Hopes high as Spitfires open training camp
Long list of returnees as Spitfires open their training camp on Monday
A year ago, the Windsor Spitfires were scrambling to fill roster holes coming on the heels of the team’s third Memorial Cup title in nine years.
Now, the Spitfires have plenty of players with Ontario Hockey League experience under their belt and what management wants is to see this group take a major step forward.
The Spitfires open training camp Monday at the WFCU Centre with players checking in and going through fitness and medical testing before hitting the ice on Tuesday.
“I’m excited for it just to see that it’s a fresh year and a team that returns a lot of players,” Spitfires head coach Trevor Letowski said. “We kind of challenged the players at the end of last year to have great summers. Now we get to see who put the work in.”
General manager Warren Rychel expects 48 players in camp and after tearing down and rebuilding the club a year ago, he wants to see steps forward this season. “We at least want to get to the second round and be one of the top four teams in the conference,” said Rychel, whose team has not been to the second round of the playoffs since 2011. “I think it’s realistic. We’ll be stingy and hard to play against.”
There are a dozen forwards in camp that spent time with the club last season in Cole Purboo, Curtis Douglas, Luke Boka, Mathew MacDougall, Igor Larionov, Luke Kutkevicius, Cody Morgan, Daniel D’Amico, William Sirman, Tyler Angle, Chris Playfair and Jordan Frasca. However, it was often hard to tell who was playing on the top line last season and what was considered the fourth line.
“A lot of our guys are coming back, but we’re looking for a guy to take it,” Rychel said. “Is it Morgan, with added ice time, getting to score like he did in midget when he was a prolific scorer. Is it Douglas, taking the next step and being a pro? Is it MacDougall, coming back with a chip on his shoulder because he didn’t get drafted? We’re looking for a lot of guys to step up. There’s going to be competition from within.” First-round pick Jean-Luc Foudy, second-round pick Kyle McDonald along with Austin Brimmer, who was a sixth-round pick in 2017, will also push for a roster spot and playing time. “If anything, you learn if you come complacent it gets taken from you,” said Playfair, who is entering his third season with the Spitfires. “You have to bring the edge right away. I’m so excited to get started and playing games. I’ve missed it a lot.”
Things are just as crowded on defence with six regulars set to return in Connor Corcoran, Lev Starikov, Nathan Staios, Thomas Stevenson, Grayson Ladd and Louka Henault back. The club will give a long look to third-round pick Dylan Robinson, former 10th-round pick in 2017 Stefan Dobrich, who is the son of former club co-owner Peter Dobrich, along with Hayden Johnston, who got into four games with the club last season.
“It’s not a team you can pencil in our lineup,” Letowski said. “It’s up for grabs as far as ice time. “We have a good idea what our roster’s going to look like coming back, but not our lineup and who’s going to slot in there. I’m hoping some of these young players are going to take on a bigger role.” The one star on the roster remains Mikey DiPietro, who was the league’s goaltender of the year in 2017-18. With DiPietro entering his final season, the club will break in Finnish goalie Kari Piiroinen, who was the team’s top pick in the European Import Draft, as well as third-round pick Xavier Medina. “It is going to be competitive and we’re going to have some tough decisions,” Letowski said. Camp will pass quickly. Workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday will lead to the Blue and White game at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the WFCU Centre.
Rychel hopes to cut down to 25 or 26 players when the team heads to Buffalo on Friday for the OHL Showcase where the team will take on Erie on Friday, Hamilton on Saturday and Flint on Sunday. “There’s definitely competition at camp every year no matter who you are,” Playfair said. “We’ll have young guys coming in trying to find a spot. We all have to fight for it.”