By Nathan Waters

After a long, hot summer, the ice is now frozen and the Flint Firebirds are set to kick off their 2025-26 OHL campaign.

With the Firebirds’ loss to the Kitchener Rangers (who would go on to lose to eventual OHL and Memorial Cup champions, the London Knights) their 2024-25 season ended in the first round of playoffs. But a new season brings changes, and the Firebirds are no exception.

In the priority selection draft, Flint’s junior ice hockey team selected 15 new players with the help of extra draft picks in the third and tenth rounds acquired via trade.

Here’s the list of newly drafted Firebirds:

Key: LW = “left winger,” RW = “right winger,” C = “center,” D = “defender,” and G = “goaltender”

Additionally, three players were selected in the U18 priority selection draft. Whereas the standard priority selection draft is for players all around North America, the U18 priority selection draft is reserved for players who are 17 or 18 years old, not currently on an OHL team, and not on any of the 50 player protected lists compiled by each team in the OHL.

Each team is required to select two players, one from each round of the draft. If one of the players that is selected in those first two rounds is a goalie, the team may elect to select another skater in an optional third round.

In this draft, the Firebirds opted to select Chase Pettipiece in the first round, a center from Merlin, Ontario. The second round brought goaltender Lucas Carpino of Aurora, Ontario, and with the selection of a goaltender in round two, Flint used its optional third round selection for center Michael Pavlovich from Thornhill, Ontario.

Further, a draft for international players, known as the “import draft,” was held in July. During this draft, each team is allowed a further three players (up from two players in past seasons) that are from outside the OHL’s normal geographic boundaries. The import draft allows the teams to reach their “balance” of players to reach the maximum.

Flint’s import draft selections came from neighbors in continental Europe. Defenseman Darels Uljanskis, born in Riga, Latvia previously played in the Paradaugava Riga youth system. He has been drafted by the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL in 2024, but has yet to sign a contract. Uljanskis will partner on the defensive side with Belarusian netminder Yevgeni Prokhorov.

Drafted by the Buffalo Sabers in this year’s NHL draft, Prohorov played 28 games last season in the Russian Junior League (MHL) at Dinamo-Shinnik Bobruisk winning 17 with a .903 save percentage (shots on target stopped divided by total shots on target).

Not every face on the draft selection sheet will make the ice this year, though.

Typically, players drafted at the age of 16 will not sign a contract as they develop further in the Junior A leagues like the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OHJL) or wherever else they may currently be playing.

Some of this year’s draft class were offered contracts with Flint. Eighth overall pick Charlie Morata, 33rd pick Lucas Nutting, and 55th pick Mason Courville signed and will see the ice this season. They will follow alongside two players who were drafted in 2023 – Luka Graziano, who has committed to play college hockey at Harvard, and Dryden Allen, who has committed to Michigan State, signed their contracts with Flint this summer.

In the past, when a player signed a contract, they would be forfeiting their amateur status and would be ineligible to play college hockey in the NCAA.

Starting this year, however, players who have played Canadian Hockey League (CHL) hockey – which includes the OHL, Western Hockey League (WHL) and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) – will be able to play college hockey when their major junior careers end. They will still need to qualify academically and have not been compensated above actual and necessary expenses prior to enrolling in college.

Alongside the drafted additions, the Firebirds saw several free agent signings and players acquired via trade.

Zack Bleick, a defensemen invited to spring training, was signed as a free agent. He split last season between the Cleveland Wildcats and St. Ignatius High School. George Komadaski, a defenseman whose father played hockey in the American Hockey League (AHL), has also signed. He has committed to play at Notre Dame.

Flint also acquired goaltender Mason Vaccari from the Kingston Frontenacs. Vaccari is an overage player, or a player over 20 years old, of which each team may have three. This will be his last season in the OHL per the overage restrictions. He played 25 games for Kingston last season, winning 11 with a goals against average of 3.03.

Only 68 games stand between now and the 2026 playoffs, half of which the Firebirds will play at Dort Financial Center in Flint.

Home games against local rival the Saginaw Spirit will be held on Saturday, Oct. 18; Wednesday, Nov. 26; Friday, Jan. 9; and Wednesday, Feb. 11. A few of these rivalry games coincide with promotional nights at the arena, including “810 Wednesday” on Feb. 11, during which there will be discounted tickets available for Genesee County residents.

For the games that are out of town, the CHL and FloSports have agreed to a seven-year partnership deal to watch all CHL games via subscription on their Flohockey platform. This will include the OHL, WHL and QMJHL.

The Firebirds are set to kick off their season with an away game against the Saginaw Spirit on Sept. 20 before skating their first game of the season at Dort Financial Center against the Niagara Icedogs on Sept. 27.

A version of this article also appears in East Village Magazine’s September 2025 Issue.