By STEVE FITZSIMMONS
For the Midwest Division’s Erie Otters, the miserable 200607 regular season is now a distant memory.
The Otters come in to the new season with renewed optimism and a budding confidence.
After icing the second youngest team in the league last season and posting a league worst 15-50-1-2 record, head coach Peter Sidorkiewicz feels the club’s many young players learned a lot last year and will be better this season.
“I think we did make progress. I just look at how many young kids we had and some of the things they accomplished. I got to see them day in and day out and they definitely did get better and their work ethic improved.”
Center Zack Torquato, acquired from the Saginaw Spirit last season, is the on-ice leader for Erie. Torquato led the team in scoring last season with 30 goals and 69 points.
Torquato, a 6-0, 195-pound Sault Ste. Marie-native, will have something to prove this season, after plummeting down the charts at the NHL draft, until the Detroit Red Wings finally took him 178th.
At one point in the season, he had been ranked 61st in North America by NHL Central Scouting.
Another player expected to step it up is left winger Jordan Skellett, acquired from the Mississauga Ice Dogs.
Skellett, a 5-10 184-pound native of London, Ontario, showed impressive skills in his stint with Erie.
He had 14 goals and 12 assists in 28 games for Erie last year.
Sidorkiewicz really liked his progression.
“I see a great upside with him. He does so many things well. He plays with an edge. He shoots the puck as well as anybody. I think he can be a very dynamic player in our league if he decides he wants to be on a consistent basis.”
Overage left winger Ronnie Rogers will be counted on to be a spark plug and generate more than his 24 goals and 45 points last season.
Right-winger Nick Palmieri, fresh off being drafted 79th overall in the NHL draft by New Jersey should be able to add additional offence and a physical edge.
Many other young players with experience will be counted on for more than last year.
A couple of newcomers with the new improved Erie Otters should be able to make an impact right away. Ryan O’Reilly, the first overall selection in the 2007 OHL draft, has tremendous skills and will get better as the season goes along. O’Reilly, 16, is a 6-0, 185-pound forward who tallied 31 goals and 43 assists in 50 games last year for the Toronto Jr. Canadiens midget team.
The Varna, Ontario-native should prove to be an offensive weapon but will need to improve to thrive at the next level, even by his own admission. “The main thing I have to work on is my skating. I’m a fairly weak skater; so in order to play in the OHL I’m going to have to become a better skater. I just want to come and have a winning season with the team and contribute as much as I can, “ said O’Reilly.
Goaltending was a huge weakness for the Otters last season. Drafting second overall in the CHL European draft, the Otters selected Jaroslav Janus from the Slovakian Under-20 League.
The 18-year-old goaltender is ranked fourth among goalies by International Scouting Services for the 2008 NHL Draft. He is a blue chip prospect and helped guide Slovakia to a fifth place finish in the World Under-18 hockey Championships.
His presence will provide stability in goal, something the team lacked last season.
With the addition of several promising young players and the development of many players from last year, the Otters should be able to compete for a playoff spot, something they were unable to do for very long last year. |