Halfway through this OHL season, the Windsor Spitfires could be a player or two away from being a true Memorial Cup contender.
That's the belief of General Manger Warren Rychel, who has seen his team battle through multiple injuries and suspensions, and still end up with the fourth-best record in the league by Christmas.
"I like our goaltending, I like our D, but we're going to need that veteran who can put the puck away on the wing," he explains. "So we're looking to [add] that before the January 10 trade deadline."
The Spits were without last year's OHL Defenceman of the Year, Mikhail Sergachev, for the first month and a half of this season. Meanwhile, star forwards Gabe Vilardi, and Logan Brown have both missed significant time due to injuries.
Rychel had hoped to have a full roster by Thursday night's return to the WFCU Centre where they play the Kitchener Rangers. But, the team announced Wednesday Captain Patrick Sanvido was being traded to the Sudbury Wolves. Team Spokesman Dave Ducharme says Graham Knott still has two games left on his suspension, and Cole Carter is listed week to week with his injury.
Gabe Vilardi returned to the lineup Wednesday night against Saginaw, and Logan Brown is back after the World Junior Hockey Championship.
The GM credits his coaching staff for keeping the team consistently playing well through the first half of this season.
"They've overcome a lot of things," says Rychel. "It's going to be real exciting to see what the coaching staff, who's already done a great job, can do when they get the full line-up back."
The Spits own the OHL's top penalty kill, third-best power play unit, and best goals against average. The team's also managed at least a point in ten of 12 straight road games.
There are 21 regular season home games left on the Spitfires' schedule.
Rychel can't wait to see what happens once his team is healthy and back on home ice, and he hopes the fans are feeling the same way.
