Spitfires are pre-season favourites

By Aaron Bell
It’s been two decades since the Windsor Spitfires have played in the MasterCard Memorial Cup, but if a panel of NHL scouts are predicting right, that drought is about to end.
Without having played a game that counts yet this year, the Spitfires were the number one ranked team in the Mosaik MasterCard CHL Top-10 pre-season rankings released last week.
Unfortunately for the Spitfires, a pre-season ranking will do little to help them win the Ontario Hockey League championship and claim a spot in the MasterCard Memorial Cup next May in Rimouski, Quebec.
“It’s nice, but we can’t let it go to our heads,” veteran forward Adam Henrique told the Windsor Star. “We have a job to do and if we don’t do it, we’ll fall out of the rankings.”
There is a lot to like about this Windsor squad that exceeded expectations last season and then made an admirable comeback after the death of their captain Mickey Renaud in February.
They had four players drafted in June, including first rounders Joshua Bailey to the New York Islanders and Greg Nemisz to the Calgary Flames. They also have a couple of others in the lineup that are likely first rounders during the next couple of years.
Unfortunately all of those NHL draft picks mean that the Spits will likely start the season with a shortened bench.
“It’s going to be a while before we have everyone here and we want them to all be on the same page when that finally happens,” said coach and co-owner Bob Boughner. “When they do get back, it’ll still take a little time for us to gel.”
They also bolstered their lineup with the off-season acquisitions of Toronto Maple Leafs’ prospect Dale Mitchell from the Oshawa Generals and big winger Jacob Lalonde from the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Both players made it to the league semi-finals last season and bring some needed playoff experience to a team that was bounced from the first round of the playoffs last spring by the Steven Stamkos-led Sarnia Sting.
The Spitfires will rely on overage goalie Andrew Engelage to hold down the fort.
“I told him, ‘This year, it’s your job.’ I don’t want to deal for a goalie,” Boughner said this week. “The guys like him and respect him.”
The Spitfires will have a lot of distractions this season. In addition to being the top ranked club in the pre-season rankings, eyes will be on sophomore defenceman Ryan Ellis, who is in his draft year, and OHL rookie of the year Taylor Hall, (pictured) who is already being pegged as the top rated prospect for the 2010 draft. The Spits are also playing their last games at Windsor Arena before moving to the new Windsor Family Credit Union Centre before the new year.
And despite being the pre-season favourites, the Spitfires will have lots of company among the OHL’s elite squads. The London Knights were rated third and the Belleville Bulls fifth.
Boughner said that he would prefer to earn the rating on the ice but hopes that the early recognition will give his group some confidence.
“There’s a long way to go,” Boughner said. “We’ve got 68 games and the short-term goals are winning the division and the conference.”
The defending Memorial Cup champion Spokane Chiefs were rated second while the Memorial Cup host Rimouski Oceanic were rated fourth. The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Kelowna Rockets, Brandon Wheat Kings, Chicoutimi Sagueneens and Shawinigan Cataractes rounded out the pre-season top-10 rankings.