Three Firebirds Selected at 2024 NHL Draft
LAS VEGAS – Three Flint Firebirds were selected on Saturday afternoon at the 2024 NHL Draft as Nathan Aspinall, Connor Clattenburg and Kaden Pitre were each picked by NHL clubs.
Aspinall became the first Firebird selected during the fifth round when the New York Rangers took him with the 159th overall pick. The 6’7 winger tallied 18 goals and 16 assists in 65 games during the 2023-24 season, his second as a Firebird. Aspinall was originally selected by Flint in the second round of the 2022 OHL Priority Selection and recorded one goal and three assists in his rookie season in 2022-23.
One pick later, the Edmonton Oilers took Connor Clattenburg with the 160th overall selection. Clattenburg recorded 13 goals and 16 assists in 60 games during the 2023-24 season, combined between the Firebirds and the Soo Greyhounds, from whom he was acquired in January at the OHL trade deadline. In 30 games as a Firebird, the left wing/center had nine goals and eight assists. Clattenburg was in his second season of draft eligibility; he went undrafted during the 2023 NHL Draft.
Pitre became the final Firebird selected when he was taken in the sixth round by the Tampa Bay Lightning with the 181st overall pick. Pitre’s 2023-24 season was hampered by injuries, but he recorded 10 goals and 20 assists in 35 games, improving upon the seven goals and four assists he put up in the 2022-23 season. The center was Flint’s first round pick in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection.
The Firebirds continued their streak of having at least one player selected at every NHL Draft since the team’s inception in 2015. Three draft picks represented the second-most Flint has had at a single draft, surpassed only by the franchise-record four draft picks at the 2023 NHL Draft. The Firebirds have now had 18 players drafted since 2015 and now have 33 players in franchise history who have been drafted or signed by an NHL team.
Flint Firebirds 2024-25 season memberships are on sale now! Memberships start as low as $408 for the full season and fans can reserve their seat with a $50 deposit. For more information stop by the Dort Financial Center box office or call them at (810) 744-0580.
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