The Windsor Spitfires are gearing up for a particularly challenging OHL Draft this year, with the shadow of the NCAA looming larger than ever. The team will have 15 selections over the 15-round draft, but significant gaps in their draft board—missing picks in the second, third, fifth, and sixth rounds—complicate their strategy.
Limited Picks, Strategic Decisions
The Spitfires will have multiple picks in rounds four, seven, eleven, and twelve, but only single selections in rounds eight, nine, ten, thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen. General Manager Bill Bowler has opted not to trade for additional picks, despite a trade window opening at the start of June.
“The last four or five years, we’ve used draft assets to acquire players and eventually you have to pay, and it’s time,” Bowler said, referring to this year’s draft, scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Kingston.
First-Round Prospects
Despite the constraints, the Spitfires will have a first-round pick—number 16 overall—in what marks the OHL’s first in-person draft since 2000. Bowler has a track record of finding talent late in the first round, including center Johnny McLaughlin (21st pick in 2025), center Jack Nesbitt (20th pick in 2022), and defenseman Anthony Cristoforo (22nd pick in 2022).
“We anticipate our first-round pick playing on our team in 2026-27,” Bowler stated.
NCAA Factor Changes the Game
The increasing allure of NCAA hockey has forced teams to adapt. With Nesbitt and 2024 first-round pick Ethan Belchetz choosing the NCAA route, Bowler acknowledges that the draft landscape has shifted dramatically.
“This environment that we’re in right now has 100 per cent changed how we acquire players, how we look for them, and the questions we ask in the interview process changes dramatically,” Bowler explained. Teams are now asking more pointed questions to gauge a prospect’s commitment to the OHL versus NCAA options.
“You’re definitely asking questions,” Bowler said. “It’s a new landscape. You’re always getting information and new information because players have options. Then, I’ll make a decision once I know what their possible plans are. I think people are honest, but it goes two ways. As a team, you have plans and sometimes it goes the other way when players have options if new opportunities are presented.”
Finding Gems in Later Rounds
Bowler has consistently emphasized organizational depth. While it remains uncertain if any picks beyond the first round will make the 2026-27 roster, the Spitfires have historically found contributors in later rounds. In 2022, they selected forward Cole Davis in the fourth round, defenseman Carson Woodall in the tenth round, and forward Nathan Gaymes in the fifteenth round.
“There are always good players and players change and players develop at different times,” Bowler said. “No doubt, the early picks would be better, but we don’t have those picks. So, we have to find players in the later rounds.”
