Will Tough Decisions Now Benefit Saginaw Down The Road?

The OHL trade deadline is a weeklong stretch of pure chaos with teams swapping players and picks in rapid success. In the usual course of events, the haves buy players from the have-nots while giving up draft picks and prospects. Those picks are often used at subsequent deadlines to acquire more players in a cycle that repeats itself year after year.

While many of the trades made during this year's deadline matched the general trend of years past, the Saginaw Spirit executed a pair of trades with Kingston that broke the mold in interesting ways.

In the end, Saginaw gave up a trio of 19-year-olds in Joey Willis, Ethan Hay and Will Bishop in exchange for 2007-born defender Xander Velliaris, 2007-born forward Ethan Weir and 16 draft picks.

The fascinating thing about these trades is they fit the mold of a bottom team trading away 19-year-olds in exchange for picks and younger players. However, Saginaw isn't a bottom team.

They sit fourth in the Western Conference trailing only London, Windsor and Kitchener who lead the league in points.

On top of this, the core of their team is still young. Calgary Flames' prospect Zayne Parekh and Christian Epperson are 2006-born players while star forward Michael Misa is a 2007-born player. If all three return next year, which feels like a likely outcome, this team will remain strong.

So why the trade?

"The goal was to restock our draft pick grid after going for it last year and winning the Memorial Cup," said Saginaw GM Dave Drinkill. "We were able to do that in that trade and bring in a couple of young players we really think have potential."

The price to restock was a hefty one and involved giving away players who had spent their last few years with the team. It was, therefore, not an easy decision.

"It's never an easy time to make those deals but it was best for the organization and their careers," said Drinkill. "We're extremely happy to restock the draft grid and bring in two players we want to develop."

After the trade Saginaw is a much younger team with a window to win that comes in the next year or two. In essence, they traded away the chance to win a round or two this year for the chance to go all the way in a year or two.

Related: Kingston Frontenacs Acquire World Junior Gold Medalist & Memorial Cup Winner Joey Willis From Saginaw In Gigantic OHL Trade

The aforementioned core will be in their prime for the next few years. There are also some strong rookies who will have gained experience by that time.

Rookie forward Carson Harmer is second in rookie scoring with 29 points while fellow first-year Jacob Cloutier is tied for third with 28 points. For Drinkill it was especially impressive to see how these two in particular stepped up when Joey Willis was playing at the World Junior Championship.

"We really like our young guys and their development," said Drinkill. "The way those guys have developed we think they can take on a bigger role and we can give them more opportunity so that when I'm trading draft picks to bring in 19-year-old players those guys are more seasoned."

Velliaris, the new defenseman, will help with this scheme. Kingston selected him with their third-round pick in the 2023 OHL Priority Selection. At 6-foot-3 he's a big defender who has two assists after just three games with Saginaw. He also showed off at the OHL Top Prospects game on Wednesday scoring a goal and an assist.

Drinkill and his staff believe Weir is a skilled forward who will fit nicely into their system. They want to get him more confidence and get him back to the way he was playing in minor hockey.

At the end of the day, this trade deadline was a gamble. The Spirit gave up some strength this year in exchange for future potential. While they are almost assured to make the playoffs it remains to be seen whether they can win a few rounds.

"I think we have a great team," said Drinkill. "We like our depth and we like our young guys... We just have to win games and try to get home ice advantage."

If things come together in the next few years Saginaw could be looking at the opportunity to win another Memorial Cup. Only time will tell whether the gamble will pay off.

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