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Goalie Michael Newlove wasn’t exactly sure what to expect.
After helping Team Blue to an 8-6 win over Team White at Saturday’s Windsor Spitfires’ intra-squad game at the WFCU Centre, Newlove was told to go see general manager Bill Bowler.
“It surprised me a bit,” the 17-year-old Newlove said.
But it was all good news for Newlove, who was the first overall pick in the OHL Under-18 Draft this year, with Bowler ready to offer to sign him.
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“Coming in, I was going to try my best to get this offer,” Newlove said. “If you fail, it’s still a learning lesson and you get better.”
While veteran Joey Costanzo sat out Saturday’s game, six other goalies saw action with Newlove the only goalie not to allow a goal in the game with a flawless first period of work, but Bowler said he was convinced to sign him well before the match got underway.
“We saw him all last year, we’ve seen him on the ice and this guy has a future,” Bowler said. “We think he has OHL ability and we think there’s a pro there as well. To get him locked up now, he deserves it.”
It has been a long road to an OHL deal for Newlove. He was passed over in the 2023 OHL Draft, but moved over to play for the Halton Hurricanes Under-18 team in 2023-24 where posted impressive numbers with a 2.07 goals-against average in 21 games and also got a game of junior A under his belt with the Caledon Admirals.
“I think I got on a better team, I started winning, which helped my confidence, and I grew,” the six-foot-two, 171-pound Newlove said.
With his deal, the Spitfires now have four goalies signed in the 19-year-old Costanzo, 18-year-old Carter Froggett, who was a 2022 pick, and 16-year-old American Jake Windbiel, who was taken in this year’s draft.
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“I knew they had some goalies already signed,” Newlove said. “I just take it every practice and every game at a time. I try to play the best I can and focus on myself.”
But it’s a very short camp window for players to make an impression and Newlove admits that went through his mind as he took the ice on Saturday for the final training camp event.
“You try not to, but it’s always in the back of your mind,” Newlove said. “You let it be heard in your mind and you move on.
“I’ve been to a couple of junior camps and had some practices, but the main thing to focus on is yourself and how you play. There were times it wasn’t (going well), there’s obviously ups and downs, but for the most part I was happy with what I did.”
Bowler is all about creating depth and competition throughout the Windsor lineup and Newlove is another potential piece to the puzzle at some point.
“We needed an ’07 birth year goaltender in the system and we took him with our first pick for a reason,” Bowler said. “We’ve always preached creating depth and here we have four goals that we feel are OHL caliber. Who takes that net is up to them.
“They’ll all get in some exhibition games here and we’ll make some decisions.”
Newlove is expected to dress on Friday when the Spitfires open exhibition play against the Sarnia Sting at the WFCU Centre at 7:05 p.m. He realizes getting drafted was one step and signing another, but there’s still work to be done.
“It’s one mission accomplished, but definitely not satisfied and much more to come,” Newlove said.
jpparker@postmedia.com
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