OHL Spirit has 11 in NHL Camps

Saginaw, Michigan (Courtesy Saginaw Spirit) – The Saginaw Spirit will be missing 11 members of their team for the foreseeable future as center Brady Gilmour, defenseman Reilly Webb, goaltender Ivan Prosvetov, left wing Blade Jenkins, defenseman Bode Wilde, center Damien Giroux, team captain Keaton Middleton, defenseman Caleb Everett, left wing Albert Michnac, right wing Cole Coskey, and center Max Grondin will all take part in various NHL camps across North America in the coming weeks.

Two 19-year-olds Brady Gilmour and Reilly Webb will head two hours northwest to Traverse City representing the Detroit Red Wings at the 2018 NHL Prospect Tournament Sept. 7 – 11 at Centre Ice Arena. The NHL teams also taking part in the tournament are the Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars, and St. Louis Blues.

Gilmour was selected by Detroit in the seventh round of the 2017 NHL Draft. After an elbow injury in January that sidelined him from nearly four months, Gilmour is back on the ice and feeling one hundred percent. Gilmour already has two goals and one assist in three preseason games.

Webb is playing in his first full season with the Spirit after being acquired in January from the Ham-

Captain Keaton Middleton will be one of 11 Saginaw Spirit players in NHL camps when he attends the Vegas Rookie Faceoff as a hopeful for the San Jose Sharks.

ilton Bulldogs. The 6-foot-4, 200 pound rearguard was drafted by Detroit in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL Draft.

Damien Giroux will also be heading to Traverse City to take part in the 2018 NHL Prospect Tournament with the Minnesota Wild. Giroux, 18, enters his third year with the Spirit after notching career-highs in Goals, Assists, and Points during the 2017-18 season. The Wild took Giroux in the fifth round of the 2018 NHL Draft.

Max Grondin will be in Traverse City this weekend for the NHL Prospect Tournament, playing for the Carolina Hurricanes. The 6-foot-4, 200 pound forward leads all returners with 70 penalty minutes last season. Grondin also posted career-highs in Goals, Assists, and Points in his second full season in the OHL.

Caleb Everett was granted an invitation to take part in the 2018 NHL Prospect Tournament in Traverse City with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 18-year old from Pleasant Lake, Michigan put up 20 points in his first OHL season, ranking him fifth among all rookie defenseman in the OHL. He was ranked the #84 best prospect heading in to the 2018 NHL Draft by NHL Central Scouting. Everett did not participate in Spirit Training Camp due to injury and it is expected he will miss the Tournament in Traverse City.

Goaltender Ivan Prosvetov and Albert Michnac are off to Las Vegas to compete in the first ever Vegas Rookie Faceoff at City National Arena, official practice facility of the Vegas Golden Knights, from Sept. 8 -11 to skate with the Arizona Coyotes.

Prosvetov, 19, was taken by the Spirit in the first round of the 2018 CHL Import Draft. He backstopped the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL to the Clark Cup Final last season posting a .921 save percentage in the playoffs. The 6-foot-4, 180 pound Moskva, Russia native was selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft.

Michnac, 19, was acquired by the Spirit from the Mississauga Steelheads to add some veteran scoring punch to the lineup. The Praha, Czech Republic native scored 60 points in 59 games last season, with 14 of those points coming on the power play. Michnac has been invited to partake in the Vegas Rookie Faceoff by the Arizona Coyotes.

Spirit captain Keaton Middleton prepares for his fifth and final OHL season with an invitation to participate in the Vegas Rookie Faceoff from the San Jose Sharks.

Middleton attended Sharks prospect camp after the 2016 Toronto Maple Leafs pick was not signed by the club. Middleton’s older brother Jacob is also a Sharks prospect and has played the last three seasons for their AHL affiliate, San Jose Barracuda. The 6-foot-6, 235 pound mammoth on defense is 16 games away from passing Patrick Asselin for most games played in a Spirit uniform.

Michigan natives Bode Wilde and Blade Jenkins will take their skills to Long Island, and participate in New York Islanders camp, which includes a rookie game versus the Philadelphia Flyers on Wed. Sept. 12 at the Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow, New York.

Wilde, 18, is playing in his first OHL season after the Spirit selected him in the second round of the 2016 OHL Priority Selection. Wilde finished with 41 points in tournament play for the United States National Under-18 Team. Despite the fact that Wilde was ranked the 17th best prospect heading into the Draft, the Islanders selected him in the second round, 41st overall.

Jenkins, 18, had a standout rookie season in the OHL, putting up 20 goals and 24 assists in 68 games. His 44 points tied him for fourth in league scoring among rookie forwards. The former Spirit first round pick looks to continue that success this season, coming off his fifth round selection by the Islanders in the 2018 NHL Draft.

Coskey, 19, is embarking on his fourth season with the Saginaw Spirit in 2018-19. The Zion, Illinois native continued to post new career-highs in Goals, Assists, and Points, getting to the 50-point plateau for the first time in his OHL career.

After a camp invitation to Toronto last season, Coskey has been granted an invitation to the 2018 Prospects Challenge Sept. 7 – 10 at the Harborcenter in Buffalo, New York representing the Buffalo Sabres. Also participating in the tournament are the Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Spirit continue their pre-season schedule on Friday Sept. 14th and Saturday, Sept. 15 hosting the Flint Firebirds at The Dow Event Center on the 15th. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. $7 General Admission tickets are on sale now.

The 2017-18 home opener is set for Wed. Sept. 19, hosting the Soo Greyhounds at The Dow Event Center. For tickets and more information, call (989) 497-7747 or visit www.saginawspirit.com

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