As the rebuild continues in Erie, look for a team that's built on speed. When last we played, the Otters were battling the Greyhounds for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Reporter Mark Scheig breaks down the up-tempo Otters team we'll see on the ice this season, plus we listen back to an interview with Erie GM Dave Brown, the architect of the team's record-setting string of 50-win seasons and now readying for the rebuild.

The home openers are set! The schedule is out! Now, what does your favourite team look like heading into the start of the 2021-22 campaign in October? We're spending our summer taking you around the league alphabetically, so we start today in Barrie where there have been front office departures and rumours of a sale. Plus, stories about being stuck in a press box and a retro interview with the late Dale Hawerchuk.

He's a Quebec kid who thought that the Ontario Hockey League would give him the best shot of reaching the NHL. He realized that dream, but not before playing in the greatest Memorial Cup tournament of all time. While he came up short in junior, he did win the ultimate prize in the NHL. And while he won the Stanley Cup in a hockey-mad Canadian city, that's not the city where there's a "Gilbert Dionne Day." Today is your Gilbert Dionne Day on the pod.

Rico Phillips proves it's possible to have a hockey bag full of OHL stories without ever having played a game in the league. The OHL's new Director of Cultural Diversity and Inclusion joins Farwell and Pope to talk about making the game more accessible, his own journey that brought him to this prominent new position and, oh yeah, the time a stranger saved his life. You'll see Rico around the rink when the league returns in the fall but you can learn all about his incredible life story in this episode.

He was the only voice the Plymouth Whalers franchise ever knew and he was as consistent as the team's playoff appearances. In 25 years, the Whalers earned 23 straight playoff berths, missing only in their inaugural and final seasons. Along the way, play-by-play and media relations pro, Pete Krupsky, called more than 1400 consecutive games. "Krupper" is a scientist-turned-sports broadcaster and he's one of the great characters the OHL has ever known. Working today with Hockey USA's National Team Development Program, Pete took some time to reminisce about a quarter century of hockey that started when the OHL decided to include teams south of the border.

He played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League and managed to suit up for SIX teams. He played for coaches that had been NHL all-stars. He once racked up more than 500 penalty minutes in a 48-game season in the Ligue Nord-Americaine de Hockey (LNAH). Safe to say Sean McMorrow has a few stories to tell.

He spent 15 seasons coaching in the OHL with three different teams. He won two OHL championships and a Coach of the Year award. And he finished in the O with 997 games coached. Now, he’s coming off a Romanian championship (yes, Romania) after taking his coaching career to Europe eight years ago. Dave MacQueen brings his no-nonsense style from behind the bench and onto the microphone as he talks about coaching ups and downs, playing for the OHL’s most legendary coach, and playing alongside some of the game’s greats.

He relished the David versus Goliath approach to building the Owen Sound Attack into a contender. He knew that getting Bobby Ryan to commit would open the floodgates to attract more high end recruits. And even though he fell short of the ultimate prize with the Attack, Mike Futa went on to help build two Stanley Cup champions. He also celebrated from afar when the Attack did finally break through in 2011, with a little help from Joey Hishon, another player Futa drafted to the club. With a great sense of humour and a flair for storytelling, you're going to love this behind-the-scenes account of building a champion. And don't you dare stop listening before hearing the story about the big 50/50 win.

He was a member of one of the most lethal power play units in OHL history. He competed in a Memorial Cup final. And if he'd been drafted today, he'd be a multi-millionaire. Scott McCrory is all of that, plus our first guest by request of our listeners. You'll love the stories from his days tearing up the OHL (150 points in his final year) to the beautiful places in the world that the game took him. Today, McCrory makes his home in Oshawa, where he's an active member of the Generals' alumni committee.

From Canada's correctional system to Canada's most treasured past time, if Paul Henry hasn't seen it all, it's hard to imagine who's seen more. Henry has been around the game for six decades, serving as a scout, a psychologist, and the architect of several Canadian Olympic teams. The toughest losses, the biggest arguments over players, the best players he's ever seen, and that unique name he gave to the boat that carried Henry and his family over the lakes near Peterborough.

Ask anyone who has played in the OHL and they'll tell you how fast the four or five years fly by. But they'll also tell you how the bonds they forge while playing last for the rest of their lives. That's the case for a couple of Kitchener Rangers who played together in the mid-1990s. Neither Darcy Harris nor Jason Byrnes were what you'd call "shrinking violets." In fact, one former opponent said "Byrnes beat the shit out of me one night. He was a tough prick." The toughest part of this podcast might have been getting these former teammates together, and that's a story in itself. But we're sure you'll agree that it was worth the wait.

Mike Torchia was a career Kitchener Ranger in the Ontario Hockey League and had the chance to compete in the greatest junior hockey championship of all time. If you've ever wondered about the agony of defeat, you'll hear about it first-hand in this episode as Torchia still recounts in vivid detail how the game-winning shot got past him in double overtime, and the opposition Oshawa Generals captured the Memorial Cup. Torchia's post-OHL career saw him turn into something of a "suitcase" as he travelled from team to team, city to city, and league to league. And that means a suitcase full of stories from a guy who never had a hard time making friends.

After almost 40 years in junior hockey, Sherry Bassin has about as many stories as anyone. And he tells them in a frank, forthright, and funny-as-hell fashion. The question is, do you have time to listen to them? Sherry says he has two passions in life right now -- walking and talking. We caught him in the mood to talk and we promise you won't be disappointed to hear what he has to say. From taking a pass on Wayne Gretzky to hammering out a new deal between the OHL and NHL to drafting Connor McDavid, if Bassin hasn't seen everything, that's because everything hasn't happened yet. This one is a long listen but it's well worth your time, and you'll come away with a renewed sense of what junior hockey is all about, straight from one of the game's true characters.

