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The Erie Otters are a major junior ice hockey team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Midwest division of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of only three American teams in the league. The team's name refers to the North American river otter common to Lake Erie. The Otters have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup twice as OHL champions, in 2002 and 2017.
Erie Otters | |
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City | Erie, Pennsylvania |
League | Ontario Hockey League |
Conference | Western |
Division | Midwest |
Founded | 1996 –97 |
Home arena | Erie Insurance Arena |
Colors | Navy, gold, white |
Owner(s) | Jim Waters |
General manager | Dave Brown |
Head coach | Stan Butler |
Website | ottershockey |
Franchise history | |
1946–1953 | Windsor Spitfires |
1953–1960 | Hamilton Tiger Cubs |
1960–1974 | Hamilton Red Wings |
1974–1978 | Hamilton/St. Catharines Fincups |
1978–1984 | Brantford Alexanders |
1984–1988 | Hamilton Steelhawks |
1988–1996 | Niagara Falls Thunder |
1996–present | Erie Otters |
History
editThe Erie Otters were previously located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, known as the Niagara Falls Thunder. They moved to Erie Insurance Arena for the 1996–97 season. After three seasons, they won the Holody Trophy as Midwest Division champions 1999. It was their first of three consecutive Midwest Division championships, culminating in a J. Ross Robertson Cup in the 2001–02 season. Dave MacQueen won the Matt Leyden Trophy in 2000–01 as the OHL Coach of the Year. General manager Sherwood Bassin was awarded OHL Executive of the Year, and the CHL Executive of the Year for his role in building a championship team.[1][2]
The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine partnered with the Otters in 2012, as their medical provider.[3]
Connor McDavid played for the Otters from the 2012–13 OHL season to the 2014–15 OHL season.[4] Hockey Canada granted McDavid "exceptional player" status, which permitted him to play in the OHL a year earlier than would otherwise be permissible for a player his age.[5] The Otters chose the 15-year-old McDavid as their first overall pick in the 2012 draft. He led the team to the J. Ross Robertson Cup championship finals, where the Otters fell to the Oshawa Generals.[6]
On March 18, 2017, the Otters became the first team in Canadian Hockey League history to record four consecutive 50-win seasons (2013–2017). The Otters had previously shared the record of three consecutive 50-win seasons with the Kelowna Rockets (2012–2015), Edmonton Oil Kings (2011–2014), Saint John Sea Dogs (2009–2012) and the Kamloops Blazers (1989–1992).[7]
On May 22, 2017, the Otters set a Memorial Cup record for most goals by one team in a single game by defeating the Saint John Sea Dogs with a final score of 12–5, surpassing the previous record of 11 goals set by the Quebec Remparts (1974, 11–3) and Regina Pats (1980, 11–2). Dylan Strome set an individual record of 7 points in a single game (4 goals, 3 assists). Taylor Raddysh also tied the previous record of 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in the same game.[8]
On January 17, 2022, the Erie Otters hosted their inaugural Martin Luther King Jr. Day game. The team made history when University of Pittsburgh student Alex Randall broadcast the television feed of the game as the first African American play-by-play announcer in the Ontario Hockey League or the Canadian Hockey League.[9] This continued on January 16, 2023 when Arizona State University student Trey Matthews broadcast the television feed of the game as the second African-American play-by-play announcer.[10] The Erie Otters used a Black History Month inspired logo and warm-up jersey on Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2023.[11]
On January 26, 2023, Stan Butler was announced as the 10th head coach in the team's history.[12] The Otters lost by a 5–1 score to the London Knights in Butler's first game as coach.[13]
Uniforms and logos
