Stouffville Spirit looks to new faces to solve scoring puzzle ahead of opener against Markham
By Gene Pereira, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
The Stouffville Spirit are heading into the 2026–27 Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) season with plenty of energy, but answering where the pucks will come from remains the central storyline.
“Probably our issue will be scoring at the beginning until the younger forwards figure it out,” said Spirit General Manager Kenny Burrows. “In a nutshell, that’s probably what it is. The goaltending’s been good over the camp, for the most part, so we just have to improve from where we are right now.”
Stouffville enters the campaign seeking to build on a stellar 2025–26 regular season in which they posted a 40–14–2 record for 82 points. In the postseason, after knocking off the St. Michael’s Buzzers in six games, the Spirit were eliminated in the East Conference semifinals by the Pickering Panthers, dropping a tight six-game series capped off by a 4–2 loss in Game 6.
Replacing last year’s firepower won’t be easy following the departure of leading scorer Hudson Armstrong, who posted 39 goals and 39 assists before signing with the Charlottetown Islanders in the QMJHL.
“It’s moving kids on to the next level,” Burrows noted regarding Armstrong’s departure. “I’m pretty sure that’s why most of the kids sign here, so they can move on like Armstrong.”
To bolster the attack, management acquired forward Clarence Allain mid-season last year, while adding power forward Connor Hollebek and playmaker Xavier Rowe via trades from the Caledon Admirals. Up front, all eyes will be on returning left wing Rowan Quinn, who impressed at the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves camp.
“He looks good in camp. He had a really good Sudbury camp,” Burrows said of Quinn. “He’s a power forward. He’s responsibly defensively, but has some offensive upside… He’s already improved his skating from last year. He’s definitely a bigger guy. That’ll help him with playing junior hockey this year.”
On the blueline, dynamic transition player Fischer Ishwaran and two-way contributor Cooper Bonnyman are expected to shoulder big responsibilities.
“Ishwaran’s more of an offensive guy,” Burrows said. “Cooper can do both things, and he needs to work on some things, but he’s had a pretty good camp, and hopefully, he continues on.”
Veteran Calem Yorke anchors the goaltending department.
“He’s played well to start,” Burrows said of Yorke, who heads up a trio along with Owen McLean and Hudson Cicchelli. “All three goalies have, so we’re still working on that. They’re good goalies, and they are hard to pick between.”
Constructing a roster has become increasingly unpredictable across junior hockey due to updated NCAA eligibility rules, which have altered player recruitment timelines and drastically raised roster turnover across the league.
“Every year is a rebuilding year in junior hockey, especially with the new rules and the new options the kids have to play,” Burrows explained. “Most teams are finding out they have to get, like, 15 new players… Just the timelines are hard, and how long the teams will keep players.”
Royals Renewal
Across the region, the Markham Royals are embarking on a new chapter following an offseason management overhaul featuring majority owner Jerrold Annett and general manager J.C. Larocque.
Markham finished ninth overall last season with a 23–29–2–2 record (50 points), narrowly missing the playoffs.
The Royals opened their 2026–27 campaign on September 4 against the Buffalo Jr. Sabres, relying heavily on a rebuilt lineup led by sophomore forward Andrew Pacheco—an OHL draft pick of the Brantford Bulldogs who scored 29 points as a 16-year-old rookie last year.
Steve McSwain returns for his second year as the head coach and he has lots of new talent to work with after the team signed high-profile prospects including Josh Lewis (Vaughan Kings U18 AAA), Ryan Ungerman (Toronto Nationals U18 AAA), Kingston Larocque (Toronto Nationals U16 AAA), Jacob Ceranic (St. Catharines Falcons GOJHL), Finn Gilbert (Ridley College CAHS), and Charlie Annett (Oakville Rangers U16 AAA).
Opening Night Matchup
The two local rivals meet on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at 7:30 p.m., when Stouffville hosts Markham in the Spirit’s regular-season opener.
“Oh yeah. Playing Markham is always fun,” Burrows remarked on the opening-night showdown. “That goes right through all levels of hockey in Stouffville. Beating Markham is a fun thing to do, and I’m sure they think the same way.
“They’ve improved this year. Definitely, they’re a little faster, a little bigger… so they’ll be fighting for a playoff spot, for sure.”
Photo: The battle starts Thursday night when the Spirit host the rival Markham Royals. (Photo by Amy Deroche/OHL IMAGES)