AJ Spellacy
2023-24 Team: Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
Date of Birth: February 24, 2006
Place of Birth: Westlake, OH, USA
Ht: 6-foot-2 Wt: 195 pounds
Shoots: Right
Position: Center
NHL Draft Eligibility: 2024 first-year eligible
Rankings
Interestingly enough, AJ Spellacy had the chance to go in an entirely different direction with his athletic career. In high school, he played football and was amongst the top recruits for the NCAA. He was offered five different NCAA Division I scholarships and turned them all down to focus on hockey and sign with the Spitfires.
“I’ll miss football a little, but I’m focused on hockey…I thought about it for a long time. It was pretty easy, once I got all the information, which one I love and want to take farther and that was hockey” (from ‘Spellacy leaves five NCAA Division I scholarship offers on the table to sign with Spitfires’, Windsor Star, 6/22/22).
The first thing you notice when watching Spellacy is his speed. He’s arguably one of the fastest forwards in this year’s draft class with great acceleration and top speed. He routinely blew by his opponents this season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Windsor Spitfires and became a fan favourite because of his energy and work ethic. In fact, he won the Jake Pollen Hardest Working Spitfire of the Year award at the end of the season, which is given to the player who “exemplifies hard work on the ice.”
Along with his speed, Spellacy brings a high amount of physicality to the table, dishing out bone-crushing hits with his 6-foot-2, 195-pound frame. He is also known to drop the gloves from time to time, engaging in four fights this season.
Clearly, Spellacy is passionate about the sport considering the motor and work ethic he showcases every game. While he might have started a bit slow production-wise, going scoreless in his first 11 games and only seven goals before Jan. 1, he turned it on once the calendar flipped. He ended up scoring 14 goals in 2024, including his first-career hat trick on Jan. 13 against the Sudbury Wolves in an 11-7 win. He also started to become a real threat on the penalty kill, using his speed and acceleration to score four shorthanded goals to finish with five on the season.
Spellacy does have his weaknesses though, mainly his vision and ability to create plays for his teammates. He also doesn’t have the best shot to score goals himself. This will likely limit his offensive…
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