Windsor Spitfires talented up front, but are building on the blueline: OHL Burning Questions

Working down from the top of last season's standings, it is time for OHL Burning Questions. For your consideration, the Windsor Spitifires.

Last season went like — Once GM Warren Rychel made the big Kerby Rychel/Nick Ebert trade with Guelph, and once star defenceman Slater Koekkoek needed a second shoulder operation, the air went out of the Spitfires' balloon.

2013-14, by the numbers — 37-28-3-0, .566 point pct., 246 GF/231 GA. Fifth, Western Conference. Lost 4-0 to London in first round.

Drafted — C Josh Ho-Sang (New York Islanders, first round), LW Markus Soberg (Columbus Blue Jackets, sixth), LW Cristiano DiGiacinto (Tampa Bay Lightning, sixth), D Patrick Sanvido (Dallas Stars, seventh).

2015 NHL Draft watch — How about 2016, when incoming LWs Logan Brown (6-5, 215) and Luke Kirwan (6-2, 213) will be up for grabs?.For this draft, one should not sleep on D Andrew Burns, who came up toward the end of last season.

1. How much can Ho-Sang, et al., cover up for a defence corps that is being rebuilt on the fly?

The Spits might have win some shootouts. The good news on that front is that 85-point scorer Ho-Sang will have more help around him, with 18-year-old DiGiacinto and 19-year-old Soberg drawing in on his wings.

At the younger end of the lineup, Brown and Kirwan come in with reputations that precede them, although as youngsters each could stand to have a centre dishing them the puck. Twenty-year-old centre Brady Vail is at the Toronto Maple Leafs main camp at this writing; after Ho-Sang, the next highest-scoring returning centre is Ryan Foss (32 points as a rookie).

2. How much of a question mark is the defence?

It stacks up as a green group, with undersized Trevor Murphy being the lone 19-year-old returnee. The 18-year-old Sanvido and 16-year-old first-rounder Logan Stanley were each drafted this spring — one in the last round of the big-league draft, the latter No. 12 overall in the priority selection — by virtue of their size and upside as potential shutdown defencemen. Each will need a lot of on-the-job training to reach that point.

Rychel and coach Bob Boughner might have a choice about whether to ride with the kiddie corps or deal for experience. Overage Slater Doggett is listed as D-man, although he was a utility forward for the last two seasons in Kingston.

3. Has Alex Fotinos finally turned off the revolving door in goal?

The 19-year-old, at long last, showed why he was originally a second-round selection by becoming Windsor's starter last winter. As sourly as the season ended — Fotinos was ill and unable to start on the night backup Dalen Kuchmey had an all-time chute-pull vs. London — at least there is finally some continiuty. Fotinos' 3.59/.896 stat line probably didn't do justice to how he often he bailed out a team that became thin defensively after Koekkoek let to go under the knife.

Fotinos will likely be busy. The 6-foot Toronto native is in line to be the first non-import netminder to lead the Spits in minutes played two years in a row since Andrew Engelage in 2007-08 and '08-09.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.