Spirit sign Jones, Papineau ahead of preseason opener
Saginaw, Mich. – Spirit general manager Dave Drinkill announced Friday morning that the team has signed defenseman Graydon Jones and goaltender Kaleb Papineau (PAP-in-oh) to OHL Scholarship and Development Agreements.
“Graydon is a player that played on a very deep minor hockey team last season,” said Drinkill. “He came to development camp in May and made an impression on our staff, then followed it up with a great training camp this week to earn a contract.”
Jones, of Fraserville, Ont., was selected by Saginaw with the 136th overall pick in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection. His AAA years were spent with the Peterborough Petes AAA program. In the 2022-2023 season, the 5’11” left-shot defenseman tallied 18 points (4G, 14A) in 35 games with the Petes. Jones and the Petes reached the 2023 OHL Cup Semi-Final, and the 16-year-old notched a goal and an assist in their six-game run.
“He fits the mold of how we want our d-men to play,” said Drinkill. “He’s skilled, skates well, and is extremely comfortable with the puck on his stick. He showed great compete level in camp, and we’re excited to have Graydon commit to the program.”
Kaleb Papineau was a late pick by the Spirit in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection, going 224th overall. The 6’2” goaltender spent his 2022-2023 season with the French River Rapids and Hearst Lumberjacks of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL). In 16 games with the Lumberjacks, the Cochrane, Ont. native claimed an impressive 13 victories while posting a .929 SV% and 1.98 GAA.
“Kaleb has done everything we have asked since selecting him in 2022,” said Drinkill. “We always knew he was a raw goaltender with lots of potential, but just needed some time to develop.”
In the 2021-2022 season, Papineau was named a First Team All Star as well as the league’s Top Goaltender while playing with the North Bay Trappers U16 AAA of the Great North Midget Hockey League (GNML).
“He went back and had a very strong year in Jr A. last season, then followed that up with a great showing at our main camp,” said Drinkill. “He has really taken a lot of strides in terms of positioning, confidence, and controlling his movement in the crease.”
With Jones and Papineau in tow, the Spirit venture east on their first journey of the year. The 2023 preseason begins against the Brantford Bulldogs, 2:00pm on September 2nd from Erie Insurance Arena. A 2:00 matchup against the hosting Otters the following day will conclude the preseason’s opening weekend.
Saginaw will head to Sault Ste. Marie for a preseason contest on September 22nd at GFL Memorial Gardens before hosting the Greyhounds the next night. $10 General Admission tickets to Saginaw’s lone home preseason game (September 23rd at 7:05pm) are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
For more information, visit saginawspirit.com or follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
For media inquiries, contact Dillon Clark at [email protected].
