The month of December marks the unofficial start to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) trade deadline season. In 2017, it became a month the Windsor Spitfires will never forget as they said goodbye to a captain.
After winning the 2017 Memorial Cup at the WFCU Centre, the Spitfires knew that the 2017-18 season would involve rebuilding the roster. They moved defenceman Logan Stanley to the Kitchener Rangers in August 2017, and it felt inevitable that their captain, forward Aaron Luchuk, wouldn’t be far behind. He had been with the club since day one, and then-general manager Warren Rychel knew what was needed. Let’s take a look back.
Spitfires Trade Luchuk to Colts
There’s never an easy way to make a move like this. Luchuk was the Spitfires’ captain, a dynamic force on the ice, and a class act off of it. However, sometimes a move like this helps everyone involved. On Thurs., Dec. 14, 2017, the club traded Luchuk to the Barrie Colts in a blockbuster. Here’s how it broke down:
To Colts:
- Luchuk
To Spitfires:
- Forward Curtis Douglas
- Sudbury Wolves’ second-round pick in 2021
- Colts’ second-round pick in 2022
- Colts’ third-round pick in 2024
What the Colts Got
The target here for the Colts was the 20-year-old veteran Luchuk. He was the Spitfires’ fourth-round pick in the 2013 OHL Draft and took as progressive a development path as you’re going to see.
After being drafted in 2013, he spent a season with the LaSalle Vipers Jr. B. From there, the Kingston native joined the Spitfires and increased his point totals in every season. He was the epitome of a 200-foot player who could lead on and off the ice. Maybe his biggest moment came at the 2017 Memorial Cup when he scored the championship-winning goal. Unfortunately, his time with the club was numbered soon after.
Luchuk was named captain to start 2017-18 and had an impressive 28 goals and 51 points in 30 games entering December. That’s when the trade happened.
His offence, three-zone game, and leadership were the perfect combination for the Colts, who were hoping to make a run in the Eastern Conference. Luchuk was golden for them, scoring 22 goals and 64 points in 38 games. It wasn’t easy moving on, but he and the Colts did what they could.
Unfortunately, the Colts were eliminated in the second round by former Spitfires forward Gabriel Vilardi and the Kingston Frontenacs. Vilardi was moved to the Frontenacs a month after the Luchuk deal.
Luchuk gave the Colts what they had hoped for and, despite the shorter-than-expected playoff run, it worked out pretty well for them. After leaving the OHL, he played for several minor pro teams in the American Hockey League (AHL) and the ECHL. Since 2023-24, he’s made his home with the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL).
What the Spitfires Got
The Spitfires got several important pieces back, so we’ll take a look at them one by one.
Douglas Produces for Spitfires
Douglas, a 6-foot-9, 235-pound Oakville native, was a hulking centre who could score and protect. In his OHL draft season, he wasn’t a big producer. Instead of doing one thing amazing, he did a lot of things very well, and that’s intriguing for a rebuild, especially with his size. After 18 points in 28 games that season, prior to the trade, he added another 28 points in 38 games for the Spitfires. From there, he went on to score 57 goals and 113 points in 130 games, including 30 goals in 62 games in 2019-20.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 shut the league down, and we didn’t see how far he and the Spitfires could go. It was an incredibly tough way to go out, but he had an entertaining run with the club.
After leaving the Spitfires, he moved on to play for the Steel Wings Linz of the Alps Hockey League. From there, he signed with the Belleville Senators (AHL) before playing for other AHL clubs. This season, he’s been with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Wolves’ Second-Round Pick in 2021
This pick became a bouncing puck of sorts. Rychel traded it to the Saginaw Spirit for the Colts’ third-round pick in 2018, the Spirit’s seventh-round pick in 2018, and the Frontenacs’ sixth-round pick in 2019.
