Friday Night Faceoff: Cristoforo brimming with confidence for Spitfires

Anthony Cristoforo’s OHL journey has been one of ups and downs through three seasons – quite literally when you look at the standings.

Now 18-years-old, Cristoforo came to the OHL as a first round pick in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection, having impressed with a great showing with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens in that year’s OHL Cup. He patrolled the blueline with the West Division champion Spitfires as a rookie in 2022-23 before a complete turnaround a year later, finishing at the bottom of the OHL standings in his sophomore year.

The Spits are back in 2024-25, and Cristoforo is playing a big part in their ascent up the standings as Windsor leads the West Division with a record of 29-7-2-1.

“He plays some of the biggest minutes in the league, he’s a true competitor and he brings it every night,” said Spitfires general manager Bill Bowler. “We’ve always been impressed by what Anthony brings to the ice, and it’s been great to see him grow and develop new aspects to the way he plays.”

Even on a struggling Spitfires team in 2023-24, Cristoforo managed to create offence, finishing the season with 38 points (7-31–38) over 67 games. The big contrast between then and now, was a minus-43 plus/minus rating, among the worst in the league, contrasted to his league-leading plus-36 figure heading into Friday’s clash with London.

“Hockey teams struggle, and Anthony, at times as a sophomore, was put in situations where he couldn’t succeed,” said Bowler. “I think players grow through that though, and Anthony certainly has. We couldn’t be happier with the role he’s played with us this season and how much he has contributed to our success.”

The Woodbridge, Ont. product leads Windsor defencemen with 29 points (7-22–29) through 38 games, helping them put together the league’s seventh-ranked power play. He’s also seen time on Windsor’s third-ranked penalty killing corps throughout the season.

Playing under a new head coach in Greg Walters this season, Cristoforo could be a name NHL teams keep tabs on as the 2025 NHL Draft draws closer. He didn’t hear his name called in his first year of eligibility.

“I hope they’re taking notice,” said Bowler. “He’s been consistent for us and I think he’s worthy of some consideration at the next level.”

Catch Anthony Cristoforo and the Windsor Spitfires in a battle for first place on this week’s edition of #FridayNightFaceoff as Windsor visits London at 7:00pm, streaming free on OHL Live, YouTube, X and Facebook.