Spitfires 'changed' after OHL trade deadline

Windsor AAA Zone grad Max Donoso is happy to be back home after the Windsor Spitfires picked him up off waivers this week.

“This night's going to be real special for me and my family as well,” said the former Ottawa 67’s goalie.

Interim Head Coach Casey Torres wasted no time naming the 20-year-old goaltender his starter against Saginaw.

“If I could’ve picked any 20 teams to come to in the OHL I would’ve picked Windsor,” Donoso said. “It's awesome. I'm really excited for this.”

Through nine transactions General Manager Bill Bowler traded five players and got three over-agers in return.

“The three over-agers that we have, replaced them with help for this young group of players that we have and are going to give us a real good chance at a playoff spot,” said Bowler who netted 14 draft picks this week for the future.

“We still believe we have a chance at playoffs still,” Bowler asserted. “That's the goal of this group. And again, you're trying to gain assets too. Yeah, we brought in a lot of quality players. We just changed our team around a bit.”

With a younger group, Torres was sad to see players leave but felt the moves will be good for the rebuild.

“We've got some good young players who will continue to get better. Opportunities for them to get a little more offensive moments,” he said. “A little bit more power play time and hopefully they can excel in those opportunities.”

Over-ager Djibril Toure was picked up from Sudbury, the top team in the Eastern Conference and instantly fell in love with his new home.

“The locker room, the work out section. Everything is just so top of the line and I just love it,” he said. “I’m excited to be part of this organization.”

The 20-year old defenceman is not bothered joining a team fighting for the playoffs.

“I just want to play that leader role for these guys,” Toure said. “Show them the ways and I know they're not doing too well right now but hopefully we can change that and make playoffs and maybe go for a run.”

Pasquale Zito returns to Windsor as an over-ager, for a second tour. He walked away from the game in September for personal reasons but is excited to return to the game, and the city.

“I love the fans here. I love the organization. I couldn't be more excited to put that Spitfire jersey back on,” he said.

Zito is working on getting back to game speed before making his return Saturday when the Spits host Sudbury.