Spits shore up their D with first two draft picks
Son of ex-NHLer and current Bulldogs GM Steve Staios selected in first round
There will be no drama with Windsor Spitfires’ first-round pick Nathan Staios.
A 15-year-old defenceman, Staios is the son of Steve Staios, who played defence for parts of 17 seasons in the NHL and is now president and general manager of the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs.
But the younger Staios wasn’t surprised when his dad’s team passed on selecting him with the 11th pick overall in Saturday’s OHL Draft and was thrilled when the Spitfires selected him six picks later.
“My dad and I had a conversation and he thought it would be better if I didn’t go to an organization where my dad was president and GM,” said Staios, who was captain of the Vaughan Kings minor midgets. “I went down to Windsor and it’s one of the best facilities in the OHL. I’m really excited.”
That wasn’t the case in 2010 when the Barrie Colts selected Spitfires general manager Warren Rychel’s son Kerby Rychel, who refused to report.
“I asked him a month ago about that when we put our list together and he was the best available player at the time,” Rychel said of Staios. “He came into Windsor and I met him. He’s a good kid, mature and knows what he’s doing.”
Staios was actually watching the draft unfold in his dad’s office in Hamilton.
“My dad came down and congratulated me,” the 5-foot-9, 160-pound Staios said. “It’s a dream come true. Just to go to a great organization like Windsor is awesome.”
Staios is considered a mobile, puck-moving defenceman and the Spitfires stayed in that mode when the club made its second pick of the draft nearly 80 picks later.
The Spitfires selected defenceman Louka Henault from the Toronto Marlboro minor midgets in the fifth round with the 96th pick overall.
“They’re huge,” Rychel said. “We got two good defencemen.
“(Henault) is much like Staios in some ways. He gets his head up and he’s smart.”
Born in Montreal, the 5-foot-11, 168-pound Henault moved to the Toronto area when he was 10-years-old.
“It was tough (waiting to be selected), but I’m really happy I got drafted by Windsor,” the 16-yearold Henault said. “I watched them play and met with some of the coaches and it seems like a great organization.”
Thirteen of Windsor’s 15 picks came in the final two-thirds of the draft, but Rychel is hoping a few will develop over time.
“I think we got a lot of guys that can challenge for jobs in a year’s time,” Rychel said.
The Spitfires had a pair of picks in the sixth round and used the first to take left-winger Daniel D’Amico, who was a teammate of Henault’s with the Marlboros.
The 5-foot-10, 161-pound D’Amico had 39 goals and 78 points in 80 games last season.
The club stayed on offence with its second pick in the sixth round by taking right-winger Austin Brimmer from the Mississauga Rebels minor midgets. The 6-foot-1 Brimmer had 25 goals and 51 points in 72 games.
“We have some forwards there that are good hockey players,” Rychel said.
He also has hopes for seventhround pick Jordan Fresca and eighth-round picks Michael Andrews and Markus Patterson.
A centre, Frasca played for the Mississauga Senators last season. A left-winger, Andrews put up 28 goals and 67 points in 36 games for the Quinte minor midgets. The 6-foot-2 Patterson had 11 goals and 29 points in 79 games for the Toronto Nationals minor midgets.
The club will keep watch on defenceman Dominick Fensore, who was an eighth-round pick, and Cade Webber, who was taken in the 11th round.
Both will join the United States Development Program next season.
“Down the road, there’s a possibility,” Rychel said of one or both joining the club.
(My father) thought it would be better if I didn’t go to an organization where my dad was president and GM.