While the infusion of young players into the Windsor Spitfires lineup this season will provide a boost to the team in run-up to the Memorial Cup tournament next spring, the impact of these rookie players likely won’t be felt for two or three seasons down the road, when the club will be in full-blown rebuild mode.
Simply put, rookie players will have to bide their time for ice-time this season and most will spend the majority of their time either in the press box, on the bench, or more likely, as members of the Spits’ Junior B affiliate, the LaSalle Vipers.
Barely a week into training camp, the Spitfires have already defenceman Connor Corcoran, their top pick (second round) from the 2016 OHL Priority Selection and forwards fourth round forward Chris Playfair (fourth round), Tyler Angle (sixth round) and Cole Purboo (ninth round in 2015) to standard OHL player agreements and education packages and it is likely that there will be more signings of draftees and/or free agents before the start of the 2016-2017 Ontario Hockey League season.
It should also not be discounted that learning under the watchful gaze of LaSalle head coach and general manager, Bill Bowler, will undoubtedly be a huge boon to the Spits’ rookies. Bowler, who is also the Spits’ Vice-President of Hockey Operation, is a veritable OHL legend and has a proven track record when it comes to developing not only outstanding young hockey players, but outstanding young men.
A couple of players – perhaps Corcoran and Purboo – may start the season with the Spitfires as the team will likely be short a few players such as Logan Brown, Logan Stanley, Mikhail Sergachev and Christian Fischer will still be away at the training camps of their respective NHL clubs. Some of these players may actually play a few regular season games in the NHL before being sent back to Windsor, perhaps in late October or even early November.
The Spitfires lineup is going to be loaded with veteran players this season as the club prepares to host the Memorial Cup and all rookie players will be situated down the roster depth chart as the club will have more experienced players at virtually each and every position.
Corcoran, for example, heads into the OHL regular season with Patrick Sanvido, Sergachev, Stanley, Jaden Chatfield, Andrew Burns and Tyler Nother all returning to a talented blueline contingent. Playfair, Angle and Purboo, meanwhile, will hard-pressed for ice-time behind the likes up-front of Jeremiah Addison, Mike Baird, Cristiano DiGiacinto, Christian Fischer, Logan Brown, Gabriel Vilardi, Julius Nattinen, Hayden McCool, Aaron Luchuk.
Windsor rookies will have to be at the ready to step in when needed as injury replacements or when other players (ie – Brown, Fischer, Nattinen and Sergachev) leave to participate in the 2017 World Junior Hockey Championship. These opportunities will give the youngsters their chance to shine and show they are capable of playing at the OHL level while also stating their case for a full-time position with the 2017-2018 Spitfires.
In the big picture it will be wise for all rookie players to bide their time and be patient as the Spitfires vie for their third Memorial Cup title in less than a decade. Their time will come and opportunities will arise. Given the Spitfires role as Memorial Cup hosts and potential OHL champs this season, there will be no shortage of supporting roles this season.
Photos by Tim Jarrold – In Play! magazine
