SPITFIRE SPOTLIGHT WITH ALEX CHRISTOPOULOS
In the second installment of SPITFIRE SPOTLIGHT, John Humphrey, OHL Editor for In Play! Magazine, speaks with Spits’ overage right-winger Alex Christopoulos.
Having missed the first nine games of the 2023-2024 Ontario Hockey League season due to an injury, right-winger Alex Christopoulos returned to the Windsor Spitfires lineup on Thursday, October 26 for the team’s home game against the Ottawa 67s. The game marked the start of his third and final season in Windsor as Christopoulos is in his overage (last) season with the Spits
Last season, the six-foot, 194-lb native of Richmond Hill, Ontario scored 49 goals, the most by any 19-year-old in the OHL. Only fellow Spitfire teammate and OHL scoring champion, Matthew Maggio and Nolan Denis of the Sarnia Sting, scored more as the two overagers scored 54 and 50 goals respectively. The return of Christopoulos saw him play on a line with centre Ryan Abraham and left-winger Cole Davis.
In Play! Magazine spoke with Christopoulos following the Spitfires’ 6-4 loss to the 67s at the WFCU Centre. Christopoulos scored a goal and was named the third star of the game in his season debut.
In Play! Magazine (IPM)!: You are now in your third season with the Spitfires. How did you end up with the Spitfires?
Alex Christopoulos (AC) : I was in my second season with the North Bay Battalion and thought that I needed a change of scenery, so I asked for a trade (the Spitfires acquired Christopoulos from North Bay on November 29, 2021 in exchange for a fifth round pick in 2025 in a deal that has proven to be lopsided in favour of Windsor) and ended up being traded to Windsor. As soon as I got here I had a lot more opportunity to play and I think that I have taken advantage of that opportunity.
IPM: Last season you missed reaching that magical 50-goal mark by just one goal, did coming up so close make it an even more bitter pill to swallow?
AC: In the moment it was upsetting and disappointing to be so close, but that was last season and this is a new season and I want to help the team do as well as possible.
IPM: Talk about your injury that caused you to miss the first nine games of this season.
AC: I injured my wrist during the playoffs and had surgery to repair in in September.
IPM: Speaking of the 2023-2024 Windsor Spitfires, did the team’s struggles to start the season make it even more frustrating for you?
AC: It did as I wanted to be out there with the boys and but I also knew that it was and is more than a one-man job to turn things around and we have to work through this together as a team. We have to to be more aggressive in chasing the puck and while we are going to score our share of goals, we have to tighten things up defensively and not allow so many goals against.
IPM: How did you feel out there in your first game of the season?
AC: It was really exciting and a lot of fun to be out there tonight as I love playing hockey! I wasn’t really nervous as I was more excited to be playing. Nine games is a lot to miss, especially when it is at the start of a new season.
IPM: From the start of your very first shift, you looked like you haven’t lost a step and you did not look like it was your first game of the season
AC: While I couldn’t fully take part in team practices sometimes because I couldn’t hold my stick properly and couldn’t touch the puck at first, I was out there as often as I could and I was working very hard. I’m going to continue to work very hard!
IPM: Talk about your linemates this season – centre Ryan Abraham and left-winger Cole Davis.
AC: They are both great players and we’ve clicked well right away from our first shift and I think we will do even better as the season progresses. And they are both great guys off the ice too.
IPM: One of the games at the WFCU Centre that you missed was against your old team, the North Bay Battalion. What were your emotions over that?
AC: It was particularly hard to take because my brother (Alex’s twin Paul, a defenceman, is in his fourth season in the OHL) was playing. We go up there in March ( Thursday, March 7) and I’m already looking forward to playing against him and making my return to North Bay.
In three games with the Windsor Spitfires during the 2023-2024 OHL season, Alex Christopoulos has two goals and three assists.