The Colts’ third-round pick in 2018 was then shipped back to the Colts for two picks. First was the Sarnia Sting’s third-round pick in 2018. That became goaltender Xavier Medina, who played 67 games for the Spitfires from 2019-22 and was part of their run to the 2021-22 OHL Championship (lost to the Hamilton Bulldogs in Game 7). He has since moved on with his career. The other pick was the Soo Greyhounds’ fourth-round pick in 2018, which became forward McKay Hayes. He didn’t make the Spitfires, instead playing Junior A hockey for various Toronto-area teams before moving to Robert Morris University (NCAA) in 2023. That’s where he is presently.
The Spirit’s seventh-round pick became defenceman Spencer Evans out of Oyster Bay, NY. He was playing on Long Island, NY. That’s where he stayed until COVID-19 hit. Following that, he went to the North American Hockey League for multiple teams in 2020-21 before joining Brown University from 2021-25.
The Frontenacs’ sixth-round pick was used on forward Max Donohoe. He played for multiple Junior A teams from 2019-24 before heading to Neumann University outside of Philadelphia, where he is this season.
Colts’ Second-Round Pick in 2022
The Colts’ second-round pick in 2022 was quite a simple one. Rychel traded it to the Peterborough Petes on Aug. 30, 2018 for the 2018 OHL Draft third-overall pick forward Will Cuylle. In return for the young offensive star, the Spitfires sent back seven picks (one conditional). The Petes also got two compensatory picks from the OHL as Cuylle was considered a “defected” first-round pick.
It was worth the cost as Cuylle became an elite producer for the Spitfires. While he struggled to improve his stats before COVID-19, he was drafted by the New York Rangers in 2020 and then spent 18 games with the Hartford Wolfpack (AHL) during the stoppage. When he rejoined the OHL, he was a new player.
Related: How Will Cuylle’s Growth Impacts the Rangers’ Future
In 53 games in 2021-22 with the Spitfires, he had 43 goals and 80 points, plus another 31 points in 25 playoff games. He was also named captain that season, doing everything the club could have asked of him. He has since moved on to the pros and become an NHL regular in The Big Apple.
Colts’ Third-Round Pick in 2024
This pick wasn’t as positive as the previous one. It was moved in January 2023 at the trade deadline as part of a big package to get Oshawa Generals’ star forward Brett Harrison (Boston Bruins). Rychel’s successor to the GM spot is Bill Bowler, and this move was on his watch.
Bowler moved multiple picks to get Harrison, who had 131 points in 150 games with the Generals from 2019 until the trade. It seemed like a lot and a bit of a risk.
Harrison wasn’t bad for the Spitfires with 18 goals and 36 points in 30 games. It just didn’t pan out as well as the team had hoped. Despite his regular season success, he had just four points in four playoff games, and the team stumbled hard. They became the first top seed in OHL history to be swept in the first round by an eighth seed (Rangers). It left an ugly taste in everyone’s mouth and is still discussed to this day. Following the playoffs, he moved on to the Bruins’ system, and he remains with their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins.
Verdict: Spitfires by a Whisker
The goal of this trade was pretty simple – the Colts wanted Luchuk for an OHL Championship run while the Spitfires wanted youth and picks for the future.
Luchuk was fantastic for the Colts and did everything they could have asked for. They simply ran into a Frontenacs team that was going for the same thing. If you’re the Colts, you make that trade again every time.
The Spitfires got their youth, and Douglas became a fan favourite. COVID-19 was the only thing that stopped their potential. The picks were okay. Fortunately, some became important pieces, especially with Medina and Cuylle, who was Mr. Everything during their run to the OHL Championship series. We’ll forget about the Harrison trade from here on out, okay?
It’s rare that Rychel, and now Bowler, made trades that aren’t still playing out, whether that’s with distant picks or subsequent trades that involve distant picks. Every piece in this deal has moved on with their career in some capacity.
While neither team won an OHL Championship from the trade, the Spitfires won the Western Conference and took the Bulldogs to Game 7. Cuylle was a huge part of that run. This isn’t a landslide by any stretch, but the Spitfires will take this by a whisker.
