[{"id":67573,"date":"2026-06-15T03:49:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T03:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-spitfires\/?p=67573"},"modified":"2026-06-15T03:49:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T03:49:47","slug":"three-former-spitfires-win-2026-stanley-cup-title-with-carolina-hurricanes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-spitfires\/article\/three-former-spitfires-win-2026-stanley-cup-title-with-carolina-hurricanes","title":{"rendered":"Three Former Spitfires win 2026 Stanley Cup title with Carolina Hurricanes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Carolina Hurricanes are Stanley Cup Champions for the second time in franchise history, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in Game 6 on Sunday night to claim hockey’s ultimate prize in six games.<\/p>\n

Four former Ontario Hockey League players are part of the Stanley Cup-winning roster, while several more members of the Hurricanes’ coaching and hockey operations staff have strong ties to the league.<\/p>\n

Carolina entered the Stanley Cup Final seeking its first championship since 2006 and completed the task behind key contributions from OHL graduates Taylor Hall (Windsor Spitfires), Jalen Chatfield (Windsor Spitfires) and Tim Gleason (Windsor Spitfires) as Assistant Coach.<\/p>\n

Hall opened the scoring in Game 6, continuing a strong postseason that saw the former OHL and NHL first overall pick play a leading role in Carolina’s championship run. The Windsor graduate previously won back-to-back Memorial Cup titles and OHL championships with the Spitfires in 2009 and 2010, and now adds a Stanley Cup championship to his decorated resume.<\/p>\n

Chatfield’s championship run adds another chapter to one of hockey’s great development stories. Undrafted to both the OHL and NHL, the former Windsor Spitfire Memorial Cup champion established himself as an important piece of Carolina’s blue line, logging significant minutes throughout the postseason.<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes’ championship team was guided by several staff members with OHL roots. Assistant coach Jeff Daniels played four seasons with the Oshawa Generals from 1984-88, while assistant coach Tim Gleason starred with the Windsor Spitfires from 1999-2003.<\/p>\n

Carolina’s hockey operations department also features numerous OHL connections, including amateur scout Don Elland, who served with the Plymouth Whalers from 2010-15, amateur scout Ian Meagher, whose OHL experience includes roles with the Barrie Colts, Saginaw Spirit, and Hamilton Bulldogs, and director of professional scouting Mark Craig, a former head coach of the Windsor Spitfires and general manager of the Plymouth Whalers.<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes finished the regular season among the NHL’s top contenders before advancing through four playoff rounds to claim the Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n

OHL Alumni crowned 2026 Stanley Cup Champions with the Carolina Hurricanes:<\/p>\n

Forwards:<\/p>\n

Jordan Staal<\/a><\/strong> (Peterborough Petes, 2003-06)<\/p>\n

Taylor Hall<\/strong><\/a> (Windsor Spitfires, 2007-10)<\/p>\n

Andrei Svechnikov<\/strong><\/a> (Barrie Colts, 2017-18)<\/p>\n

Defencemen:<\/p>\n

Jalen Chatfield<\/strong><\/a> (Windsor Spitfires, 2014-18)<\/p>\n

Hockey Ops.\/Front Office:<\/p>\n

Assistant Coach \u2013 Jeff Daniels (Oshawa Generals, 1984-88)<\/p>\n

Assistant Coach \u2013 Tim Gleason (Windsor Spitfires, 1999-2003)<\/p>\n

Goaltending Coach \u2013 Paul Schonfelder (Ottawa 67’s, 1999-2000; Goaltending Coach, 2014-17)<\/p>\n

Amateur Scout \u2013 Don Elland (Plymouth Whalers, 2010-15)<\/p>\n

Amateur Scout \u2013 Ian Meagher (Barrie Colts, Saginaw Spirit, Hamilton Bulldogs, 2011-22)<\/p>\n

Director of Professional Scouting \u2013 Mark Craig (Windsor Spitfires, Plymouth Whalers)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Four OHL graduates are Stanley Cup champions as members of the Carolina Hurricanes, helping the franchise capture its second title.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":67574,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-67573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-113","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/06\/14224311\/CanesChampsWeb.jpg",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-spitfires\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":67569,"date":"2026-06-13T22:11:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T22:11:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-spitfires\/?p=67569"},"modified":"2026-06-13T22:30:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T22:30:01","slug":"windsor-spitfires-complete-2026-ohl-priority-selection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/ohl-spitfires\/article\/windsor-spitfires-complete-2026-ohl-priority-selection","title":{"rendered":"Windsor Spitfires Complete 2026 OHL Priority Selection"},"content":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, ON.<\/p>\n

The Windsor Spitfires have completed the 2026 OHL Priority Selection on Saturday afternoon in The Limestone City. The Spitfires selected 8 forwards, 5 defenceman and 2 goalies over the two day draft.<\/p>\n

