Spitfires roster takes hit from injuries
GM says he might have to look to junior B or make a deal with another OHL club
It was a costly road trip for the Windsor Spitfires.
While the club won two of three games on its swing through North Bay, Sudbury and Owen Sound, the Spitfires also had a player sidelined in each game.
On Monday, defenceman Connor Corcoran was to have more blood tests to confirm a suspected case of mononucleosis, which could leave him out of the lineup for at least a month.
As well, centre Luke Kutkevicius was scheduled to have his left wrist re-examined to make sure it was set properly after it was broken during Friday’s game in Sudbury. If not, it could require surgery and the club already expects him to miss at least six weeks.
Forward Luke Boka didn’t finish Sunday’s game in Owen Sound after being driven into the boards from behind by defenceman Jacob Friend. The club will likely send that tape into the OHL office to look at, but Boka, who left the ice favouring his shoulder after the hit, is questionable for the team’s Thursday home game against the Hamilton Bulldogs.
On top of that, forward Igor Larionov has missed eight games with a viral infection and forward Joseph Mizzi has also been out eight games with an Achilles tendon injury. “We’re down in numbers,” Spitfires head coach Trevor Letowski said.
Larionov has returned to skating, but no timetable has been set for his return while Letowski said Mizzi is still a few weeks away.
The lineup got even thinner on Monday with the departure of rookie defenceman Nathan Staios to join Team Canada in British Columbia for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, which runs until Nov. 11.
“We have to look at things,” Spitfires general manager Warren Rychel said. “It kind of leaves us with five (defencemen) for a few weeks and we might have to look to junior B or acquire somebody.”
The Spitfires have few options to call up.
Defenceman Nick Gauvin, who was with the club in training camp, has not played this season as he recovers from knee problems. Forward Jordan Frasca, who was the club’s seventh-round pick in April’s OHL Draft, is with the junior B Chatham Maroons and has 16 points in 16 games.
The Spitfires also appear no closer to getting forward Gabriel Vilardi back as the Los Angeles Kings’ first-round pick continues to recover in California from a back injury.
“He skated for the first time (last) Monday,” Rychel said. “I’ll be in touch with (Kings general manager) Rob Blake and figure out what’s going on.
“Wishfully, for him, I’d like him to get back playing with us by Dec. 1 or late November, so we can get him ready for world juniors (camp). It would be great to see another Spitfire represent our country. That’s my goal and I know it’s his goal and we’ll see what the doctors in L.A. say and how far along he is in his rehab.”
That’s no help for the club’s current predicament, but with Logan Brown back the rebuilding Spitfires have plenty of trade chips of interest to other clubs.
However, with his club off to a solid 9-5-1-0 start, Rychel is in no rush to make any kind of blockbuster trade.
“I won’t panic,” Rychel said. “We’re going to stick to the plan here. It’s a process. We’re very fortunate to get Brownie back and we’re not going to panic and make a big trade. We’ll see what we’ve got and survey the landscape.”
I won’t panic. We’re going to stick to the plan here.