Spitfires hope to be an option for American prospects Harvey and Bergeron
Caden Harvey looked comfortable pulling on a Windsor Spitfires jersey.
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A fifth-round pick by Windsor in last month's Ontario Hockey League Draft, the Spitfires are hoping that will become a normal routine for the 17-year-old Harvey.
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'We think he can be an immediate impact player on our team,' Spitfires' general manager Bill Bowler said.
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Time will tell if the native of Beaver, Pa. will suit up with the Spitfires, but it was a good sign that the talented forward was in town for the club's two-day orientation camp.
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'It was good to finally get here,' the six-foot-one, 174-pound Harvey said. 'It's a beautiful city, nice to finally get here, excited to learn more about the team, culture, coaches and city.'
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Harvey is a bit of an unusual prospect in that he passed through the OHL Draft is his first year of eligibility a year ago. At the time, Harvey wasn't viewed as a junior hockey prospect because he had a verbal commitment to Penn State University for 2027-28.
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However, when the NCAA opened the door for junior hockey players to play university hockey in the United States in November, Harvey was once again a junior prospect.
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A day before the OHL Draft, Bowler made a deal with Sarnia to acquire Kitchener's fifth-round pick in the draft and used it to take Harvey.
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'We could have waited, but didn't want to wait to get an '08 (born player) that we think can play and a right shot that there's some need for us' Bowler said of next season's lineup. 'We think it's a good pick at that time.'
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It looked even better when Harvey stepped through the doors on Saturday to listen to what the Spitfires had to offer and take part on and off the ice.
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'I'm just kind of trying to get as much information as I can, seeing which way to lean and trying to pick up everything I can,' said Harvey, who had 47 goals and 95 points in 48 games last season for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 16U team. 'Just see what the team's all about and what team fits me best and which team's going to get me to the next level.'
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The Spitfires had 14-of-15 picks in from this year's OHL Draft along with both selections from OHL U18 Draft in attendance.
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The only missing piece was sixth-round pick Braden Horton, who has already made a two-year commitment to the U.S. National Team Development Program.
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However, third-round pick Ty Bergeron was also on hand. A native of Flat Rock, Mich., Bergeron has signed a tender to play in the United States Hockey League for Muskegon next season.
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Like Harvey, who spent part of the playoffs in the USHL with Waterloo, Bergeron was also looking for more information, but it marked his second visit to the WFCU Centre after catching Game 7 of Windsor's conference semifinal against Kitchener.
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