Spitfires are in a reload mode

By Randy Russon
May 2, 2026

Look behind and you aren’t looking forward. Look ahead and you are. Sixty eight regular season games and three rounds of the playoffs — 13 more contests — are in the rear view mirror for the Windsor Spitfires, who are now shifting gears towards the ’26-27 Ontario Hockey League season.

First up is the 2026 OHL priority selections draft, which is slated to be held in person on June 12-13 in Kingston. Which is part of the planning for the ’26-27 campaign.

The Spitfires stand to lose a standout portion of their ’25-26 roster to graduation, either to the professional or college ranks. But there is potential for the Spitfires to be competitive again in ’26-27, though not likely at the same height of the ’25-26 season that produced 97 points, or the ’24-25 campaign which yielded 96 points — but at least one and a half times better than the ’23-24 team that managed a mere 44 points and missed the playoffs at the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

Those definitely departing the Spitfires are their three 2005 birth date overagers, ace goalie Joey Costanzo, steady defenseman Wyatt Kennedy and forward Alex Pharand. Most likely headed for the pro ranks are three signed National Hockey League draft picks who were born in 2006, namely forwards Liam Greentree, Nathan Villeneuve and A.J. Spellacy. And poised to move on to the Division 1, National Collegiate Athletic Association ranks are 2006 birth year defensemen Carson Woodall and Jakub Fibigr and ’06 birth year forward Cole Davis.

Then there is 2007 birth year forward Jack Nesbitt, a 2025 first round National Hockey League draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers. Depending on Philadelphia’s plan for him, Nesbitt could wind up in the NCAA ranks or — under a new NHL rule which allows underage players who were first round draft picks — with the Flyers’ American Hockey League affiliate. (And there is a slight chance that Nesbitt could end up back in Windsor.)

To be sure, though, the Spitfires have a good cross section of talent which is positioned to be core level to pretty good players over the next one to three — even four — years.

For starters, potential overage candidates for ’26-27 include defenseman turned forward Anthony Cristoforo (who, regular season and playoffs included, scored 27 goals in ’25-26) and hulking, stay at home defenseman Conor Walton.

Among the other top shelf players poised to return are mammoth 2008 birth year forward Ethan Belchetz, a presumptive top 10 first round pick at this year’s NHL Draft. Belchetz had 34 goals in 57 regular season games for the Spitfires in ’25-26 before an injury kept him sidelined throughout the playoffs.

Then there are three more ’08 birth year forwards who are coming off pretty good ’25-26 performances including second year skater Ethan Garden (who scored 20 goals, including playoffs) and rookies Caden Harvey (14 goals) and Beksultan Makysh (13 goals.)

A sleeper among the ’08 forwards who should be ready to blossom in ’26-27 is the pint size Max Brocklehurst. Brocklehurst has in played in 41 games with the Spitfires over the past two seasons, while mostly suiting up for the LaSalle Vipers of the Greater Ontario Hockey League. Notably, Brocklehurst scored twice in eight OHL playoff games for the Spitfires this spring.

Also ready for more of a prime time role in ’26-27 is plum 2009 birth year forward Johnny McLaughlin, who produced 14 goals as a rookie in ’25-26, five of which came in the playoffs. This is a potential OHL superstar in the making.

On the back end, besides aforementioned potential overage Conor Walton, 2007 birth year defender Jonathan Brown and 2008 birth year defender Andrew Robinson are both fresh from being OHL rookies in ’25-26 who got considerable playing time. Then there is big Grady Spicer, an ’08 birth year defender who has played in nine OHL games for the Spitfires over two seasons and was so impressive in the GOHL with LaSalle in ’25-26 that he has the attention of Central Scouting ahead of this year’s NHL Draft.

And finally, between the pipes, the Spitfires are already in a good spot ahead of ’26-27 with ’25-26, ’07 birth year backup Michael Newlove and big Jake Windbiel, an ’08 puck stopper who has apprenticed the past two seasons in the GOHL with LaSalle.

So, while a number of high end talent won’t be returning to Windsor in ’26-27, there is plenty of reason to be optimistic for another competitive season for the Spitfires — which speaks to the ongoing job being done by general manager Billy Bowler.

Ethan Garden and Andrew Robinson, in feature photo above by Remo Agostino

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