Connor McDavid, Erie Otters Headed To Buffalo

Connor McDavid will be hitting the ice at the First Niagara Center sooner than we expected.

Of course, he won’t exactly be in the Sabres blue and gold just yet. Instead, McDavid and the OHL’s Erie Otters are headed to Buffalo to play a regular-season game against the Niagara Ice Dogs on Wednesday, October 22 at 7 p.m.

Tickets for the game will go on sale at 9 a.m. on September 13th, with 100 and 200 level tickets going for $15 to the public. Sabres season ticket holders will get a discount, with tickets costing $10.

Otters brass, including former Sabres player Jay McKee, along with McDavid, were in Buffalo on Thursday to announce the game.

Last season was the best one in recent years for the Erie Otters. They finished the regular season with 106 points — more than the previous two seasons combined. The Otters finished third in the Western Conference and ultimately made it to the third round of the OHL playoffs before being eliminated by eventual league champions Guelph Storm.

As someone who has been following the OHL, and the Erie Otters in particular, for a handful of years, I can say without a doubt that last season was an incredible one. Everything just seemed to click. It was a 100+ point season, which is even more incredible when you consider that the previous two years saw the Otters put up 47 and 26 points. What changed, exactly, I’m not sure, but it was incredible to watch the team’s transformation.

It was the best season since 2010-11 for Erie. That year, they had 82 points and finished 5th in the Western Conference. There were a few familiar names on the roster that year, including current Sabres prospect Phil Varone, who had 34 goals and 48 assists. Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Greg McKegg led the Otters with 92 points, the most of any individual in recent team history up until this season. Former Sabres prospect Shawn Szydlowski was also on the team and put up 78 points.