Player wears Santa suit, competes as Erie Otters in CHL Memorial eCup

Josh Reilly   | Erie Times-News Brendan Hoffmann was the sole reason the Erie Otters made a deep run through a Canadian Hockey League tournament over the past two-and-half weeks.Hoffmann, however, was also solely responsible when the Otters were eliminated from the tournament Monday night. The Erie forward represented the Otters and ran their team in a 64-player CHL Memorial eCup tournament that began Nov. 28. The competition utilized the video game NHL ’21 on PlayStation 4, which features all CHL teams.As the action took place, he was at the controls of the Otters while wearing a Santa Claus suit on camera — his signature attire for the tournament. Hoffman and the Otters finally lost Monday night in the quarterfinals. “I get a lot of support from the guys. They always joke around,” he said of his teammates. “They’ve been nothing but supportive.”Hoffmann said that his Otters teammates have watched his games and offered up commentary about their digital versions. At one point in the tournament, Hoffmann’s own character suffered an injury. Participants included players from each of the 60 represented CHL clubs and four guest personalities. The tournament has appeared on the Canadian Hockey League’s Twitch stream. The CHL had its own official site with play-by-play commentary.Hoffmann racked…
Read More