Otters go all out in their bid for Memorial Cup

WINDSO R , ONT. When the Erie Otters got word last November from the Arizona Coyotes that Dylan Strome was on his way back to junior, general manager Dave Brown and head coach Kris Knoblauch didn’t take long to come to an important conclusion.

“We decided right from that day, ‘OK, we’re in,’” Knoblauch said. “And probably for about a month, we wanted to identify which players we wanted to get.”

At the top of the list was Oshawa Generals captain Anthony Cirelli. Warren Foegele, a tireless worker with the Kingston Frontenacs, also was in the Otters’ crosshairs.

Foegele was acquired on Jan. 2. A week later, a day before the Ontario Hockey League trade deadline, the Otters secured Cirelli.

“They were difference-makers,” Knoblauch said.

“We felt we had a lot of skill, and it’s not that those two don’t have skill, but they also play a strong 200-foot game. They have been so good this year and throughout the playoffs.”

Knoblauch has plenty of go-to players at his disposal. Any junior team on the continent would benefit from having Strome, Alex DeBrincat, Taylor Raddysh or Darren Raddysh on its roster.

Ask Knoblauch about Cirelli and Foegele, however, and he doesn’t try to play coy. Cirelli had 31 points in 22 playoff games and last week scored in overtime of Game 5 against the Mississauga Steelheads, giving the Otters their first OHL title since 2002.

Foegele scored the seriesclinching goal against the London Knights in the second round and finished with 26 points. He was named the OHL playoffs’ most valuable player.

“The trades Dave made could not have been any better,” Knoblauch said. “Cirelli and Foegele … without those two, I don’t think we would be here.”