Windsor Star

Goalie eager for shot with Spitfires

- jpparker@postmedia.com twitter.com/winstarpar­ker

Goalie Xavier Medina would love to make Windsor his new hockey home.

With Mikey DiPietro set to graduate after next season, the Windsor Spitfires looked to the future in net by taking Medina in the third round of this month’s OHL Draft.

In town for a mini-camp on Saturday, the 16-year-old Medina said: “I heard (DiPietro’s) a stud and someone great to look up to and so I’m excited to work with him.”

Medina, who is from Wayne, Mich., said “this is where I want to be.”

He was one of six goalies to attend last month’s United States National Team Developmen­t Program evaluation camp in Plymouth, Mich. While that roster has not been set, Medina has made it known to the program that he’s no longer interested. “They said they would get back to me, but I said (after being drafted by Windsor) that I was fine — and get to play here,” the five-foot-11, 167-pound Medina said. “At the beginning of the year, I didn’t know much about it, but I found interest in the OHL. So, I learned more about it. I want to play in the OHL.” Medina was in goal for Team White, which won Saturday’s scrimmage by a 4-2 count over Team Blue. Top pick Jean-Luc Foudy, Tanner Kelly, Daniel D’Amico and 2017 pick Stefan Dobrich scored for the winning team. Cody Morgan and Johnny Ulicny were the lone Team Blue players to beat Medina. “I thought he played well,” Spitfires general manager Warren Rychel said of Medina. “The backup job is wide open.”

It’s a tricky endeavour for a goalie to play in the OHL as a 16-year-old and DiPietro is one of the few to make a smooth transition to the league at that age. “I was lucky enough, my first year, to be able to play and get considerab­le minutes and that experience,” DiPietro said. “It’s definitely not impossible.” DiPietro called Medina after the Spitfires drafted him and the two met for the first time on Saturday and the veteran keeper had some words of advice for his potential backup.

“You can’t expect things,” DiPietro said. “I didn’t expect things. Everything ’s earned before it’s given and the mentality I’ve always had is you have to work and earn things.”

Medina started playing hockey when he was three years old. His father was a goalie, which got him started at the position, but he was also drawn to it.

“It always interested me,” Medina said. “If you look at the NHL, they always talk about the goalies. So, it looked like some- thing I’d like to play. I do well under pressure, most times.” He has played for the Little Caesars and Belle Tire programs in Michigan, but helped Detroit HoneyBaked reach the national U16 quarter-finals this year. During the season, he posted a 1.64 goals-against average in 25 games with a .896 save percentage.

“I like to play the puck a lot,” Medina said. “I like to stay calm and poised no matter what the situation is. I try to be as big as possible and make key saves.” Medina was one of two goalies taken by the Spitfires in this year’s OHL Draft, along with 10th-round pick Daniel Botelho, and the club made goalie Eli Shiller its top pick in the OHL U18 Draft. That doesn’t include holdovers Brock Baier and Lucas Patton, who will all battle for a spot in Windsor.

So, Medina is still a long way from the backup spot and his youth will be a factor, but club officials are ready to give him every chance.

“It’s hard, but if the player’s ready and he’s an elite player at the level played at, it’s possible,” Spitfires head coach Trevor Letowski said of Medina said. “This kid seems athletic and eager.”

 ?? NICK BRANCACCIO ?? Goaltender Xavier Medina, seen during the Spitfires mini-camp on Saturday, was one of two goalies taken by the club in this year’s OHL Draft. “I thought he played well,” Spitfires general manager Warren Rychel said of Medina. “The backup job is wide...
NICK BRANCACCIO Goaltender Xavier Medina, seen during the Spitfires mini-camp on Saturday, was one of two goalies taken by the club in this year’s OHL Draft. “I thought he played well,” Spitfires general manager Warren Rychel said of Medina. “The backup job is wide...
 ?? JIM PARKER ??
JIM PARKER

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