When the Windsor Spitfires drafted forward Pasquale Zito at the 2019 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection, they were anticipating a productive, gritty fan favourite. However, thanks to a June 2022 trade, they got a story that won’t end for several more seasons.
Then-general manager Warren Rychel liked his players to have snarl as well as produce. He was a bit of a feisty guy himself so it came as no surprise to Spitfires’ fans. When he took the young Zito in the second round in 2019, he envisioned a kid who could do it all and be popular in the region. For two seasons it worked but that’s when chaos took over. A trade on June 30, 2022 changed everything and set the wheels of wonder in motion. Let’s take a look.
Zito Traded to IceDogs
Shortly after the Spitfires went to the 2022 OHL Championship against the Hamilton Bulldogs, new GM Bill Bowler had to pull off the tough trade with the Niagara IceDogs. Here’s what it looked like.
To IceDogs:
- forward Pasquale Zito
To Spitfires:
- Oshawa Generals’ second-round pick in 2023
- Generals’ second-round pick in 2024
- IceDogs’ fourth-round pick in 2024
- IceDogs’ sixth-round pick in 2024
- Mississauga Steelheads’ fourth-round pick in 2024 (conditional)
- IceDogs’ fifth-round pick in 2025 (conditional)
What the IceDogs Got
The idea was to give the IceDogs a productive veteran who had just been to the OHL Championship. Zito would give leadership, experience, and much-needed point production to a team that needed it. However, despite 19 points in 23 games, the partnership simply didn’t work out as planned.
The IceDogs traded him to the North Bay Battalion midseason in a large deal. In return, they got forward Michael Podolioukh and five future picks. Out of those, four of them have yet to be used – two seconds (both 2026) along with a third and a fifth in 2025. The one they did use was the Sudbury Wolves’ third-round pick in 2023, where they took forward Hayden Reid. Unfortunately, he had plans to go play in the United States. In 2023-24, he dressed for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the United States Hockey League and he’s committed to the University of Minnesota for 2025-26. Hopefully some of those future picks can pan out or this will become an even more frustrating trade for the IceDogs.
What the Spitfires Got
In return for Zito, Bowler got significant draft picks, almost all of which have already been used. The Generals’ second-round picks in 2023 and 2024 were sent to the Oshawa Generals at the January 2023 Trade Deadline in a package for forward Brett Harrison. He had 36 points in 30 games for the Spitfires and became an instant fan favourite. The IceDogs’ fourth-round pick in 2024 was sent to the Flint Firebirds in a multi-pick deal for the Kitchener Rangers’ third-round pick in 2024. The Spitfires took forward Max Brocklehurst, who just signed with the club in early June. The IceDogs’ sixth-round pick in 2024 was used as part of the package to acquire Team Canada captain Shane Wright from the Kingston Frontenacs shortly after Harrison. He panned out well with 37 points in 20 games but was injured for several games in the second half.
The Steelheads’ fourth-round pick in 2024 and the IceDogs’ fifth-round pick in 2025 were both conditional on Zito playing an overage (20-year-old) season. That happened, strangely with the Spitfires (read below), but somehow the Firebirds ended up with the fourth-round pick. Bowler still owns the IceDogs’ pick, though.
Related: Windsor Spitfires Look for Immediate Help at 2024 OHL Draft
When you get this many picks back, you hope that some of them turn out, whether it’s in the present or down the road. Harrison and Wright worked out in the regular season but the club was upset by the Kitchener Rangers in the opening round, so that became a bust. We’ll have to see how Brocklehurst pans out; he is advertised as a small (5-foot, 8, 152-pound) but feisty and productive forward and the club has high hopes for him.
Zito’s Whirlwind Future
This is normally when we would say the player and teams have moved on and which side came away with the better haul. However, in this case, the Zito story was far from over.
Just three months into the 2022-23 campaign, Zito and the IceDogs mutually agreed that a change of scenery would be best. He finished with 19 points in 23 games for the IceDogs before being traded Battalion for the remainder of the season. With them, he had slightly better results with 27 points in 31 games. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury late in the playoffs that ended his season (they lost later in that round).
Zito decided to returned home to the Ottawa area instead of playing his overage season but the Battalion still had his rights. In early January, just before the 2023-24 Trade Deadline, Bowler came calling to see if there was a chance the youngster would return to the league. The Spitfires sent over a couple of future picks while Zito returned to the WFCU Centre (the teams also exchanged 15th-round picks). It all sounded good, until it wasn’t.
Zito arrived at the WFCU Centre to a huge roar and what seemed like a big opportunity. Unfortunately, that dulled very quickly. Despite six points in five games, it wasn’t enough to keep him in town. Something didn’t feel right and he opted to return home for personal reasons. This time, it was for good.
This was a fascinating story with more twists and turns than anyone expected. However, as long as Brocklehurst and the two later picks keep playing, the full results of the trade won’t be known for seasons to come. It’s the trade that keeps on giving.
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