Spitfires sign second defensive prospect

The Windsor Spitfires continue to build for the future on the backend.

General manager Warren Rychel announced the Spitfires signed defenceman Louka Henault, the club’s second pick in April’s Ontario Hockey League Draft, to a standard player and education package.

The signing Friday of Henault, who is a left-hand shot, comes just over a week after the team signed defenceman and first-round pick Nathan Staios.

“With the uncertainty of Sergy (Mikhail Sergachev) and (Sean) Day, there’s a great opportunity here for them,” Rychel said.

Sergachev started this season with the Montreal Canadiens before being sent back to Windsor, but could make the jump to the NHL full time next year. Day is also eligible to return, but the New York Rangers have the option to send the former exceptional status prospect to the minors next season. The club will also lose co-captain Jalen Chatfield to graduation.

“We got two good defencemen,” Rychel said after drafting the pair.

The Spitfires selected the fivefoot-11, 180-pound Henault in the fifth round of the draft with the 96th pick overall.

“It was tough, but I’m really happy I got drafted by Windsor,” said the 16-year-old Henault, who was born in Montreal but moved to the Toronto area when he was 10. “I watched them play and met with some of the coaches (before the draft) and it seems like a great organization.”

In 81 games with the Toronto Marlies minor midgets last season, Henault had 11 goals and 56 points along with 32 penalty minutes.

“Just happy to get him,” Rychel said of Henault. “I talked to Dan Brown (the father of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Connor Brown), who coaches the Marlies, and (Henault) was his favourite player and the smartest player he had at the back end.”

Henault attended last month’s prospects camp with the Spitfires and was one of the players who stood out to Rychel. He said both Henault and Staios are capable of running a power play with Staios a little more dynamic offensively and Henault a little better defensively.

Henault is currently with the Greater Toronto Hockey League’s Red Team at the OHL Gold Cup in Kitchener, which is a stepping stone to Canada’s World Under-17 Hockey Challenge team.

“My vision and skating are my two biggest strengths,” Henault said. “I can put pucks on the tape and make the right play. My weakness is I might not be strong enough.”