Spitfires of S.S. Marie
They are both border cities, one from the southwestern and the other from the northeastern region of Ontario. And to be sure, Windsor and Sault Ste. Marie have a timeless association. The number of people from Sault Ste. Marie who left home over the decades and centuries to attend post secondary school at either the University of Windsor or St. Clair College is literally in the thousands. And as far as the Ontario Hockey League goes, the register of players from the Sault who have suited up for Windsor since the Spitfires first became members of the OHL in 1975 is a rather extensive and monumental one.
Let us begin with a directory of players from the Sault who had especially distinguished careers as members of the Spitfires. They are listed in chronological order from when they played for Windsor.
Brent Jarrett. An unlikely superstar, Jarrett was languishing with the Soo Thunderbirds of the erstwhile International Jr. B Hockey League in 1977 when the Soo Greyhounds, who were short on players, called the small center up to the OHL. And Jarrett would never return to the Jr. B level, becoming an OHL standout instead. After parts of two seasons with the Greyhounds, for whom he averaged close to a point per game, Jarrett was traded to Windsor for fellow center — and future National Hockey Leaguer — Dave Hannan, who had fallen out of favour with Spitfires head coach and general manager Wayne Maxner. Under Maxner, Jarrett became an OHL star in Windsor. In parts of two seasons with the Spitfires — including an overage campaign — Jarrett busted loose for 44 goals, 124 assists, 168 points in only 90 games. Sadly, Jarrett passed away in February of 2025 at the age of 65.
Paul Maurice. The big defenseman joined the Spitfires after being a third round pick at the 1984 OHL priority selections draft from the Soo Legion AAA program. He would play in more than 220 games for Windsor before becoming an assistant coach with the Spitfires at age 21. Remarkably, Maurice has since become a National Hockey League head coach of almost 2,000 games and is on his way to becoming a legend of the game as the current bench boss of the Florida Panthers. In 2024, Maurice piloted Florida to the Stanley Cup championship.
Kevin MacKay. Originally a 19th round pick by the Belleville Bulls at the 1988 OHL priority selections draft, the slick right winger would be traded to Windsor for fellow forward Ted Miskolczi and become a scoring sensation for the Spitfires. In all, MacKay played in 165 games for the Spitfires and totalled 88 goals, 134 assists, 222 points in a Windsor uniform.
Cory Evans. Originally a seventh round draft pick of London in 1991, the fibrous left winger would play parts of three seasons with the Knights before being traded to Windsor where he became a point per game player with the Spitfires and an absolute fan favourite. Evans was an on-ice leader for the Spitfires with a crashing, rambunctious style that resulted in a multitude of goals, assists and penalty minutes. Evans has since returned home to Sault Ste. Marie and his married with children.
Craig Kennedy. Kennedy personified consistency after the Spitfires took him in the second round of the 1999 OHL priority selections draft. A sturdy, hard working right winger, Kennedy played five full seasons — and more than 300 games — in Windsor, totaling 113 goals along the way, playoffs included. Known for his smarts and leadership qualities, Kennedy quietly rose to become an assistant captain and then captain for the Spitfires. He too has long returned home to Sault Ste. Marie and is married with children.
Mario Culina. Culina joined the Spitfires as an un-drafted free agent from the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League in 2015. He would be a valuable backup goalie to starter Michael DiPietro for two seasons in Windsor and was part of the Spitfires stunning Memorial Cup championship team of 2017. Culina fashioned a two season record of 23-13-2 as a Spitfire. A year later, Culina went on to tend goal for the Kitchener Rangers and took them to within an overtime goal in Game 7 against his hometown Soo Greyhounds from backstopping the Blueshirts to the Western Conference playoff championship.
Others from the Sault who spent at least part of their OHL careers in Windsor as members of the Spitfires include forward Frank Tomchak (1975-1976), defenseman Dave Mancuso (1977-1978), forward Toots Kovacs (1978-1979), forward Gus Greco (1980 to 1983), forward Terry Maki (1983-1984), defenseman Rob Frayn (1991-1992), forward Joey Sewell (1998 to 2001), forward Jordan Nolan (2006 to 2008), defenseman Mike McIntyre (2010-2011) forward Anthony Stefano (2014 to 2016) and defenseman Connor Toms, who joined the Spitfires via trade with his hometown Soo Greyhounds midway through the 2023-2024 season and has since moved on to the Canadian university hockey ranks.