The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) is in their annual Christmas break as teams celebrate the holiday season with their friends and family. As the Windsor Spitfires get ready for a visit from Santa, there are five things on our wish list for them that would be nice for the second half.
Coming into the 2025-26 campaign, the Spitfires were looking to build off of a productive 2024-25 season that saw them earn the top spot in the West Division, the second seed in the Western Conference, and get to the second round of the playoffs (losing in Game 7 to the Kitchener Rangers). So far, they’ve been competitive as they battle the Soo Greyhounds and Flint Firebirds for that top divisional spot. However, there’s a long way to go. From seedings to personal milestones and team-oriented hopes, let’s take a look at five things that they might like from Santa… plus a few things they’ve asked for themselves.
Greentree and Spellacy World Junior Medals
While most of the Spitfires are resting at home and spending time with their loved ones, captain Liam Greentree (Los Angeles Kings) and forward A.J. Spellacy (Chicago Blackhawks) are with Team Canada and Team USA, respectively, for the 2026 World Junior Hockey Championship in Minnesota.
The 19-year-old Greentree has 32 points in 23 games this season after being returned from the Kings’ camp. While he’s not on pace to reach his career-high of 119 points (64 games) last season, the Oshawa native brings a strong 200-foot game and is expected to have a big second half. Wearing the red-and-white is a huge accomplishment and, with a strong Canadian team, medaling is very possible.
Spellacy started slowly but has points in 10 of his last 12 games and shown a consistency around the goal that the Spitfires have been craving. The 6-foot-3, 204-pound Westlake, OH native is built for speed, physical play, and is one of the better penalty killers on the Spitfires. He’s going to bring an element to the American team that you just can’t teach.
The hope here is that Santa brings them medals, regardless of the colour.
Costanzo Reaches 100 Wins with Spitfires
In their final regular season game before Christmas, the Spitfires’ win over the Soo Greyhounds wasn’t just another win. It marked a massive milestone – goaltender Joey Costanzo set the club’s all-time record for wins with 87. He surpassed long-time star goaltender Michael DiPietro, which speaks volumes about Costanzo’s talents.
With that record under his belt, the question is – how far can Costanzo go? The club has 34 games left in the regular season. With 17 of their 22 wins so far this season, can the veteran goaltender get 13 more for an incredible 100 wins? How far can he go?
After the record-breaking game, Costanzo said this was a team stat and he owed his totals to everyone in the room, staff included. That shouldn’t take away from his stats this season, though. His 1.98 goals-against average and .918 save percentage are career highs for him and are second and fifth in the league, respectively.
No matter how far Costanzo gets with his wins, he’s been an integral part of the club for much of his career. Let’s hope Santa gives him what he deserves.
Import Michal Svrcek Joining From Sweden
Every season, OHL teams are allowed to have Import players on their roster. That’s any player whose parents or guardians reside primarily outside of Canada or the United States.
Last season, when clubs were allowed two, the Spitfires had Belarusian forward Ilya Protas (Washington Capitals) and Czech defenceman Josef Eichler. This past May, the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) allowed a third player per roster. However, both Protas and Eichler moved on with their careers, leaving general manager Bill Bowler to have three selections in July’s CHL Import Draft.
Related: Spitfires Make History, Take Trio at 2025 CHL Import Draft
Out of his three picks, the only one who is on the Spitfires is second-round pick, 17-year-old forward Beksultan Makysh. The Kazakhstan native played for the Boston Hockey Academy last season and has an offensive flair with 20 points in 34 games.
His third-round pick was 17-year-old Swiss forward Loan Burkhalter, who came to camp but went back home before the regular season. What about the first-round pick?
That’s Slovak forward Michal Svrcek, the Detroit Red Wings’ fourth-round pick this past June. The Zilina, Slovakia native has been playing mostly in the Brynas system out of Galve, Sweden. He’s split his time among three teams so far – Brynas IF (top tier), Brynas IF U20, and Vasteras IK (second tier). He has 14 points in nine games for the U20 team but no points in 20 games for the other two.
