The Windsor Spitfires traded for elite goaltender Brandon Maxwell last week. It was a trade for the future and for the present. He was supposed to solidify and add depth to the goaltending position as the Spits eye their first OHL championship since 1988. According to a newspaper report Maxwell is not coming to Windsor this season.
Maxwell was the 2nd goalie taken in the 2007 OHL Draft by Erie. He told the Otters he would not report and committed to play for the US development program. He is currently with the Under-18 team. The Spits needed USA Hockey to grant Maxwell his release from the program in order to bring him into the fold. The highly-touted goalie apparently wants to come to the Rose City but according to the newspaper report USA Hockey is forcing him to honour his commitment.
It's an unfortunate turn of events for Windsor this season. Spits starter Andrew Engelage has done his part in silencing his critics but will the team feel comfortable heading into the playoffs with backup Steve Gleeson. Don't get me wrong. He's a great kid and goalie. The Spits are high on him but what if Engy gets hurt?
The Spits knew what they were getting when they traded for Maxwell. Management knows what Gleeson can do but so far not at the OHL level. They're pretty much a third of the way through the season and he’s only gotten 2 starts and a handful of minutes in a third game.
Some might argue that Kitchener went to the Memorial Cup last season with rookie John Unice in their lineup. True enough but he was 18 years old and saw action in 42 regular season games.
As a rookie with Peterborough in 2006 current London Knights goaltender Trevor Cann went 16-2 with 2 shootout losses during the regular season. With just over 4 minutes of ice time in the Memorial Cup the Petes didn’t have to rely on Cann. They lucked out. Will the Spits?