1st Round, 16th Overall \u2014 Lauchlan Whelan<\/span><\/span> (C)<\/h3>\n

A skilled two-way center from the Quinte Red Devils program, Whelan projects as a player who can contribute in all situations. At nearly 6 feet tall with solid strength already, he has the frame and hockey sense to develop into a reliable top-six OHL forward.<\/p>\n

4th Round, 69th Overall \u2014 Jake LaMontagne<\/span><\/span> (LD)<\/h3>\n

A physically mature left-shot defenseman, LaMontagne brings size and strength from the highly regarded Detroit HoneyBaked program. His profile suggests a defense-first blueliner who can handle tough minutes and play a heavy game in his own zone.<\/p>\n

4th Round, 79th Overall \u2014 Ryan Hanutke<\/span><\/span> (LW)<\/h3>\n

Coming from Shattuck-St. Mary’s, Hanutke arrives with experience in one of North America’s premier development environments. Though not the biggest winger, he appears to combine skill and competitiveness and could develop into a versatile offensive contributor.<\/p>\n

7th Round, 126th Overall \u2014 Cameron Jolicoeur<\/span><\/span> (LW)<\/h3>\n

One of the biggest forwards Windsor selected, Jolicoeur already possesses a pro-style frame. His size gives him intriguing upside as a power forward who can create space, win puck battles, and become difficult to contain along the boards.<\/p>\n

7th Round, 137th Overall \u2014 Jack Trupiano<\/span><\/span> (C)<\/h3>\n

A sturdy center from the Detroit Little Caesars program, Trupiano brings a strong combination of size and positional value. Centers with his build often develop into dependable matchup players capable of contributing at both ends of the ice.<\/p>\n

8th Round, 157th Overall \u2014 Nolan Hardy<\/span><\/span> (G)<\/h3>\n

Hardy gives Windsor its first goaltender of the draft. Coming from the Toronto Marlboros organization, he has been developed in a strong competitive environment and offers a solid athletic foundation for long-term goalie development.<\/p>\n

9th Round, 177th Overall \u2014 Will Johnston<\/span><\/span> (LD)<\/h3>\n

A defender from Shattuck-St. Mary’s, Johnston adds mobility and depth to Windsor’s blue-line pipeline. Left-shot defensemen with strong developmental backgrounds and will be able to grow and mature physically.<\/p>\n

10th Round, 197th Overall \u2014 Greyson Ward<\/span><\/span> (LW)<\/h3>\n

Ward comes from Upper Canada College and brings a balanced physical profile. As a winger, he’ll have an opportunity to develop into a complementary offensive player who can contribute with energy, forechecking, and secondary scoring.<\/p>\n

11th Round, 207th Overall \u2014 Quentin Graham<\/span><\/span> (LD)<\/h3>\n

Graham is a physically imposing left-shot defenseman with nearly 200 pounds already on his frame. His size and strength make him an intriguing developmental project who could evolve into a shutdown defender at the OHL level.<\/p>\n

11th Round, 217th Overall \u2014 Kane Grayson<\/span><\/span> (LD)<\/h3>\n

Standing over 6-foot-3, Grayson offers considerable upside simply because of his reach and frame. If he continues to add strength, he could become a difficult defender for opposing forwards to play against.<\/p>\n

12th Round, 223rd Overall \u2014 Kai Duquette<\/span><\/span> (LW)<\/h3>\n

A local product from Belle River and the Sun County Panthers, Duquette brings a strong blend of size and physicality. His frame suggests potential as a power winger who can play a straightforward north-south game.<\/p>\n

12th Round, 239th Overall \u2014 Nathan Croskery<\/span><\/span> (G)<\/h3>\n

Windsor’s second goalie selection adds depth to the crease pipeline. Croskery is smaller than many modern goaltending prospects but has time to grow physically while refining his technical game.<\/p>\n

13th Round, 257th Overall \u2014 Mcallister King<\/span><\/span> (RD)<\/h3>\n

A right-shot defenseman from Rochester, King fills a valuable position. Right-handed defenders are always in demand, and his balanced size profile gives Windsor another long-term blue-line development project.<\/p>\n

14th Round, 277th Overall \u2014 Kole Gahunia<\/span><\/span> (C)<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Gahunia is a quick, competitive center who plays with energy and determination. We identified Kole early in the year and tracked his progress throughout the year and he continued to impress us. We think he is just scratching the surface of his potential.<\/span><\/p>\n

15th Round, 297th Overall \u2014 Stefano Chiavetti<\/span><\/span> (C)<\/h3>\n

Chiavetti gives Windsor another hardworking center prospect to round out its draft class. Stefano is a player that is\u00a0 undersized but has a lot of skill to challenge opposing defensemen and drive his own line.<\/p>\n