The Saginaw Spirit prides itself on the education their players receive while with the club and once they graduate from the OHL. High School aged players attend Heritage High School, which is an International Baccalaureate school located in Saginaw township. College aged players have the opportunity to take classes at Saginaw Valley State University. Online classes are also available if that’s the best fit for the player.
Along with every OHL team, we also provide an academic advisor and every player has access to the support of a tutor at no cost to the player and his family. Ninety-nine percent of OHL players graduate from high school and high school players cannot be traded without the consent of the player and their family.
Every player is eligible for a scholarship upon graduating from the OHL, which is administered through the league office, if they do not sign a professional hockey contract. At a minimum, the scholarship benefit is tuition, books and compulsory fees for each season they played and may be used towards university, college, trade or technical school. During the 2021-22 season, over $3.5 million dollars in scholarships were administered to 349 OHL graduates at various academic institutions.