Erie Otters 2024-25 Season Preview

There is a different feeling in the air ahead of the Erie Otters 2024-25 season, which starts tonight on the road in Kitchener. After years of rebuilding and missing the postseason, head coach Stan Butler’s squad delivered in his first full season as bench boss. After ending the team’s seven-year playoff drought, high expectations are entering the team’s 29th season in the OHL.

A Look Back At Last Season

The Erie Otters finished last season with a record of 33-28-7, including five straight wins to end the season. The team saw a breakout season from former IceDogs second-overall pick Pano Fimis, who was acquired from Niagara in 2023, along with productive seasons from star forwards Carey Terrance and Malcom Spence.

The Otters' story of the season was goaltending. The team traded for former San Jose Sharks overage prospect Ben Gaudreau. The former Sting star was a game-changer, keeping the team in many games and responsible for 20 of their 33 wins. After the 21-year-old suffered an injury, which kept him out for nearly half the season, the team went through a goalie carousel.

This included trading for IceDogs prospect Charlie Burns. The team saw success with Burns and overage goalie Ethan Fraser, who was signed by the OJHL’s Lindsay Muskies. Both players recorded shutouts last season. Fraser was the lead goalie until Gaudreau’s return in the OHL Playoffs.

Despite Gaudreau’s best efforts, the Otters fell in six games to the Kitchener Rangers in the first round of the postseason. Now, Erie will start the season against the same team they saw their campaign end against. This time, it will be a new face in net.

Otters Excited For Promising New Rookies

Entering the off-season, the Otters would look to replace overagers Ben Gaudreau, Owain Johnston, and Brett Bressette. With the 10th overall pick in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection, the team selected explosive forward Tyler Challenger, who had 83 points in 68 games last season in U15 AAA.

Erie also added second-round defenseman Lucas Ambrosio, who director of hockey operations Scott Grieve called “a big, strong, shutdown defenseman.” Other newcomers include first-round pick of the U18 Draft Oliver Phillips, as well as training camp standouts in forwards Diego Da Silva, Jack Clarke, and 2023 seventh-round pick defenseman Keegan Knight.

The biggest move of the off-season came with July’s import draft. The Otters selected Swedish goaltender Noah Erliden. The 19-year-old is expected to have a big role as he attempts to fill the shoes of Ben Gaudreau.

A Busy August Was Filled With Trades

It would be a busy August for the Otters, who made multiple trades after the trade window opened. The team shipped out captain defenseman Spencer Sova to the Brampton Steelheads for picks. Days later, backup goalie Jacob Gibbons was also traded to the Steelheads. Lastly, overage fan-favorite Bruce McDonald was traded to the Owen Sound Attack.

Using some of the picks acquired, general manager Dave Brown acquired forward Gabriel Frasca from the Kingston Frontenacs. The former 17th-overall pick has a lot of potential but didn’t reach it in Kingston. The NHL undrafted prospect will look to have a better chance to hear his name called while playing alongside his best friend Malcom Spence.

Speaking of the NHL Draft, it was a successful June for the Erie Otters organization, which saw defenseman Ty Henry be selected in the sixth round by the Chicago Blackhawks. The 18-year-old will look to have a big season on the blue line while 2025 draft-eligible prospects Malcolm Spence and Matthew Schaefer will look to impress scouts this season.

Erie Looks To Compete At Top Of Standings In 2024-25

While the Erie Otters finished as the 5th seed in their conference last season, the team has high expectations to climb higher in 2024-25. Ranked #7 in the OHL’s official power rankings, the Otters are seen as the third-best team in their conference entering the season. Securing a top four seed in the postseason will be a priority for Erie while the division title isn’t out of the question.

The Otters will be led this season by draft-eligible forward Malcom Spence and defenseman Matthew Schaefer. Both players are widely expected to be first-round picks, with some scouts saying that Schaefer could go as high as top-five. Carey Terrance, who has led Erie in goals the past two seasons, will play a key role in the offense. The Anaheim Ducks second-round pick will look to have his best season yet.

The breakout “FEAr” line will be back as Pano Fimis, Dylan Edwards (who is currently battling an injury), and Sam Alfano will look to maintain the chemistry they had last season. The team will also look forward to the breakout of 2023 second-round pick Wesley Royston, who showed flashes last season.

On the defensive side, it will be a little different this season without captain Spencer Sova. Expectations will be high for both Schaefer and now-drafted Ty Henry. Returning for the Otters blue line also include their highest scoring defenseman Alexis Daviault, promising rookie Lucas Ambrosio, and former 2021 OHL third-round pick Nathan Sauder. Nicholas Holomego, and Keegan Knight will get more involved after minimal playing time last season.

Goaltending Will Be Very Important To A Successful Season

Goaltending is expected to be a big focus during the season, with goalies Noah Erliden and Charlie Burns handling the net. Erliden played for HV71 J20 in Sweden last season, winning 15 games in 24 starts with a 2.88 GAA and .902 SV%. He also had two shutouts. Burns appeared in six games for the Otters last season, where he won two games, including a shutout with a 3.96 GAA and .871 SV%.

Goaltending was the biggest question mark entering the season. While all the answers aren’t known yet, the goalie duo of Erliden and Burns looks much improved, and fans should feel more confident in the net with two promising players.

Special Teams Needs To Improve In 2024

One of the biggest areas to improve this season is special teams. The powerplay unit was ranked 13th out of 20th with a 20.6% rate in the regular season. That number dropped to 14.3% in the postseason. Meanwhile, the penalty kill was ranked 16th out of 20th, only being successful 75.0% of the time. That number also dropped to 63.2% in the postseason, only ahead of Mississauga.

With a focus on offense and many talented players, the Otters' powerplay should score more goals this season. Meanwhile, the penalty kill will look to be more energized, and try to avoid staying out of the box as well.

Record Prediction

The Erie Otters are projected by myself, courtesy of Stadium Rant, to finish second in the Midwest Division with a record of 39-22-7 (85 pts), which would be a six-win increase from last season. A bold take for this season is that the Otters will make the conference finals.

The Erie Otters start their 2024-25 season tonight on the road against the Kitchener Rangers. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.

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