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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
What is a 'halal mortgage'? Does it make housing more accessible?
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.