Spits solidify seasoned D
Windsor Spitfires have further bolstered their veteran back end with the acquisition of 2006 birth year defenseman Jakub Fibigr from the Brampton Steelheads. Fibigr, who is in his third season in the Ontario Hockey League, has been obtained from Brampton for 2008 birth year defender Carter Hicks and three draft picks.
A veteran of 159 OHL games — regular season and playoffs included — with the Steelheads and having totalled 106 points during that time, the 6 foot, 170 pound Fibigr adds to a seasoned slew of Windsor defensemen that has been assembled by shrewd Spitfires general manager Billy Bowler.
Besides Fibigr, the Spitfires — who are in first place in the Western Conference of the OHL — have three other dandy 2006 birth year defensemen in Carson Woodall, Anthony Cristoforo and Conor Walton. And if that isn’t enough, Windsor also has a 2005 (overage) defenseman on board in Wyatt Kennedy.
Fibigr — who played for Czechia at the 2025 and 2026 World Junior Hockey Championships — was a seventh round pick by the Seattle Kraken at the 2024 National Hockey League Draft. And Seattle scout Mike Dawson had plenty good to say to Hockey News Windsor about what the Spitfires are getting in Fibigr.
“He is smart, steady and reliable,” Dawson began in praise of Fibigr. “He can play in any situation and log big minutes … regular shift, power play, penalty kill. He is not the biggest guy but he is not afraid to do what is necessary and compete in the dirty areas. He has really progressed in his OHL career.”
Besides the five older defensemen in Fibigr and the aforementioned Woodall, Cristoforo, Walton and Kennedy, the Spitfires also have rookies Jonathan Brown (2007 birth year) and Andrew Robinson (2008 birth year) on their roster. Windsor also has further insurance on the blue line in Grady Spicer (2008 birth year.) Spicer, who is playing in the Greater Ontario Hockey League for the nearby LaSalle Vipers, has skated in eight OHL games for the Spitfires between last season and this one.