The Windsor Spitfires are losing another top NHL prospect to the NCAA.
Towering winger Ethan Belchetz announced Tuesday he has committed to play for Michigan State University in 2026-27.
The six-foot-five Belchetz, expected to be a first-round pick in this year’s NHL Draft, joins Spitfires teammate and Philadelphia Flyers first-round pick Jack Nesbitt (Michigan) in the NCAA.
“The past couple of months, I’ve had some extra time and feel this is the best for my development at this point,” Belchetz told Jim Parker of the Windsor Star. “I’m playing against older and faster players (in the NCAA) and that will be good for me. The OHL is still an unbelievable league, (but) a lot of players have been looking into this route. These U.S. schools, there’s so much room for development.”
Belchetz follows in the footsteps of another big winger, Porter Martone, who left the OHL’s Brampton Steelheads to join Michigan State after being picked sixth overall by the Flyers last year. Martone had 50 points in 35 games for Michigan State before notching 15 points in 19 regular-season and playoff games for the Flyers.
Belchetz, the first-overall pick in the OHL Draft in 2024, missed the playoffs the last two years with injuries. He had 34 goals and 25 assists for 59 points in 57 games this season.
The decision was a surprise to Spitfires general manager Bill Bowler.
“This new landscape, for us to draft the first overall pick, and for him to leave after two years, never in my wildest dreams did I think that could happen to this franchise,” Bowler told the Windsor Star.
Michigan State is expected to be a national title contender after losing in a regional final this year. Soo Greyhounds star defenceman Chase Reid, an expected top-five pick in this year’s NHL Draft, also is a Michigan State commit.