Windsor is in my blood
I have had an association to Windsor that dates back to my early to mid 1960s childhood days of playing road hockey in the alleyway between Howard and Lillian near Erie St. E.
My uncle owned a bar, the Grand Tavern, on the corner of Howard Ave. and Erie St. for more than 55 years. My son is currently a criminal defence lawyer in Windsor. I have written about the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League on and off since their debut season of 1975-1976.
In short, I have Windsor in my blood. Part of me grew up on the streets of Windsor along Howard and Erie and over to Goyeau and Ouellette and pavement in between. Windsor has always been a second home to me, family wise, street wise and hockey wise.
I recently authored a book, Tales Of An Old Hockey Writer, that, among other content, contains thousands of words relative to Windsor and the Spitfires. And while we still maintain a household in Sault Ste. Marie, my wife and I have recently become residents of Windsor as well by way of our own leased apartment on Pitt St. W.
Thus, the advent of Hockey News Windsor, which becomes a sister website to Hockey News North, which I also founded, maintain, edit and still write for.
Welcome to Hockey News Windsor. Welcome to what is being lined up as year round coverage of the Spitfires and the OHL as well as planned content relative to the University of Windsor Lancers and various Junior B, Junior C and AAA level programs from the area.
We have a few advertisers already on board. We are in the process of trying to attract more. (For advertising inquires, you can e-mail me via [email protected])
I have often said and written that hockey season never really ends. That the off season of hockey contains nearly as much activity as the season of play itself. And it is true.
Take the OHL Spitfires of Windsor for example.
FLIGHT PLAN IN ASCENT
It can duly noted that the flight plan of the Spitfires is in ascent. The Spitfires, who missed the OHL playoffs in 2023-2024 after finishing in first place in the Western Conference in back to back regular seasons, took a big step ahead to next season by choosing — and subsequently signing — 6 foot 5, 235 pound left winger Ethan Belchetz with the first pick of the recent 2024 OHL priority selections draft.
The addition of Belchetz and the potential that goes with his vast skill set has him poised to be in the lineup alongside a franchise superstar that the Spitfires already have in place in 6 foot 3, 200 pound forward Liam Greentree. Greentree is projected to be a first round pick at this year’s National Hockey League draft.
Belchetz and Greentree. Expectations are for Spitfire fans to have a lot to cheer about come the 2024-2025 OHL season — and not just for those two alone.
Thanks to the well thought out, well planned efforts of Spitfires general manager Billy Bowler, the building blocks in Windsor are way more than just being about Belchetz and Greentree. A case can be made for how well Bowler seems to have set up the Spitfires to rebound in ’24-25 — and get Windsor into position to return to the contender status of the two seasons before ’23-24 sooner than later.
There is a bracket of potential overage players who could return to help pilot the Spitfires’ flight plan for next season that includes the likes of forwards Ryan Abraham, Noah Morneau and Colton Smith. Notably, Abraham netted 31 goals for the Spitfires during the ’23-24 regular season.
Especially, though, it is the younger generation that hold the keys to the airborne Spitfire cylinder.
Windsor already has its established star player in aforementioned 2006 birth year skater Liam Greentree. One of the youngest captains in Spitfires history, Greentree led the Spitfires in scoring by a wide margin in ’23-24 with 36 goals, 54 assists, 90 points. Only 10 OHL players had more points in ’23-24 than Greentree.
The 2006 age group of Spitfires also features a pretty good class of forwards Cole Davis and A.J. Spellacy and defensemen Anthony Cristoforo, Carson Woodall and Conor Walton. Davis became a 20 goal scorer as an OHL rookie and Spellacy also hit that mark as a second year skater.
Then there is 2007 birth year forward Jack Nesbitt, who was Windsor’s first round pick at the 2023 OHL priority selections draft. Nesbitt has size at 6 foot 4 to go with skill and is projected to become a future Spitfire standout after a rookie season that included nine goals, nine assists, 18 points in 58 games.
There are also players with 2005 birth dates who figure to be somewhere in the mix as 19-year olds for the ’24-25 season — defensemen Josef Eichler and Tanner Winegard and goalie Joey Costanzo.
To be sure, Bowler, as the GM, seems to have the Spitfires on course to at the very least return to the playoffs in ’24-25. The flight plan will still need some adjusting by way of addition and subtraction. But the Spitfires are on schedule and appear ready for takeoff.