You see it all the time. A referee, at the bench, explaining something to a coach (or being yelled at by the coach). An official having a little chat with a player in the face-off circle or near a scrum. You've probably even booed a referee once or twice. But what does the game look like through the eyes of that official? Is he ever worried about going to the bench for a conversation? What's it like being graded after every performance and being judged on a rule book that's constantly evolving? You'll find out this week with former OHL ref Scott Hutchinson who dished it out as well as he took it and found success as an official at the pinnacle of junior hockey. This might even change your opinion on the guys in stripes...

Most of us know Bob McKenzie today as one of the most influential voices in hockey. Fewer remember McKenzie's roots as a reporter for the Sault Star, covering the Greyhounds. But McKenzie remembers those days fondly as being the time he met some of the best people in the game. Have a listen to how it all started for "The Bobfather," including controversial columns and NHL-like atmospheres in junior rinks. You'll learn about a deep love not just for the game but for family, and you'll find out that the original "insider" is also a master storyteller.

Steve Molaski played only two years of junior hockey but he crossed a strange line during that time. Arguably the best young player coming out of Belleville at the time, Molaski joined a Cornwall Royals team that played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and, as the anglo-Canadians, Molaski and his teammates had a target on their backs. The next year, Cornwall switched from the Quebec League to the Ontario Hockey League but, as defending Memorial Cup champions, the target followed. Injuries would derail Molaski's career but not before he became known as "the greatest hockey player" in RMC history. You'll find plenty of laughs -- and plenty of inspiration -- in these tales.

He played four years in the Ontario Hockey League, winning a Memorial Cup with the Oshawa Generals, before playing four more years of pro hockey, most of it in Europe. He saw the world and lived what he describes as Dream Job #1 before retiring in 2020 (he's now working on Dream Job #2). But perhaps the most important thing Will Petschenig did was off the ice, when he created Will's Warriors. We'll let Will tell the rest of the story.

Somehow, the kid from England took an interest in hockey instead of soccer. But that's not the only stereotype Sunaya Sapurji smashed. She covered hockey -- JUNIOR hockey -- at a time when very few women were working in the game, or sports in general. Sunaya has heard it all and she's been telling the leagues stories for decades. She even told the stories that few wanted to hear, like when a certain high-profile coach had worn out his welcome in Mississauga. Sunaya's stories were always a must-read. And now they're a must-listen.

Gary Doyle spent a career covering junior hockey, from the prairies of Saskatchewan to the highways of Ontario. And if you ever met him in a media room, you know Gary always had a story to tell. He goes deep into that storybook in this episode of OHL Stories, remembering rundown old rinks, rough-and-tumble players, and the characters (Larry Mavety, Brian Kilrea, Don Cherry) that make the game so great.

Is he really the most hated man in all of junior hockey? And if so, why? David Branch has been Commissioner of the OHL since 1979 and the reason he's been around for decades has nothing to do with being booed at trophy presentations. Still, Branch will tell you how the booing sounds to him, the mentor that meant so much as he started his executive career, a memorable phone call from Larry Mavety, and how he's managed to grow the game while managing an eclectic group of governors for decades.

Mike and Steve Parson grew up in Elmira, where the Sugar Kings were, well, king. But the brothers knew they had a chance to go beyond Woolwich, and they'd eventually find themselves on the same OHL team. Mike -- a goalie -- and Steve -- a winger -- used a combination of hard work and toughness to make their mark in the game. It led Mike to a 2nd round selection by the Boston Bruins and Steve to the temporary record for most OHL games played. While neither Parson made the NHL, they collected a lot of stories on their hockey journey.

He's one of the best known names in Toronto sports radio. But before he helmed a top-rated morning show at Sportsnet 590 The Fan, Greg Brady worked in Detroit sports radio...and was the inaugural voice of the Saginaw Spirit franchise. From drafting Phil Kessel to the controversial firing of Doug Lidster and the kinds of promotions you usually only see in minor baseball, Brady had a front row seat to the first six years of the former North Bay Centennials. And all of that before he got to Windsor and saw a rookie named Taylor Hall.

Born in Kitchener, Joe McDonnell lived out every junior hockey player’s dream – to play for his hometown team, in the arena where his love of the game was nurtured. From Rangers player to Rangers coach, McDonnell appeared in the Memorial Cup twice. But after a pro career that included time with some guy named Mario, McDonnell found himself on the brink of a future in car sales. Somehow, hockey found its way back into McDonnell’s life and his NHL career now includes four Stanley Cups. He’s still after “one for the thumb.

From Prince Edward Island to the Ontario Hockey League, David Ling became a fan favourite in Kingston thanks to his willingness to take on all comers. But Ling also had a scoring touch that led to him earning the OHL’s Red Tilson Award as well as being recognized as the CHL Player of the Year in 1995. His path to the NHL led him through the Quebec Nordiques organization, and for many years, Ling was the last link to the Nordiques franchise still playing in the NHL. There are too many stops on Ling’s professional career to list them all but the one place you can always find him is in Kingston, where his jersey hangs in the arena as a tribute to his three remarkable seasons with the Frontenacs.

In his first season as an OHL GM, he made a big splash at the trade deadline and took his team to double overtime in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. Two years later, adding Head Coach to his job description, he started his OHL coaching career with a record of 33-6-0-3. Then the pandemic happened, and now he waits. Mike McKenzie was basically born into the game of hockey but realized that it was hard work that would take him places in the game. Today, he calls the shots for one of the OHL's most respected franchises.