Hounds v. Spitfires rivalry
Both teams have their share of intense rivalries within the Ontario Hockey League. Foes of fibrous friction of both the Soo Greyhounds and Windsor Spitfires include the London Knights, Saginaw Spirit, Flint Firebirds and Sarnia Sting. But the rivalry between the Greyhounds and Spitfires has its own snarky side to it.
Maybe it is because so many people from Sault Ste. Marie — dating back to as far as I can remember — went to school in Windsor, either to the University of Windsor or St. Clair College. Decades later, many who left the Sault to go to school in Windsor still live there. And the number of kids from families who I know who are either already going to school in Windsor or are headed there this fall, is well into the double digits.
Yep, there has always been an extra edge to the OHL rivalry between Sault Ste. Marie and Windsor that dates back 50 years.
The Spitfires became members of the OHL effective the ’75-76 season, which was three years after the Greyhounds debuted in ’72-73. And there have been some not for the faint of heart confrontations between the two teams dating back to the ’76-77 season — Windsor’s second in the OHL — when Wayne Maxner was coaching the Spitfires and Muzz MacPherson was coaching the Greyhounds and pre game brawls and bench clearing brawls were the norm rather than the exception.
At any rate, both teams figure to be among the contenders within the 10 member Western Conference of the OHL come the looming ’25-26 season, especially the Spitfires.
As for any nastiness that may be ahead in the six regularly scheduled games between the two teams in ’25-26, let us take a quick glance back to the opening round of last spring’s Western Conference playoffs between the second seed Spitfires and the seventh place Greyhounds.
While Windsor was favoured, the Spitfires did go into the series with an extraordinary number of injuries. Still, Windsor was able to win the best of seven series four games to one but not before some questionable tactics by Greyhounds’ head coach John Dean that were deemed to be — by some — of the bush league and cheap shot variety.
But hey, they say that all is fair in love and war. And both Dean and Spitfires head coach Greg Walters are said to be best of friends. (At least they were before last spring’s playoffs.)
At any rate, on to an early look at both the Spitfires and Greyhounds ahead of the ’25-26 season.
WINDSOR: This is a Spitfires crew that could well unseat the reigning Memorial Cup champion London Knights atop the Western Conference of the OHL. And Windsor may even be poised make a run at the OHL title.
The Spitfires, who finished third overall among the 20 teams of the OHL in ’24-25 with a record of 45-17-6 — their 96 points were 52 more than what they managed when they missed the playoffs in ’23-24 — are expected to again be a force to be reckoned with come the ’25-26 season with as many as 18 to 20 returning players.
The returnees include the high end likes of forwards Liam Greentree, Ilya Protas, Jack Nesbitt, Cole Davis, A.J. Spellacy, Ethan Belchetz and J.C. Lemieux and defensemen Anthony Cristoforo, Carson Woodall, Conor Walton and Carter Hicks. Then there are a pair of presumptive overages in goalie Joey Costanzo and defenseman Wyatt Kennedy.
Greentree and Nesbitt (first rounders) and Protas and Spellacy (third rounders) are already National Hockey League draft picks and Belchetz, Lemieux and Hicks are likely to follow come the 2026 NHL Draft.
In short, the Spitfires have one of the very best general managers in the OHL in Billy Bowler and perhaps the most under rated head coach in the league in the aforementioned Greg Walters.
Bowler and Walters are a dandy duo who worked very well together in ’24-25, which was their first as a GM-coach tandem.
SOO: If the pressure is not on aforementioned returning head coach John Dean to elevate the Greyhounds to a top four team in the Western Conference, then it damn well should be.
Dean, who was recently given a two year contract extension by the Greyhounds despite the fact that the Soo has had losing seasons in two of the last three, has a better than average team to lead in ’25-26.
Notably, the Greyhounds had four forwards taken at the 2025 NHL Draft led by Brady Martin (first round, Nashville Predators), Travis Hayes (fourth round, Pittsburgh Penguins), Jordan Charron (fifth round, Pittsburgh) and Marco Mignosa (seventh round, Tampa Bay Lightning.)
The Greyhounds also have big goalie Landon Miller returning as a fourth round NHL pick by the Detroit Red Wings two years. Also returning is point per game defenseman Chase Reid, who is already being projected as a first or second round pick at the 2026 NHL Draft.
Looking ahead to the 25-26 campaign, Dean will be rightfully expected to lead the Greyhounds to not only a winning record during the regular season but at least one round of playoff series triumph.
photos by Natalie Shaver and Bob Davies