editFrom their first season until the end of the 2016–17 season, the Erie Otters' colors were navy blue, gold, red, and white. Their primary logo featured a circular outline with a fierce, anthropomorphic otter furnishing a hockey stick and gear. The "Otters" wordmark is superimposed over the design in red with a gold and navy blue outline. The team's home uniform included a navy blue sweater with red and gold accents. The away uniforms featured a white jersey with navy blue and red trim.[citation needed]
For the 2013–14 season, the Erie Otters introduced a gold alternate jersey. This jersey features a navy blue shoulder yoke, navy blue and white stripes, and the cursive "Otters" wordmark centered across the chest. The design resembles the sweaters of the defunct Erie Blades, who played from 1975 to 1982.[14] In 2016, the Erie Otters began wearing the gold alternate jerseys for every Saturday home game throughout the regular season and also introduced gold helmets to the uniform set, rather than the blue helmets worn with the gold jersey in previous seasons.[citation needed]
For the 2017–18 season, the Erie Otters announced that the secondary cursive "Otters" watermark has become their new primary logo and the team is making a full-time switch to a gold, navy, and white color set. With this change, the alternate gold jerseys have become the new primary home set, and a newly introduced white jersey (in the same style as the gold) has become the new away set.[15]
On May 20, 2019, the Otters updated an older Otters logo with the new color pattern of navy blue and gold as part of the center emblem, a shoulder patch with a more modern look, and the Erie name inside of the Pennsylvania keystone symbol.[16]
Arena
editThe Erie Otters play their home games at Erie Insurance Arena, which opened in 1983, and seats more than 6,700 spectators for ice hockey.[17]
Championships
editList of championships:[citation needed]
J. Ross Robertson Cup | Wayne Gretzky Trophy | Hamilton Spectator Trophy | Holody Trophy |
---|---|---|---|
OHL Champions | Western Conference Champions | 1st Place - Regular Season | Midwest Division Champions |
Coaches
editList of coaches:[citation needed]
Regular Season | Playoffs | Memorial Cup | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coach | First Season | Last Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | SOL | PTS | PCT% | GP | W | L | PCT% | GP | W | L | PCT% |
Chris Johnstone | 1996-97 | 1996-97* | 39 | 11 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 25 | .321 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Dale Dunbar | 1996-97* | 1997-98 | 93 | 45 | 36 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 102 | .548 | 12 | 4 | 8 | .333 | - | - | - | - |
Paul Theriault | 1998-99 | 1998-99 | 68 | 31 | 33 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 66 | .485 | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | - | - | - | - |
Dave MacQueen | 1999-2000 | 2005-06 | 476 | 229 | 183 | 36 | 25 | 3 | 522 | .548 | 64 | 38 | 26 | .594 | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 |
Peter Sidorkiewicz | 2006-07 | 2007-08* | 84 | 19 | 62 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 41 | .244 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Robbie Ftorek | 2007-08* | 2012-13* | 353 | 139 | 174 | 0 | 16 | 13 | 307 | .436 | 16 | 4 | 12 | .250 | - | - | - | - |
Kris Knoblauch | 2012-13* | 2016-17 | 313 | 216 | 83 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 446 | .712 | 69 | 46 | 23 | .667 | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 |
Chris Hartsburg | 2017-18 | 2021-22* | 199 | 75 | 99 | 0 | 14 | 11 | 175 | .438 | - | - | - | .000 | - | - | - | .000 |
B.J Adams | 2021-22* | 2022-23* | 90 | 36 | 48 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 78 | .400 | ||||||||
Stan Butler | 2022-23* | 2023-24 | 27 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 18 | .333 |
* indicates replacement mid-season.
Award winners
editList of award winners:
Season | Coach | Award Won | Award For | ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
2000-01 | Dave MacQueen | Matt Leyden Trophy | Coach of the Year | [1] |
2015-16 | Kris Knoblauch | Matt Leyden Trophy | Coach of the Year | [1] |
General managers
editList of general managers with multiple seasons in parentheses.
