Yahoo Sports OHL training camp roster breakdown: Saginaw Spirit
OHL training camps are underway, and we are finally getting our first looks at what team rosters could look like for the upcoming season. The reigning Memorial Cup champions, the Saginaw Spirit, will enter the 2024-25 season with a very different roster based on their training camp roster.
Veteran forwards Owen Beck, Josh Bloom, Hunter Haight and Matyas Sapovaliv seem to be moving on to greener pastures. These players were all top-10 scorers on the team last season. Mid-season acquisition Jorian Donovian is also not on the training camp roster.
Younger players will need to come in to fill the scoring void left by the departure of some of the team's best forwards. However, before we talk about them we will start by looking at the overage players on the training camp roster.
Overage Player
The three overage players on the roster are goaltender Andrew Oke, defender P.J. Forgione and forward Calem Mangone.
Oke, the American-born goaltender, played in 41 games last season and registered a 2.89 goals against average and a .890 save percentage. He won 29 games and performed admirably between the pipes for Saginaw. The netminder will reprise his role as the lead goaltender for the team. This will be Oke's fourth year in the league.
In 163 OHL games, Forgione has scored 18 goals and added 35 assists for a total of 53 points. This will be Forgione's fourth year in the league playing for the Spirit. Forgione's experience will be a big reason why he will have an important role to play next season.
Calem Mangone was fourth in scoring on last year's Memorial Cup-winning roster. In 62 games played, Mangone scored 22 goals and added 41 assists for 63 total points. While Michael Misa and Calgary Flames draft pick Zayne Parekh will likely lead the team in scoring again this year, Mangone will add great scoring depth.
Import Players
At the beginning of August, Saginaw signed San Jose Shark's prospect Igor Chernyshov. The Spirit selected Chernyshov 56th overall in the first round of the 2024 CHL Import Draft. The dynamic Russian forward played 22 games for Dynamo Moskca in the MHL. During that time he scored 28 points. He also played 34 games in the KHL for Dynamo Moskva.
The 18-year-old Chernyshov will likely make an immediate impact in the scoring department for Saginaw.
Lucas Pettersson was Saginaw's second-round pick in the 2024 CHL Import Draft. He is not currently attending Saginaw's camp.
Draft-Eligible Players
Saginaw had a loaded team last year which resulted in their Memorial Cup victory over the London Knights. As such, they did not have many 2007-born players on the roster. The most notable 2025 Draft-eligible player at the Spirit's camp is Michael Misa.
Misa was of course given exceptional status and allowed to enter the OHL during the 2022-23 season. As such, this season will be his third year in the league. Since day one of playing for Saginaw, Misa has been an electric talent. During his rookie season, he scored 56 points in 45 games. Last year, he impressed further by scoring 75 points in 67 games.
Misa is an electric talent with enormous potential. Offensively he has an elite shot and strong offensive instincts. He will be greatly sought after at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
2024 Draft Class
Saginaw signed first-round pick Dimian Zhilkin to an OHL Scholarship and Development Contrat shortly after the OHL Priority Selection.
The 2008-born Zhilkin is very small for an OHL forward. At 5-foot-8 he will need to prove in training camp that he can handle the physicality of the OHL. Otherwise, he is a shifty forward we scored 22 points in 34 games with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens last season. He also played four games for the Toronto Patriots in the OJHL and had two assists.
The rest of Saginaw's 2024 draft class includes:
1. Dimian Zhilkin - RW - Toronto Jr Canadiens
3. Brady Knowling - G - North York Rangers
4. Nolan Battler - RD - Guelph Gryphons
6. Blake Barnes - RD - Lambton Jr. Sting
6. Brody Najim - C - Lambton Jr. Sting
6. Tyler Martyniuk - LD - Detroit HoneyBaked
7. Liam Campbell - LW - Quinte Red Devils
8. Nash Jacobs - LW - Chatham-Kent Cyclones
10. Trevor Theuer - C - Detroit HoneyBaked
12. Tyson Ackerman - RD - Elgin-Middlesex Canucks
13. Kaden Sienko - RD - South Kent Selects Academy
15. Edan Ethridge - C - Timmins Majors
Knowling, Martyniuk and Theuer do not appear on the training camp roster. U-18 draft picks Zander Kechego and Ian Lachance will both be in attendance at camp.
With the number of former players who are graduating or moving on to AHL rosters, there will be a lot of opportunities for 2007-born players who could not make the roster last season. Chief amongst those players is Jaob Cloutier, who was Saginaw's second-round pick in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection. Cloutier played four games for Saginaw last season before being reassigned to Chatham in the GOJHL. He scored 31 points in 29 regular season games for Chatham during the year.
Saginaw is likely to be a very different team next season. It remains to be seen whether they will be able to maintain their level of success.
Related: OHL Training Camp Roster Breakdown: Kitchener Rangers
