ERIE, PA (WJET)–Changes have been made to the Erie Otters’ roster.  

On Tuesday the Otters announced their trade with the Sarnia Sting.  

Otters’ Goaltender Nolan Lalonde was traded along with Erie’s third round pick in 2026 and Erie’s fourth and sixth picks in 2027. 

Assistant Coach for the Otters Wes Wolfe says change for the sake of change can be a good thing. 

“Number one Nolan is a great human being. He’s a positive influence on guys. He’s the type of unflappable personality that I think you look for out of your goaltender. He’s a guy who came to the rink with a smile on his face every day and I think even though his last year and a half has probably been more inconsistent than he’d like, he is a guy who you know his first year here he was able to be a calming influence for the team and so it’s always hard to say goodbye to good teammates.” 

Wes Wolfe Assistant Coach | Erie Otters 

In the trade, Erie acquired goaltender Benjamin Gaudreau from the Sting.  

Gaudreau said it’s a new start and that he’s happy to be in Erie. 

“I mean I think at the end of the day I’ve got to go back to just playing my game, play hockey. We actually just came off two days off in Sarnia and then I basically had a day off yesterday so a couple of days off for me. The body is feeling good and I’m ready to get going and again I think I’ve just got to stick to what my kind of basis is and go with that…I’m definitely a balanced goalie and I think there is going to be a lot of effort. That’s the one thing I don’t want to give up on pucks. I can’t stand being scored on so that competitive edge definitely comes out and that will be something to expect.” 

Benjamin Gaudreau, Goaltender, Otters latest trade 

“We’ll I think number one is you just look at his pedigree. Being a Hockey Canada representative twice with gold medals, third-round NHL pick, he had a lot of succuss last year in the playoffs with Sarnia. You know ultimately, we were looking for a little bit more stability at the position and I think we all believe that Ben can bring that for us…He came into the league as a first-round pick, played in the league at sixteen” 

Wes Wolfe Assistant Coach | Erie Otters 

The Erie Otters next game is being played at the Niagara IceDogs on Thursday at 7 p.m.