- 1998–2015 – Sherwood Bassin (17)
- 2015–present – Dave Brown (8)
Players
editAward winners
editList of award winners:[1]
NHL alumni
editList of National Hockey League (NHL) alumni:[citation needed]
- Nikita Alexeev
- Brady Austin
- Nick Baptiste
- Adam Berti
- Michael Blunden
- Brad Boyes
- Chris Breen
- David Broll
- Connor Brown
- Andre Burakovsky
- Chris Campoli
- Erik Cernak
- Anthony Cirelli
- Carlo Colaiacovo
- Tim Connolly
- Oscar Dansk
- Alex DeBrincat
- Travis Dermott
- Jamie Drysdale
- Remi Elie
- Warren Foegele
- Brendan Gaunce
- Luke Gazdic
- Justin Hodgman
- Hayden Hodgson
- Mike Liambas
- Brett MacLean
- Kurtis MacDermid
- Mason Marchment
- Connor McDavid
- Greg McKegg
- Steve Montador
- Adam Munro
- Jordan Nolan
- Ryan O'Marra
- Ryan O'Reilly
- Nick Palmieri
- Jeff Paul
- Adam Pelech
- Anthony Peluso
- Geoff Platt
- Darren Raddysh
- Taylor Raddysh
- Michael Rupp
- Dylan Strome
- Stephen Valiquette
- Phil Varone
- Jason Ward
- Jeff Zehr
NHL first round draft picks
editConnor McDavid is the first player with Erie ties to be selected first overall in a major professional sports league’s draft. In his case, it was by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft on June 26, 2015.[18]
List of first round NHL draft picks:[citation needed]
Year | Player | Team | Round | Pick # |
---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | Jason Ward | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | 11 |
1998 | Michael Rupp | New York Islanders | 1 | 9 |
1999 | Tim Connolly | New York Islanders | 1 | 5 |
2000 | Nikita Alexeev | Tampa Bay Lightning | 1 | 8 |
2000 | Brad Boyes | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1 | 24 |
2001 | Carlo Colaiacovo | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1 | 17 |
2001 | Adam Munro | Chicago Blackhawks | 1 | 29 |
2005 | Ryan O'Marra | New York Islanders | 1 | 15 |
2013 | Andre Burakovsky | Washington Capitals | 1 | 23 |
2015 | Connor McDavid | Edmonton Oilers | 1 | 1 |
2015 | Dylan Strome | Arizona Coyotes | 1 | 3 |
2020 | Jamie Drysdale | Anaheim Ducks | 1 | 6 |
Retired numbers
edit- Brad Boyes (#16)[citation needed]
- Vince Scott (#18)[citation needed]
Season-by-season results
editList of season-by-season results:[citation needed]
Regular season
editLegend: OTL - Overtime Loss, SL - Shootout Loss, PTS - Points, GF - Goals For, GA - Goals Against, GD - Goal Differential
Season | Games | Won | Lost | Tie | OTL | SL | PTS | PCT% | GF | GA | GD | Standing | Playoffs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996–97 | 66 | 23 | 36 | 7 | - | - | 53 | 0.402 | 240 | 260 | -20 | 5th Central | Lost in Quarterfinals |
1997–98 | 66 | 33 | 28 | 5 | - | - | 71 | 0.538 | 261 | 252 | +9 | 4th West | Lost in Quarterfinals |
1998–99 | 68 | 31 | 33 | 4 | - | - | 66 | 0.485 | 271 | 297 | -26 | 3rd Midwest | Lost in Quarterfinals |
1999–00 | 68 | 33 | 28 | 4 | 3 | - | 73 | 0.515 | 224 | 229 | -5 | 1st Midwest | Lost in Semifinals |
2000–01 | 68 | 45 | 11 | 10 | 2 | - | 102 | 0.735 | 264 | 171 | +93 | 1st Midwest | Lost in Conference Finals |
2001–02 | 68 | 41 | 22 | 4 | 1 | - | 87 | 0.632 | 246 | 218 | +28 | 1st Midwest | Won OHL Championship, Lost Memorial Cup |
2002–03 | 68 | 24 | 35 | 6 | 3 | - | 57 | 0.397 | 181 | 248 | -67 | 5th Midwest | Missed Playoffs |
2003–04 | 68 | 29 | 26 | 6 | 7 | - | 71 | 0.471 | 221 | 212 | +9 | 5th Midwest | Lost in Semifinals |
2004–05 | 68 | 31 | 26 | 6 | 5 | - | 73 | 0.500 | 186 | 207 | -21 | 4th Midwest | Lost in Quarterfinals |
2005–06 | 68 | 26 | 35 | - | 4 | 3 | 59 | 0.434 | 219 | 266 | -47 | 5th Midwest | Missed Playoffs |
2006–07 | 68 | 15 | 50 | - | 1 | 2 | 33 | 0.243 | 209 | 378 | -169 | 5th Midwest | Missed Playoffs |
