The Saginaw Spirit will be kicking off the Memorial Cup this Friday against the Moose Jaw Warriors, hoping to win as the host team.
The last hosting team to win the Memorial Cup from the OHL was the Windsor Spitfires in 2017. The Saginaw Spirit could be the next, and it all starts on Friday night against the Moose Jaw Warriors.
Though Saginaw lost in six games to the London Knights in the Western Conference Finals, they should not be undermined in this tournament. The Spirit are as deep as any other team at the Memorial Cup, and on paper they are better than most.
Josh Bloom, Hunter Haight, Michael Misa, Matyas Sapovaliv, Calem Mangone, Owen Beck — the list keeps going on in their forward depth chart. The Spirit get offence from up-and-down their lineup, and they seem to get just as much from their blue line.
Top NHL Draft eligible prospect Zayne Parekh was named the OHL Defenceman of the Year, and has been dictating and creating a lot of Saginaw's offence from the blue line. He has been dominating offensively all season long, with 96 points in 66 regular season games.
Parekh was banged up quite a bit through the OHL Playoffs. If he is fully healthy, he could be even more impactful than he was through three playoff rounds for the Spirit.
Leading their team in points is defender Rodwin Dionicio, who just signed his three year entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks. Dionicio is very similar to Parekh with his creative-tendencies offensively, and he put up 17 points in 17 playoff games from the blue line.
Dionicio should have some added motivation in the Memorial Cup since signing his recent contract, and should be a noted threat for the Spirit.
Who starts in net for the Saginaw Spirit is still a question mark, but there are a lot of signs pointing toward Nolan Lalonde getting the job. The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect played in twelve playoff games for the Spirit while Andrew Oke was dealing with some injury issues.
Lalonde had a 2.79 goals against average and a .893% save percentage in the postseason for the Spirit, and at the end of the day, the starting role was his when the playoffs concluded.
Despite losing in six games, Lalonde was very good in the final series against the London Knights. He only let in more than three goals one time in that series.
The Saginaw Spirit will begin their Memorial Cup journey as they take on the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday, where they will look to start with a win on home ice. The Spirit have had that added rest time — though it was only a week or two longer than London's.