When the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) announced that Saginaw, Michigan would host the Memorial Cup in 2024, it guaranteed a spot for the Saginaw Spirit. But coming off a 2022-23 season that saw the Spirit get to the second round of the playoffs after having the first overall pick in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Draft and taking Michael Misa, the expectations for the team coming into this season were lofty. These expectations were so lofty, in fact, they were ranked as the number four team in the CHL in the preseason.
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Spirit Added Depth and Are Heating Up After So-So Start
With these expectations came the hope the Spirit would get off to a hot start to the season and further establish themselves as one of the top teams not just in the OHL, but in the entire CHL as well. But eight games into the season, the Spirit struggled to get themselves over the .500 hump and sat at a 4-4-0 record. This led to general manager Dave Drinkill deciding to pull the trigger on adding to the roster with a trade with in-state rival Flint Firebirds. On Oct. 25, Drinkill acquired Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Ethan Hay for six total draft picks. Hay immediately added some depth to the Spirit forward grouping while also bringing penalty kill and faceoff help. In his time with the Spirit, he has become one of the team’s better penalty killers while also racking up eight points in 11 games.
Related: Spirit Earned Memorial Cup Season with Hard Work & Excellence
Since the acquisition of Hay, the team has gone 7-3-1 and is currently riding a seven-game win streak (as of Nov. 22). But while amid this win streak, Drinkill decided to go out and add more firepower to the lineup to further build a team that can make noise in the upcoming Memorial Cup. This came in the form of acquiring Rodwin Dionicio and Alex Christopoulos from the Windsor Spitfires on Nov. 16. While the team gave up mainstay defenseman Roberto Mancini and forward Valentin Zhugin along with three draft picks, acquiring the two players they did further proved they are looking to build a team that can make a deep run in the Memorial Cup.
In Christopoulos, the Spirit got a player who tallied 49 goals last season for the Spitfires and is expected to add some goal-scoring to a lineup that has Misa, Zayne Parekh, and Dean Loukus leading the way up front and should be able to replace the offensive production that the team will be missing from Zhugin. With Mancini departing, the team is replacing him with 2023 fifth-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in Dionicio. He has produced more in the offensive department throughout his junior career than Mancini has and also adds a level of physicality on the back end that will be needed with Mancini departing. Through two games with the Spirit, Dionicio has added three points to his record and 12 penalty minutes and will continue to be looked to as one of the team’s top defensemen for the rest of the season.
The wildcard trade that could pay dividends for the Spirit is the acquisition of Luca Del Bel Belluz from the Sarnia Sting. While he is currently in the American Hockey League (AHL), there is a chance he could be re-assigned to the OHL and join the Spirit if the Columbus Blue Jackets believe it is best for him and his development. Last season he totalled 40 goals while splitting time with the Sting and the Mississauga Steelheads and would be another welcomed offensive piece to the Spirit’s lineup.
Moves Positively Impact Spirit’s Memorial Cup Outlook
With these moves, the Spirit are making it clear that while they are currently the hottest team in the OHL, they fully intend to position themselves to be a force in the Memorial Cup when they play the CHL’s best-of-the-best. They have added production in the offensive zone and solidified the back end.
The additions, when combined with the players they already had on the roster — Misa, Parekh, and Matyas Sapovaliv — could make the Spirit an offensive juggernaut that opponents will not want to see on their schedules and will only get better as more chemistry is built with the newest acquisitions. Each of the aforementioned players has been playing a solid offensive game for the team lately as well. Goaltender Andrew Oke has been on a torrid stretch lately as well: he has been the OHL’s hottest netminder during the seven-game win streak and has filled the hole left by last season’s starting goalie Tristan Lennox.
If everything goes as planned, the Spirit could position themselves for not just a deep run in the OHL playoffs, but as one of the top teams to watch when the Memorial Cup opens in Saginaw next year.