2007–08 | 68 | 18 | 46 | - | 2 | 2 | 40 | 0.294 | 206 | 343 | -137 | 5th Midwest | Missed Playoffs |
2008–09 | 68 | 34 | 29 | - | 3 | 2 | 73 | 0.537 | 208 | 254 | -46 | 3rd Midwest | Lost in Quarterfinals |
2009–10 | 68 | 33 | 28 | - | 5 | 2 | 73 | 0.537 | 257 | 259 | -2 | 4th Midwest | Lost in Quarterfinals |
2010–11 | 68 | 40 | 26 | - | 1 | 1 | 82 | 0.603 | 281 | 229 | +52 | 3rd Midwest | Lost in Quarterfinals |
2011–12 | 68 | 10 | 52 | - | 3 | 3 | 26 | 0.191 | 169 | 338 | -169 | 5th Midwest | Missed Playoffs |
2012–13 | 68 | 19 | 40 | - | 4 | 5 | 47 | 0.346 | 206 | 312 | -106 | 5th Midwest | Missed Playoffs |
2013–14 | 68 | 52 | 14 | - | 2 | 0 | 106 | 0.779 | 312 | 170 | +142 | 2nd Midwest | Lost in Conference Finals |
2014–15 | 68 | 50 | 14 | - | 2 | 2 | 104 | 0.765 | 331 | 212 | +119 | 1st Midwest | Lost OHL Championship |
2015–16 | 68 | 52 | 15 | - | 1 | 0 | 105 | 0.772 | 269 | 183 | +86 | 1st Midwest | Lost in Conference Finals |
2016–17 | 68 | 50 | 15 | - | 2 | 1 | 103 | 0.757 | 319 | 182 | +137 | 1st Midwest | Won OHL Championship, Lost Memorial Cup |
2017–18 | 68 | 23 | 35 | - | 7 | 3 | 56 | 0.412 | 220 | 270 | -50 | 5th Midwest | Missed Playoffs |
2018–19 | 68 | 26 | 38 | - | 3 | 1 | 56 | 0.412 | 230 | 300 | -70 | 5th Midwest | Missed Playoffs |
2019–20 | 63 | 26 | 26 | - | 4 | 7 | 63 | 0.500 | 229 | 236 | -7 | 5th Midwest | Playoffs Cancelled |
2020–21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Season Cancelled | Playoffs Cancelled |
2021–22 | 68 | 27 | 37 | - | 2 | 2 | 58 | 0.426 | 223 | 267 | -44 | 5th Midwest | Missed Playoffs |
2022–23 | 68 | 21 | 40 | - | 2 | 5 | 49 | 0.360 | 207 | 287 | -80 | 5th Midwest | Missed Playoffs |
2023–24 | 68 | 33 | 28 | - | 5 | 2 | 73 | 0.537 | 254 | 270 | -16 | 3rd Midwest | Lost in Quarterfinals |
Playoffs
editList of playoffs results:[citation needed]
Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | OHL Championship | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Result | Opponent | Final | Result | Opponent | Final | Result | Opponent | Final | Result | Opponent | Final | ||||
1996-97 | > | Lost | Guelph Storm | 4-1 | ||||||||||||
1997-98 | > | Lost | London Knights | 4-3 | ||||||||||||
1998-99 | > | Lost | Guelph Storm | 4-1 | ||||||||||||
1999-00 | > | Won | Brampton Battalion | 4-2 | > | Lost | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 4-3 | ||||||||
2000-01 | > | Won | London Knights | 4-1 | > | Won | Brampton Battalion | 4-1 | > | Lost | Plymouth Whalers | 4-1 | ||||
2001-02 | > | Won | Sarnia Sting | 4-1 | > | Won | London Knights | 4-2 | > | Won | Windsor Spitfires | 4-1 | > | Won | Barrie Colts | 4-1 |
2002-03 | Out of playoffs. Did not qualify. | |||||||||||||||
2003-04 | > | Won | Sarnia Sting | 4-1 | > | Lost | London Knights | 4-0 | ||||||||
2004-05 | > | Lost | Kitchener Rangers | 4-2 | ||||||||||||
2005-06 | Out of playoffs. Did not qualify. | |||||||||||||||
2006-07 | Out of playoffs. Did not qualify. | |||||||||||||||
2007-08 | Out of playoffs. Did not qualify. | |||||||||||||||
2008-09 | > | Lost | London Knights | 4-1 | ||||||||||||
2009-10 | > | Lost | Windsor Spitfires | 4-0 | ||||||||||||
2010-11 | > | Lost | Windsor Spitfires | 4-3 | ||||||||||||
2011-12 | Out of playoffs. Did not qualify. | |||||||||||||||
2012-13 | Out of playoffs. Did not qualify. | |||||||||||||||
2013-14 | > | Won | Saginaw Spirit | 4-1 | > | Won | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 4-0 | > | Lost | Guelph Storm | 4-1 | ||||
2014-15 | > | Won | Sarnia Sting | 4-1 | > | Won | London Knights | 4-0 | > | Won | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 4-2 | > | Lost | Oshawa Generals | 4-1 |
