W3 on the Windsor D
Walton. Winegard. Woodall. Three defensemen, each with a full season of Ontario Hockey League experience in Windsor. A troika of defenders who are projected for continued progress as part of the plan for the Spitfires in 2024-2025.
Conor Walton. A 6 foot 4, 208 pound blue liner with a 2006 birth date, Walton was a fourth round pick by the Sudbury Wolves at the 2022 OHL priority selections draft. He then spent a season of development with the Espanola Paper Kings of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League in 2022-2023, Then, on the eve of the 2023-2024 OHL season, Sudbury dealt Walton to Windsor as part of a blockbuster trade. A big body who can skate, Walton played in 64 of Windsor’s 68 regular season games in ’23-24 and had one, goal, 14 assists, 15 points. He also had the second best plus-minus numbers of any Spitfire defenseman. 
Tanner Winegard. The 6 foot 6, 220 pound Winegard led all Spitfire defensemen who played in at least 50 games in ’23-24 on the plus-minus chart. It was a long road to the OHL for Winegard, a 2005 birth year defender who was an 11th round draft pick by the Spitfires in 2021. It took him three training camps with the Spitfires and stops with three different Junior B teams before he finally arrived in Windsor last fall. His hulking size and the fact that is still growing into his body has made Winegard, who is a right hand shooting defender, a player of intrigue.
Carson Woodall. At 5 foot 11, 170 pounds and with a 2006 birth date, Woodall was tied with Walton — behind Winegard — for the second best plus-minus rating among Spitfire defenders in ’23-24. He was also second among Windsor defensemen in scoring with six goals, 23 assists, 29 points. Not bad for a kid from nearby Belle River who was a 10th round draft pick by the Spitfires in 2022 and then spent a season of development with the LaSalle Vipers of the Greater Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
Tanner Winegard of the Spitfires, in 2023-2024 action in Sault Ste. Marie. (photo by Bob Davies.)