With the 2025-26 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) season approaching, Windsor Spitfires’ general manager Bill Bowler continues to shape his roster. He made multiple moves on Tuesday, followed by a fourth on Wednesday.
Coming into this season, Bowler had some work to do. The club lost multiple veterans to graduation, and replacing all of those parts isn’t easy. As training camp wound down and the preseason got going last weekend, he started to slowly make moves to shape his roster. They finished first in the West Division last season, second in the Western Conference, and had hopes of repeating that this season. This week, he continued to not only reduce his preseason roster but also added a face that he hopes will flourish under the right conditions.
Spitfires Re-Assign Four Rookies
Coming into training camp, there weren’t many spots open for rookies or free agents to make their mark. We knew that 2025 first-round OHL Draft pick forward Johnny McLaughlin would make the club, but beyond that, there were no guarantees. On Tuesday, following a pair of preseason games on the road, a few re-assignments were made.
According to the Windsor Star, Bowler reassigned three players to the Spitfires’ Junior B affiliate, the LaSalle Vipers. Those include forward Ian Inskip, defenceman Grady Spicer, and goaltender Jake Windbiel (from ‘Spitfires trim roster as regular season approaches,’ Windsor Star – 9/9/25).
Inskip was the Spitfires’ second-round pick in the 2025 OHL Draft, out of Reps Hockey. Last season, the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder had 17 goals and 28 points in 33 games and showed a flair for offence during training camp. However, it may have been a numbers game as he would have seen fourth-line time with the Spitfires whereas he’ll see plenty of ice with the Vipers.
The same goes for Spicer, their 2024 fourth-round pick. The 6-foot-3, 181-pounder had a good camp, showing plenty of physicality. However, he wasn’t in their top-seven defencemen, and the club felt that more seasoning and ice time with the Vipers was the best route.
Related: Windsor Spitfires Sign 2025 OHL Second-Round Pick Inskip
Finally, Windbiel was the club’s seventh-round pick in 2024. While he’s a highly-touted prospect, the Spitfires have a logjam in goal with veteran starter Joey Costanzo, 20, sophomore Carter Froggett, 19, and 2024 under-18 first-overall pick Michael Newlove, 18. Something had to give, and Windbiel will get a lot of minutes with the Vipers.
Bowler also returned 2025 Canadian Hockey League third-round Import pick, Swiss forward Loan Burkhalter, to his club HC La Chaux-de-Fonds U21. The 16-year-old showed well at times in camp, but would have struggled for ice time and should get the proper development at home.
Bowler Acquires Dubowsky From Colts
The Spitfires weren’t done there, though. On Wednesday morning, they announced that they had made a deal with the Barrie Colts. Bowler acquired 18-year-old forward Cole Dubowsky in return for the Brampton Steelheads’ 11th-round pick in 2026.
We have completed a trade with Windsor for an 11th round pick in 2026.
— Barrie Colts (@OHLBarrieColts) September 10, 2025
🗞️ https://t.co/41oLknOie5 pic.twitter.com/1aSx8tNC8A
The 6-foot, 184-pounder was the Colts’ seventh-round pick in the 2023 OHL Draft out of the Sudbury Nickel Capitals’ U16 AAA program. Over the last two seasons, he’s played 27 games for the Colts recording an assist and 35 penalty minutes (PIM). However, in 2023-24, he had 39 points and 93 PIM in 36 games for the Stayner Siskins of the Provincial Junior C Hockey League.
This becomes a strange deal for Bowler. While Dubowsky comes at a low cost, he plays a similar style to forwards Shawn Costello, 18, and Nathan Gaymes, 19, who are both known for their toughness. Is this a move to provide even more physicality to the Spitfires’ lineup, knowing their offence could use that protection? Could this be a move that allows the team to make other moves that upgrade the roster? It’s a guessing game right now.
The Spitfires have a pair of “home” games this weekend. On Saturday night, they head to the Atlas Tube Center in Lakeshore, home of their Jr. C affiliate Canadiens, to face the Kitchener Rangers. On Sunday afternoon, they take on the Flint Firebirds at the Vollmer Complex in LaSalle, home of the Vipers. They also have several veterans away at NHL camps, including captain Liam Greentree (Los Angeles Kings), so this is a perfect chance for the newcomers to show they deserve a roster spot. We’ll likely see Dubowsky in action for the first time, too.
With the regular season starting on Fri., Sept. 19, Bowler and his staff have plenty of decisions to make. It’s likely to be a busy stretch for the organization.
