The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975–76 season. An unrelated Windsor Spitfires team, founded in 1946, moved to become the Hamilton Tiger Cubs in 1953, and later became the Erie Otters in 1996.
Paul Maurice is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. He is the head coach of the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). At age 43, Maurice became the youngest coach in NHL history to coach 1,000 games, reaching the milestone on November 28, 2010. He also holds a record for the most losses by an NHL coach with 713.
The 2000–01 OHL season was the 21st season of the Ontario Hockey League. The Guelph Storm moved from the Guelph Memorial Gardens to the Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre at the start of the season. The Owen Sound Platers were renamed to the Owen Sound Attack Twenty teams each played 68 games. The Ottawa 67's won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the Plymouth Whalers.
James Reimer is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Reimer has also played in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, San Jose Sharks and Carolina Hurricanes. He was selected by the Maple Leafs in the fourth round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He started playing minor hockey in his hometown when he was 12. He played junior hockey with the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League (WHL), after being selected in the fifth round of the 2003 WHL Bantam Draft.
Michal Neuvirth is a Czech former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played for the Washington Capitals, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, and Philadelphia Flyers in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 34th overall by the Washington Capitals in the second round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
Denis Joseph "D. J." Smith is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). As a player, Smith played 45 NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche as a defenceman. As a coach, Smith won the Memorial Cup in 2015, and spent four years as an assistant with the Maple Leafs before joining Ottawa.
The 1996–97 OHL season was the 17th season of the Ontario Hockey League. The Niagara Falls Thunder move to Erie becoming the Erie Otters. Seventeen teams each played 66 games. The Oshawa Generals won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the Ottawa 67's.
Jordan Julien Caron is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He was drafted in the first round, 25th overall, by the Boston Bruins in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft from the Rimouski Océanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
Ben Scrivens is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and current team manager of the University of Denver men's team. He has also played in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers, and Montreal Canadiens.
Jack Campbell is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Prior to his professional career, Campbell played for the Windsor Spitfires and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League. He was selected in the first round by the Dallas Stars in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and made his NHL debut in 2013. After spending several years in the minors, Campbell was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, serving as the team's backup before joining the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2020, where he emerged as an effective starting netminder and was named an NHL All-Star in 2022. He left Toronto after the 2021–22 season to sign with the Oilers.
Mark Anthony Cundari is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. As a junior, Cundari was a member of two Memorial Cup championship teams with the Windsor Spitfires before turning professional in 2010. An undrafted player, he spent the majority of three seasons in the St. Louis Blues organization before being traded to the Calgary Flames in 2013.
Josh Unice is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender.
Petr Mrázek is a Czech professional ice hockey goaltender for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Sam Carrick is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who currently plays with the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fifth round, 144th overall, in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
Philipp Grubauer is a German professional ice hockey goaltender for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL).
The 2013–14 OHL season was the 34th season of the Ontario Hockey League. The Brampton Battalion relocated to North Bay and became the North Bay Battalion, playing at the North Bay Memorial Gardens. The first two outdoor games in OHL history were held this season, when the Saginaw Spirit, Windsor Spitfires, Plymouth Whalers, and London Knights played at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan as part of the Hockeytown Winter Festival on December 29. On March 11, 2014 Terry Trafford of the Saginaw Spirit, who had been missing for eight days, was found dead in his vehicle at a Wal-Mart in Saginaw, Michigan. His death was ruled a suicide as a result of self-inflicted asphyxiation. Twenty teams played 68 games each according to the regular season schedule, from September 19, 2013 to March 17, 2014. The Guelph Storm won the J. Ross Robertson Cup for the third time in franchise history, and the first time since 2004, as they defeated the North Bay Battalion in five games, and represented the OHL at the 2014 Memorial Cup held at Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario. The London Knights also qualified for the tournament as the host team.
Darren Archibald is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for the Grizzlys Wolfsburg in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He played major junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Barrie Colts and Niagara IceDogs. Undrafted out of junior, he signed with the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent and played at multiple levels within the organization.
The 2015–16 OHL season was the 36th season of the Ontario Hockey League, in which twenty teams played 68 games each according to the regular season schedule, from September 2015 to March 2016. The Plymouth Whalers relocated to Flint and became the Flint Firebirds, playing at the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center. The Belleville Bulls relocated to Hamilton and became the Hamilton Bulldogs, playing at FirstOntario Centre. The London Knights won the J. Ross Robertson Cup for the fourth time in franchise history, as they defeated the Niagara IceDogs in four games in the final round of the playoffs. The Knights qualified for the 2016 Memorial Cup held at the ENMAX Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta. London defeated the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 3-2 in overtime in the final game, winning the Memorial Cup for the second time in franchise history.
Garret Sparks is an American professional ice hockey goaltender currently signed to play for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL). Sparks was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the seventh round, 190th overall, in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. As of 2021, he is one of only 26 goaltenders in league history, and the third most recent, to record a shutout in his NHL debut; Sparks was also the third Maple Leafs goaltender to do so. In 2018, Sparks was awarded the Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award as the AHL goaltender with the lowest goals against average, which helped lead the Toronto Marlies to their first Calder Cup.
Michael DiPietro is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Canucks in the third round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, and played 3 games with them between 2019 and 2022, mainly playing with their minor league affiliates.