2015-16 | > | Won | Saginaw Spirit | 4-0 | > | Won | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | 4-1 | > | Lost | London Knights | 4-0 | ||||
2016-17 | > | Won | Sarnia Sting | 4-0 | > | Won | London Knights | 4-3 | > | Won | Owen Sound Attack | 4-2 | > | Won | Mississauga Steelheads | 4-1 |
2017-18 | Out of playoffs. Did not qualify. | |||||||||||||||
2018-19 | Out of playoffs. Did not qualify. | |||||||||||||||
2019-20 | Cancelled. | |||||||||||||||
2020-21 | Cancelled. | |||||||||||||||
2021-22 | Out of playoffs. Did not qualify. | |||||||||||||||
2022-23 | Out of playoffs. Did not qualify. | |||||||||||||||
2023-24 | > | Lost | Kitchener Rangers | 4-2 |
Memorial Cup
editList of Memorial Cup results:[citation needed]
Round Robin Game 1 | Round Robin Game 2 | Round Robin Game 3 | Semi-Final | Final | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Opponent | Score | Result | Opponent | Score | Result | Opponent | Score | Result | Opponent | Score | Result | Opponent | Score | |||||
2002 | Lost | Kootenay Ice | 3-0 | Won | Victoriaville Tigres | 5-1 | Won | Guelph Storm | 4-0 | Lost | Victoriaville Tigres | 5-4 OT | ||||||||
2017 | Won | Seattle Thunderbirds | 4-2 | Won | Saint John Sea Dogs | 12-5 | Lost | Windsor Spitfires | 4-2 | Won | Saint John Sea Dogs | 6-3 | Lost | Windsor Spitfires | 4-3 |
References
edit- ^ a b c d "OHL Awards". Ontario Hockey League. Canadian Hockey League. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
- ^ "CHL Awards". chl.ca. Canadian Hockey League. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
- ^ "LECOM becomes official medical provider..." Otters Hockey.com. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
- ^ Oilers' Connor McDavid becomes fourth fastest to 400 career assists, has 4-point game
- ^ "Connor McDavid granted exceptional status, now eligible for OHL draft". National Post. March 21, 2012. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012.
- ^ "Junior dreams crushed for McDavid in OHL championship". mastercardmemorialcup.ca. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
- ^ "Otters make CHL history, claim second straight Hamilton Spectator Trophy – Ontario Hockey League". ontariohockeyleague.com. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- ^ "Otters rewrite the record books in 12-5 win – Mastercard Memorial Cup". mastercardmemorialcup.ca. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
- ^ "Pennsylvania's Alex Randall to Become First Black Play-by-Play Voice in CHL History". Ontario Hockey League. December 14, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
- ^ "Pennsylvanian Trey Matthews to call Otters' second MLK Day Game – Ontario Hockey League".
- ^ "ERIE OTTERS UNVEIL 2023 BLACK HISTORY LOGO, JERSEY – Erie Otters".
- ^ "Stan Butler to be named 10th coach in Otters franchise history". Ontario Hockey League. January 26, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
- ^ "Late penalty trouble dooms Otters in front of sold out Erie Insurance Arena". Erie Otters. February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
- ^ Creamer, Chris. "New Otters Jersey Evokes Memories of the Blades". SportsLogos.net Blog. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
- ^ "Otters Unveil New Color Scheme and Jersey". OttersHockey.com. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
- ^ "Otters Unveil New Jerseys for 2019-2020 Season - Erie News Now | WICU & WSEE in Erie, PA". www.erienewsnow.com. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
- ^ "Erie Insurance Arena". Erie Sports Commission. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
- ^ Fernandes, Victor. "Otters' McDavid chosen No. 1 in NHL draft". GoErie.com. Retrieved April 16, 2021.