Otters winger Alex Debrincat making a name for himself in rookie season

Alex Debrincat was passed over twice in the OHL draft before joining the Erie Otters as a free agent last spring.

He's made the teams who decided not to take a chance on him regret it.

The five-foot-seven 160-pound American is the top-scoring rookie in the OHL with 45 goals and 46 assists in 63 games this season. Entering Friday's games, the 17-year-old is also ninth in the league's overall scoring race and the only rookie in the top 20.

Last season, Debrincat played at Lake Forest Academy, a prep school near Chicago, and had a verbal commitment to attend the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

But then the OHL finally came calling after Otters general manager Sherry Bassin noticed Debrincat while scouting another player he had drafted.

"It was always in the back of my mind to play in the OHL," Debrincat said.

He hasn't looked back as the powerhouse Otters have been among the top teams in the Western Conference all season.

Playing with phenom Connor McDavid, who is expected to be selected first overall in June's NHL draft, and potential top-five pick Dylan Strome has helped boost Debrincat's numbers. But proving his doubters wrong also acts as a big motivator.

"I've always had to constantly prove myself because of my size and while I may be small, I don't see myself as being small on the ice and I don't play small," said the right-winger. "I've got no problems with getting into scrums with guys who are almost a foot taller than myself and who might outweigh me by 100 pounds."

"But it doesn't always end up going well for me," he added with a laugh.

Heading into the season, the Otters were without last year's OHL scoring champion Connor Brown, NHL first-round picks Andre Burakovsky and Brendan Gaunce and 64-goal scorer Dane Fox. Debrincat has stepped into that void.

"We lost a ton of goals, about 70 per cent of our goals from last season, heading into this season," said Otters head coach Kris Knoblauch. "While we knew that both Connor (McDavid) and Dylan would score their share of goals and help set up their teammates but we were concerned where our secondary scoring was going to come from this season. Alex has come in and exceeded our expectations and then some."

Watching McDavid and Strome handle the media circus that has followed them this season has been a learning experience for all Erie players, Debrincat says.

"We all see the excitement before during and after the games that they both have to go through," he said. "Sometimes the team bus will be late after a road game because they have to do interviews, meet people or sign autographs but it's all worth it for us all in the end.

"It's great to see how the guys handle the attention and the spotlight and it shows us all what it takes to be a professional."

Debrincat is already handling himself well, says Knoblauch.

"Alex is a very mature kid and has an intense desire to win," he said. "I can certainly see him being one of our captains next season and perhaps be our team captain by the time he is 19 years old."