OHL overtime action between the Erie Otters and London Knights
Thursday’s emotional overtime for the OHL playoff game between the Erie Otters, who had to win to extend their 2024-25 season, and the London Knights.
Carey Terrance’s tenure with the Anaheim Ducks officially lasted two months and zero games.
Terrance, an Erie Otters fifth-year center, signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the 2007 Stanley Cup champions on April 9.
Now, though, the Akwesasne, New York, native will skate for a team from his home state come his NHL debut.
The New York Rangers acquired Terrance and Anaheim’s third-round pick in this month’s draft in a June 12 trade. In return, the Ducks received forward Chris Kreider and a fourth-round pick in that same draft.
Kreider’s 13-year NHL career was entirely with the Rangers. His 883 career goals are third on the all-time list for the one of the league’s Original Six franchises.
The Rangers thought enough of Terrance’s talent to acquire him even though he last skated for Erie during its Feb. 14 game at Owen Sound. He was taken to the hospital after a hard check into the boards.
Although Terrance was released hours later, the check was severe enough to end his season. The Otters’ first round pick in the 2021 OHL entry draft concluded it with 20 goals and 19 assists over 45 games.
Anaheim chose Terrance during the second round of the 2023 NHL draft.
Potential Big Apple opponents
Matthew Schaefer also is due back for the 2025-26 Otters.
Schaefer, similar to Terrance, was idle throughout the second half of Erie’s 2024-25 regular season. The defenseman broke a collarbone during last December’s appearance with Team Canada in the IIHF World Junior Championships.
Schaefer’s absence, though, hasn’t harmed his draft status. Erie’s No. 1 overall pick for the OHL’s 2023 pick remains the projected first choice for the June 27-28 NHL draft at Los Angeles.
The New York Islanders currently possess the first section. If they take Schaefer, the possibility exists he and Terrance would go from current teammates to future rivals.
The Rangers call Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden their home. The Islanders currently play at UBS Arena, located less than 20 miles east in Elmont, New York.
Should the Islanders opt for Schaefer, he would be the first Otter taken first in an NHL draft since the Edmonton Oilers chose Connor McDavid in 2015.
McDavid was scheduled to play for the Oilers in June 12’s fourth game of their Stanley Cup final against the Florida Panthers.
One-year Otters
The Kreider-Terrance trade was the latest news in a busy week for the Otters, who signed three players over that span.
The first was Luc Plante. The forward will skate for Erie ahead of his 2026-27 debut with University of Northern Michigan.
Also joining the Otters this winter are Ritter Coombs and Mclean Agrette. Each are forwards and each, like Plante, will begin their NCAA careers in the fall of 2026.
Coombs will do so for Providence (Rhode Island) College and Agrette for the University of Massachusetts.
Otters’ EIA return
Although Erie isn’t scheduled to release its full 2025-26 regular season schedule on June 16, that didn’t deter the team from announcing its home opener.
The Otters will host the Kitchener Rangers on Sept. 20. The opening puck drop at Erie Insurance Arena is 7 p.m.
That game will be the Otters’ first official game at their rink since April 17, when the London Knights completed a four-game sweep in the teams’ Western Conference semifinal round of the OHL playoffs.
London went on to win the league’s Robertson Cup, followed by the Canadian Hockey League’s Memorial Cup tournament at Rimouski, Quebec.
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNcopper.