Former Spitfires Play Prominent Roles as National Hockey League Starts 2021-2022 Season
The Golden Knights had been the NHL’s most recent expansion, having entered the league during the 2017-2018 season, but the title of the NHL’s newest team now is held by the Seattle Kraken, who have become the league’s 32nd team.
The 2021-22 NHL season-opening game was won by the Golden Knights 4-3 and featured a pair of former Spitfire players serving as coaches of their respective clubs. Peter DeBoer is in his second season as the head coach in Las Vegas while Paul McFarland is in his first season as an assistant coach in Seattle.
DeBoer played with the then-Windsor Compuware Spitfires from 1985-88 and won the OHL championship during the 1987-88 season. He also played in the 1988 Memorial Cup tournament, which his team lost in the championship game 7-6 to the defending Memorial Cup champion Medicine Hat Tigers. DeBoer did return to Windsor following that devastating loss for his overage season and captained the Compuware Spitfires. Following a brief minor pro hockey career, DeBoer coached in the Ontario Hockey League with Detroit, Plymouth and Kitchener. He coached the Kitchener Rangers to the 2003 Memorial Cup title. He has also worked as a head coach in the NHL with Florida, New Jersey and San Jose.
McFarland played two seasons with the Spitfires, captaining the team during his final campaign in 2005-2006. After his junior hockey career he attended Acadia University in Nova Scotia for four years before returning to the OHL to serve as an assistant coach in Oshawa and then head coach in Kingston. He then made the jump to the NHL where he has served as an assistant coach in both Florida and Toronto before landing the job in Seattle.
Both DeBoer and McFarland met their future wives while playing for the Spitfires.
The NHL season opener between the Golden Knights and Kraken also featured Kraken starting goaltender, Philipp Grubauer, who won the 2010 Memorial Cup with the Spitfires. Prior to joining the Kraken in last summer’s NHL Expansion Draft, Grubaeer has played with Washington (winning a Stanley Cup in 2018) and Colorado.
Defenceman and former Spitfires defenceman Connor Corcoran is also currently a member of the Golden Knights, but did not play in the season opener.
Right-winger Keegan Kolesar did suit up for Vegas, though. And while not a former Spitfire, Kolesar did play in the 2017 Memorial Cup (hosted and won by Windsor) Ironically, Kolesar played in the event as a member of the Seattle Thunderbirds.