Be they original or attributed quotes he delivers, Stan Butler has been proven an orator over his season-plus tenure as coach of the Erie Otters.
Butler's latest way with words were heard on the cusp of the franchise's 29th Ontario Hockey League season in northwestern Pennsylvania.
The Otters debut Friday against Kitchener, the same team that ended their 2023-24 season in the first round of the playoffs. Their opening puck drop is 7 p.m. at the Kitchener Auditorium.
That's the same start time for the Otters' home opener, scheduled Saturday against the Brampton Steelheads at Erie Insurance Arena.
Erie ended a six-year drought when it qualified for last season's OHL playoffs . The early-season acquisition of goaltender Ben Gaudreau, who's currently with the American Hockey League's Rockford IceHogs, and the evolution of returning players like center Pano Fimis, the team's leading scorer, were reasons for a return to postseason prosperity.
Further evidence of Erie's talent renaissance is the number of current players who were invited to NHL training camps .
Fimis (Columbus) was one of seven who readily accepted offers. The others were Sam Alfano (Columbus); Martin Misiak and Ty Henry (Chicago); Dylan Edwards (Detroit); Gabriel Frasca (Dallas), and Carey Terrance (Anaheim).
While their individual experiences will be beneficial in the long run, their short-term absences hindered Butler and his those on his coaching staff throughout Erie's preseason workouts and exhibition games.
"That's the tough part," Butler said, "when you start a season like that and people have high expectations for your team. Some of the (OHL) teams who don't have guys away at NHL camps are further along in development because (their players) have had more practice time together.
"But, what is it they say in housing construction? As long as you can get the roof on and the windows in, you can work through the winter."
Here are some of the notable Otters to follow as they work their way throughout the fall, winter and next spring:
Erie Otters' top returning scorers
No. 98 Pano Fimis, center, fourth season: Niagara's second overall pick in the 2020 OHL draft led the 2023-24 Otters in points (25 goals, 51 assists) for his first full season with that franchise.
No. 17 Malcolm Spence, left wing, third season: The No. 2 overall pick in the OHL's 2022 draft totaled 62 points (19 goals and 43 assists) last year.
No. 33 Sam Alfano, right wing, fourth season: The former Peterborough Pete recorded 27 goals and 33 assists over his second season as an Erie skater.
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NHL draft picks
No. 10 Carey Terrance , center, fourth season: Anaheim selected the Akwesasne, New York, native during the second round of the NHL's 2023 draft. He followed with a 29-goal, 23-assist season for Erie.
No. 2 Ty Henry , defenseman, third season: The blue-liner, who assisted on seven Erie goals last season, was selected by Chicago during the sixth round of this year's NHL draft.
No. 90 Martin Misiak , center, second season: Henry was drafted by the Blackhawks a year after they took the Slovakia native, who had 23 goals and 24 assists a year ago, in the second round of the 2023 NHL draft.
On hold
No. 48 Matthew Schaefer , defenseman, second season: Mononucleosis was mentioned as the reason the top pick in the OHL's 2023 draft will be indefinitely off the ice.
No. 11 Dylan Edwards, right wing, fourth season: Butler said a lower-body injury is why the Toronto native (22 goals and 12 assists last season) won't be available for the near future.
Notable newcomers
No. 86 Gabriel Frasca , third season: He was the prime acquisition during last month's flurry of trades that involved the Otters. The Caledon, Ontario, native posted 30 goals and 36 assists for the Kingston Frontenacs.
No. 1 Noah Erliden , goaltender: The native of Sweden, Erie's first-round pick in this year's OHL import draft, will be counted on to be Gaudreau's successor between the pipes.
True rookies
No. 84 Tyler Challenger , center: The 10th overall pick in this year's OHL draft starred for the North York Rangers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
No. 73 Lucas Ambrosio, defenseman: The blue-liner was Erie's second-round draft pick. He comes to northwestern Pennsylvania from the Toronto Jr. Canadiens of the Greater Toronto Hockey League.
No. 13 Jack Clarke, left wing: Erie's third round pick saw action in three leagues last season, which included a five-game stint with a junior league franchise in Great Britian.
No. 23 Keagan Knight, defenseman: The Otters' seventh-rounder played all but one of last season's 42 games for the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League's Pelham Panthers.
No. 71 Oliver Phillips, left wing: Erie's top pick in the OHL's under-18 draft spent most of last season with Hockey Eastern Ontario's Ottawa Jr. 67s, for whom he managed 14 goals and nine assists.
No. 30 Jackson Curran, goaltender: The North Bay, Ontario, native is a first-year free agent. The Otters liked his performance in net (2.85 goals-against average) over 19 games for last year's Sudbury Wolves U18 AAA team.
No. 9 Diego Da Silva, left wing: The Otters signed the Mississauga, Ontario, native as a free agent. Last season, he recorded four goals and 13 assists for the OJHL's Toronto Patriots.
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Starting seventh
The OHL's power rankings had Erie seventh out of the league's 20 teams at the conclusion of this month's exhibition action.
London, the league's defending champion thanks to its four-game sweep of Oshawa in last season's title series, was first. Saginaw, the only other Western Conference member ahead of Erie, was sixth.
This time last year, the Otters were ranked last among the conference's 10 teams. They were seeded fifth for the franchise's bid to win the league's Robertson Cup for a third time.
"We know moving into the top four (in the conference) will be difficult," Butler said, "but we're confident we've got a group of guys who can stay focused and work. If they do what's necessary, we can have a pretty good hockey team this year."
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNcopper.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Who's new and who's back? Erie Otters 2024-25 Ontario Hockey League preview
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