Blessed with solid forwards, a deep group of defenders, and strong special teams, the Saginaw Spirit have to be included as a Memorial Cup contender.
Memorial Cup Contender Series
This is the second article in our series taking an early look at the contenders for the 2024 Memorial Cup. It's an ideal way for you, our readers, to take a sneak peek into potential opponents for the QMJHL's representative to the Memorial Cup.
In our first piece, we examined the London Knights, the top team in the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL.) Today, the focus of this article is the OHL's Saginaw Spirit, hosts of this year's Memorial Cup tournament.
Saginaw Spirit (34-13-0-1): 2nd in Western Conference / 1st in West Division
After a surprisingly slow start to the season that saw the Memorial Cup hosts near the bottom of the standings for the first portion of the season, the Saginaw Spirit have come on strong of late, as expected, and currently sit second in the Western conference race. A 9-1-0 record in their last 10 games has helped the Michigan-based club keep pace with the league leading London Knights.
Strengths
After being granted CHL exceptional player status and early entrance into the OHL at age 15, Michael Misa has not disappointed and appears poised to lead this group on a deep run. A strong, yet injury-plagued rookie season saw the Oakville, Ontario native post 56 points (22 goals, 34 assists) in only 45 games played. The uber-talented playmaking left winger is already a point shy from eclipsing those totals this season.
The recent trade deadline saw the acquisition of Montreal Canadiens second round pick in 2022 (33rd overall) Owen Beck. The Peterborough native brings championship experience as a late add, and key shutdown forward, for the 2023 Team Canada World Junior Gold medal squad and a 16-point (8 goals, 8 assists) playoff performance for the 2022-2023 OHL Champion Peterborough Petes. As a leader in the CHL in faceoff percentage, and one of the strongest defensive forwards in the OHL, Beck will be a key addition to the Spirits championship aspirations.
Import center Matyas Sapovaliv has also established himself as a core piece in this lineup and continues to improve his output year after year. Now in his third season, the Vegas Golden Knights second round pick in 2022 (48th overall) has posted 15 goals and 30 points in 45 games this season. Along with a rare third appearance at the World Juniors with Czechia, the Kladno native gives the Spirit reliable second scoring along with plenty of high-pressure experience.
Special teams are also a real strength for fifth year head coach Chris Lazary. The Spirit rank top three in both power play (27.6%) and penalty killing (83.2%) efficiency.
Lastly, Saginaw boasts one of the deepest and offensive bluelines in the entire OHL. Led by recent deadline acquisition Jorian Donovan and Rodwin Dionicio, the pair of fifth round NHL draft picks bring plenty of experience to the club while 17-year-old draft eligible player Zayne Parekh leads the team in points with 69 (23 goals, 46 assists). The offensive defenseman is turning all sorts of heads as he rockets up the draft board. The veteran acquisitions on the blueline should allow for much needed insulation for the young Nobleton, Ontario native during the stretch run and playoffs.
Weaknesses
One does not need to look far here to see that the veteran goaltending duo of Andrew Oke and Nolan LaLonde have struggled at times throughout the season. Both are putting up their own respective personal career bests in save percentage and goals against averages but a combined total of 3.03 GAA and .883 SV% is just not good enough to compete with the likes of the Knights' Michael Simpson, Greyhounds' Charlie Schenkel, and Rangers' Jackson Parsons. Having all of those goalies in the same conference, while also deploying a tandem is less than ideal for a long playoff run.
Outlook
If one of the 19-year-old goaltenders can solidify the number one position, then I do believe the Spirit will have a legitimate chance at knocking off two of the top four seeds in the West to advance to the OHL Finals. If the standings remain as they are, it will be a long, grueling road. As the Spirit could face every team they currently rank in the top four with league wide, on route to a championship. A stacked Western conference is not ideal for league title aspirations, but it could prove to be a great tune-up for the Memorial Cup tournament. Of course the Saginaw Spirit are guaranteed an appearance regardless of the OHL playoff result.
Be sure to bookmark THN.com/QMJHL for year-round coverage of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on The Hockey News-QMJHL. Also follow us on Twitter @HockeyNewsQMJHL.
