Spirit lurking in Saginaw
It was no also-ran team that missed the Ontario Hockey League playoffs in 2016-2017. To be sure, Saginaw Spirit had more points in finishing ninth in the Western Conference than three teams that made the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
This is a Spirit team on the rise in Saginaw.
It may not be ready to compete for the top spots in 2017-2018 but with so much young talent, the Spirit looms as a formidable force for the future.
Consider the number of better-than-average, up-and-coming players with OHL experience that Saginaw has that have 1999 and 2000 birth dates.
Consider the plan that youthful general manager Dave Drinkill put into place when he took the helm in Saginaw two years ago — an objective to build through the draft. A course of action that includes rising coach star Spencer Carbery, who Drinkill hired away from the minor pro ranks a year ago to man the bench in Saginaw.
The roster of 1999 and 2000 birth year players who have already debuted in Saginaw boast promise and potential and includes forwards Brady Gilmour, Cole Coskey, D.J. Busdeker, Damian Giroux and Maxim Grondin and defensemen Hayden Davis and Brock Hill.
Then there are a pair of 2000 birth year dandies who committed to Saginaw during this off season after being draft picks in 2016 — forward Blade Jenkins and defensemen Caleb Everett.
And even younger, Saginaw has also signed 2017 first-rounder Nick Porco, a 2001 birth-year forward from Sault Ste. Marie who the Spirit took fourth overall at the April 8 minor midget draft.
As an aside, Drinkill has shown an affection for players from northern Ontario in using high picks the past two years to draft not only Porco but the aforementioned Giroux, who hails from the Sudbury area, and Grondin, who is from the remote, French-speaking town of Hearst.
There is one more 2000 birth-year plum from the 2016 draft — in addition to Jenkins and Everett — who could be another better-late-than-never arrival in Saginaw at some point.
Hulking, man-child defenseman Bode Wilde was taken by Saginaw in the second round of the 2016 draft after the Spirit used its first-round pick on Jenkins. Wilde has a future, Division 1, National Collegiate Athletic Association commitment and is prepping for a second season with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program but remains on the radar of Drinkill and the Spirit.
Regardless of whether Wilde opts to take a walk on the wild side in Saginaw, the Spirit is lurking in the Western Conference and it’s but a matter of time before it rises to OHL prominence.
PHOTO: Forward Maxim Grondin is part of the young talent that the Saginaw Spirit has assembled.
Another young prospect is goaltender Cameron Lamour who was a 3rd round pick in 2016. He had a cup of coffee with the Spirit this past season and will be gunning for a regular spot this year.
Fanman,
Duly noted re: Lamour, a Sudbury area kid who we have written up on several occasions over the past season.
Only thing is, with Evan Cormier a good possibility to return as an overage goalie in Saginaw, Lamour is behind both Cormier and Brendan Bonello on the Spirit depth chart.