounds have two games in hand.

The Otters’ outside chance at the No. 4 seed and home-ice advantage in the first round became slimmer with the loss. The Otters are five points behind fourth-place Plymouth with four games left. The Whalers have a game in hand.

The Otters took a 1-0 lead in the final minute of the first period on Anthony Luciani’s 33^rd goal of the season. He took linemate Andrew Yogan’s cross-ice pass and fired a slap shot past Storm goaltender Brandon Foote. But the Otters could have taken a commanding lead into the first intermission.

The Otters failed on four power-play opportunities, including a 5-on-3 for 39 seconds midway through the period. That burned the Otters early in the second, as Taylor Beck’s power-play goal – his 34^th of the season – tied the score at 1-1 just 1:16 into the period. Beck, pictured at right, scored again on the power play five minutes later to hand the Storm a 2-1 lead. Then the Storm took a 3-1 lead with 22 seconds left in the period. Sam Lofquist scored the goal, his fourth of the season, on an assist from defense mate Adam Comrie.

Foote took over from there, finishing with 27 saves, although he wasn’t tested in the third (five shots on goal). Guelph’s Mathew Sisca capped the scoring with an unassisted goal with 7:05 left in the game.

Beck and Sisca (goal, assist) and Michael Latta (two assists) had two points apiece for the Storm (30-29-3-1), which moved three points ahead of Owen Sound and have a game in hand in the battle for the West’s final playoff spot.

- Victor Fernandes