Erie Otters defenseman Adam Pelech and forward Dane Fox each participated in the 2012 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game Wednesday night in Kelowna, B.C.

The duo were the Otters first participants since 2010, when Andrew Yogan was part of Team Cherry’s 4-2 win over Team Orr in Windsor, Ont. Yogan had a fight against Calgary Hitmen defenseman Matt Mackenzie in the game. A few months later, he would be selected in the fourth round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers.

Wednesday night was the 17^th edition of the Top Prospects Game, and one of the lowest-scoring affairs in the history of the event. Pelech’s Team Orr won 2-1 after Seattle Thunderbirds forward Branden Troock scored on the power play with 25 seconds left in regulation.

The Otters have sent 16 players to the Top Prospects game since the franchise moved from Niagara Falls in 1996. The first player to earn an invite was right wing Jason Ward, who wound up becoming a first round draft pick by the Montreal Canadiens and played 336 games in the NHL.

Ward will have a homecoming of sorts when he visits Tullio Arena Friday as an assistant coach with the Brampton Battalion. He is in his first full year in the role after playing in Austria last season.

Current Toronto Maple Leafs center Tim Connolly became the first Otters player to score in a Top Prospects game, helping Team Orr to a 4-3 win in 1999. Connolly was then selected by the New York Islanders in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft and has embarked on a long NHL career without playing in the minors, a rare feat.

The next year featured the first game with multiple Otters, as franchise player Brad Boyes and dynamic import Nikita Alexeev were teammates on Team Cherry. They would drop a 6-3 decision to Team Orr at the recently opened Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The Otters would also send two players in 2001, as Carlo Colaiacovo and Adam Munro headed to Calgary to play for Team Orr. Future St. Louis Blues defenseman Colaiacovo assisted on a goal by future Florida Panther Stephen Weiss. Munro, the only Otters goalie to play in a Top Prospects Game, earned the win after making 23 saves on 25 shots. Team Orr captured the game, 5-3.

After Brian Lee went to Saskatchewan in 2002, the Otters would not have another player skate in the game until 2005, when Ryan O’Marra and Mike Blunden suited up for Team Davidson.

In 2007, the Otters sent Nick Palmieri to Quebec City, where he assisted on a goal by then-Halifax Mooseheads forward Logan McMillan. Future Otters captain Zack Torquato was selected to play in the game, but could not attend due to injury.

2007 OHL first overall pick Ryan O’Reilly represented the Otters in 2009. The future star of the Colorado Avalanche assisted on a goal by Spokane Chiefs forward Levko Koper in Team Orr’s 6-1 win over Team Cherry.

The Otters have enjoyed success in developing players for the next level, and sending 16 players to the Top Prospects Game in 16 years is indicative of that. With the strong play of Stephen Harper (second in the OHL among 1995-born players with 15 goals) this season, he could very join the list of Otters to play in the highly-regarded event next year.

Otters in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game

1997 (Toronto): Jason Ward, no points for Team Cherry (7-2 loss), chosen 11^th overall by Montreal

1998 (Toronto): Mike Rupp, no points for Team Cherry (4-2 win), chosen ninth overall by N.Y. Islanders

1999 (Calgary): Tim Connolly, goal and two PIM for Team Orr (4-3 win), chosen fifth overall by N.Y. Islanders

2000 (Toronto): Nikita Alexeev, no points for Team Cherry (6-3 loss), chosen eighth overall by Tampa Bay; Brad Boyes, no points for Team Cherry, chosen 24^th overall by Toronto

2001 (Calgary): Carlo Colaiacovo, assist and two PIM for Team Orr (5-3 win), chosen 17^th overall by Toronto; Adam Munro, 23 saves and the win for Team Orr, chosen 29^th overall by Chicago

2002 (Saskatoon): Brian Lee, no points for Team Hrudey (7-4 loss), chosen 71^st overall by Anaheim

2005 (Vancouver): Ryan O’Marra, plus-one for Team Davidson (8-4 loss), chosen 15^th overall by N.Y. Islanders; Mike Blunden, minus-three for Team Davidson, chosen 43^rd overall by Chicago

2007 (Quebec City): Nick Palmieri, assist and two PIM for Team Burns/Bergeron (5-3 win), chosen 79^th overall by New Jersey; Zack Torquato, selected to Team Bowman/Demers but could not participate due to injury, chosen 178^th overall by Detroit

2009 (Oshawa): Ryan O’Reilly, assist for Team Orr (6-1 win), chosen 33^rd overall by Colorado

2010 (Windsor): Andrew Yogan, five PIM for Team Cherry (4-2 win), chosen 100^th overall by N.Y. Rangers

2012 (Kelowna): Adam Pelech, no points for Team Orr (2-1 win), ranked 54^th by NHL Central Scouting; Dane Fox, two PIM for Team Cherry, ranked 48^th by NHL Central Scouting