Spits building towards turnaround season
A 13-game losing streak to end the season was not bad luck after all.
The Windsor Spitfires came out with a big win Wednesday night and will have the first overall pick in the OHL draft for the first time since 1976.
“It was an amazing moment,” said General Manager Bill Bowler, who is thankful the OHL lottery unfolded the way it did. “There's a lot of good hockey players and now we [have to] make sure we get the right one and it's a good fit.”
Bowler is currently at the OHL Cup getting a last look at players. He wouldn't tip his hat but it sounds as though they have a player in mind.
“We know for sure we're going to get a high-end talent and we just [have to] dig deep on the leadership and character of this young man,” he said.
The Windsor Jr. Spitfires midget minor team plays in the alliance and their pool of players is up for the OHL Draft next month.
Head coach Matt Zuccato said the Spits would have landed a high level player with a top three pick but there’s one player in particular that stands out to him.
“I'm a big fan of Ethan Belchezt,” said Zuccato. “He's 6'5, 230 pounds. Those guys don't come around too often. He had 80-something points in 30 games. He can score. He can dish.”
Belchezt plays for the Oakville Rangers and is one of three top-end forwards Zuccato feels will be drafted in the top three.
Along with the first pick, Windsor has three top picks in the second round, which could help the team rebound from a 19th place finish this past season, a big fall from finishing first in the West standings in 2022 and 2023, and winning the Western Conference in 2022. Windsor was swept by Kitchener in round one of the 2023 playoffs.
“We don't want to have the same year we had last year,” said forward Noah Morneau, who is eligible to return as an over-ager next season. “We want to turn things around.”
Oshawa and Sault Ste. Marie rebounded big this past season.
“If we can mimic some of these teams like the Generals and the Greyhounds we think that would be the right direction for our club moving forward,” Bowler said.
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