Michal Svrcek goes 119th overall to the Detroit Red Wings! pic.twitter.com/rXiuHuaX2b
— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) June 28, 2025
Getting Svrcek to the OHL would be a huge addition without giving anything up. He’s an aggressive water-bug type who never stops skating and creates havoc. It seems like an almost ideal fit for the Spitfires.
It’s hard to say what the communication has been like between Bowler and the Red Wings. However, bringing the youngster to the OHL after the World Juniors (where he’s playing for Slovakia) might be ideal for his development while giving the Spitfires a free piece for their playoff run.
A Healthy Lineup Through Playoffs
One thing the Spitfires really need in the second half, and into the playoffs, is a healthy lineup. Last season, they didn’t have that, and it was one of the reasons the Rangers eliminated them. At times, as many as eight regulars were out of the lineup.
Last season, Spitfires’ head coach Greg Walters introduced the “next man up” philosophy. Everyone learned to play with everyone else, so if something happened and a player was injured, sick, or suspended, someone else could step right in and contribute. It didn’t matter if that was a veteran like Greentree or Spellacy or then-rookies like Ethan Garden and J.C. Lemieux.
While it was difficult at times, it helped the younger players in their development this season. They got off to quick starts, having already been a part of high-caliber hockey. When players are out of the lineup, such as Spellacy and Greentree for the World Juniors, the others can step right in and fill those roles with relative ease.
Despite the silver linings involved, the Spitfires hope that they don’t need that “next man up” philosophy too much in the second half. They would love a second half and playoffs where injuries, illnesses, and suspensions are kept to a minimum. For their fourth gift on Santa’s list – a healthy roster for the second half and playoffs. We know the number of scratches won’t be zero, but the lower the better so a repeat of last season doesn’t happen.
Spitfires Earn Top Seed in Division and Conference
Last season, the Spitfires went from the bottom of the Western Conference to earning the second seed. It was a dramatic 52-point improvement, best in team history. It wasn’t quite enough to beat the London Knights, who had a dynamic season of their own and captured the top seed on route to winning the 2025 Memorial Cup.
This season is a different story. The Spitfires started off with seven straight wins. While they’ve come back to reality a bit, they’re still fighting Nathan Aspinall (who leads the OHL in scoring) and the Flint Firebirds, along with the Soo Greyhounds for the divisional top seed. They’re four points behind the Firebirds, with a game in hand, plus four points ahead of the Greyhounds (equal games). The Rangers and Knights are also right there in the conference, making life hectic.
If the Spitfires want that top seed, they need to find a way to beat the Firebirds in their head-to-head matchups. In their lone game so far, the Spitfires came away with a 5-2 win at home, but that may be the exception, not the rule. They have five more meetings, so it’s going to be an epic battle for that top spot.
The Spitfires have won the division three of the last four seasons. Getting that fourth title, along with a conference top seed, would be a fantastic gift from Santa. It won’t be an easy ask, but sometimes a little magic goes a long way.
What the Spitfires Want
On top of our wish list for Santa, we thought it would be a fun idea to see what the Spitfires themselves want for Christmas. Last year, Cole Davis, then 18, asked for “new clothes… maybe a pair of kicks.” Noah Morneau, 20, said he didn’t have a list but “if you think I like it, then you get me that.” Walters said he just wanted the boys to have a safe and happy holidays.
This season, after their last game against the Greyhounds, we asked Walters again, along with defenceman Anthony Cristoforo, 19, and Costanzo, 20. Here’s what they’re asking Santa for.
Walters – “Just for everyone to be safe and have a great time with their family, honestly.”
Cristoforo – “Just for us to keep winning games. I could give you the cliche of your health and that stuff. (It’s) us to win games and go far. We all believe we can win it all so I guess that’s my number one.”
Costanzo – “I hope Santa comes in June, too. You know what we want in May and June. I won’t say it. I’ll reiterate what coach said – everybody have a safe and blessed Christmas.”
The holiday season goes by quick so enjoy the time with your loved ones and soak it in as best you can. The second half is right around the corner. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!
