It was impressive to see the OHL supply the top four picks of the recent NHL draft and no less than seven of the first ten picks. Certainly was a banner year for OHL talent led by Steven Stamkos of the Sarnia Sting, coached by former Otters coach Dave MacQueen. Dave told me when when we interview him for the Otters show last January, that the most impressive things about Stamkosare that he is a good person off the ice, not selfish on the ice, and like all good players, makes those around him better. Look for him in the NHL next season.
Congrats to all the new members to the Erie Chapter of the Penna. Hall of Fame inducted on Tuesday night. Some of the new inductees, like Eric Hicks, Deitrich Jells and Shelly Brown were some of the first high school athletes I covered when I began my stint in Erie in the late
1980's. Well overdue was the induction of Craig Latimer, the "Quad-father" as he is called and what he has done for the recreational athlete in the area with the Quad Games for more that two decades, When you cover athletics 52 weeks out of every year, at times you feel you are part of their journey to greatness, seeing them develop as athletes and as people. That's a very gratifying part of my job covering local sports. One thing I've noticed over the years, when an athlete is a good quality individual in high school, he turns out that way as an adult. That's a credit to coaches and parents alike.