A second Memorial Cup may help secure Taylor Hall at No. 1 in the NHL Draft.

BY PATRICK KING
sportsnet.ca

The 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup gets underway on May 14 in Brandon, Manitoba. The host team along with Calgary, Windsor and Moncton will compete for junior hockey supremacy and SPORTSNET.CA columnist Patrick King previews the four teams and runs down the strengths and weaknesses of each team ahead of the tournament.

WINDSOR SPITFIRES

Regular season record: 50-12-1-5 (106 points)

League regular season ranking: Second overall, first in Western Conference

Combined regular season and playoff road record: 29-10-1-3

Regular season goal differential: 331-203

Playoff goal differential: 90-54

Playoff record: 16-3

Memorial Cup appearances: Two (1988 and 2009)

Memorial Cup championships: One (2009)

League championships: Two (2009 and 2010)

Spitfires' Memorial Cup schedule:

Windsor vs. Brandon, Friday, May 14 - 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT

Windsor vs. Calgary, Monday, May 17 - 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT

Windsor vs. Moncton, Tuesday, May 18 - 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT

Tie-breaker (if necessary), teams TBD, Thursday, May 20 - 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT

Semi-final: teams TBD, Friday, May 21 - 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT

Championship: teams TBD, Sunday, May 23 - 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT

Never has a team so emphatically defied the odds to win championships than the Windsor Spitfires over the past two seasons.

In 2009 Windsor became the first team in MasterCard Memorial Cup history to overcome an 0-2 start and go through the tiebreaker to win the national championship.

The Spitfires found a way to equal that improbable comeback with another during the Western Conference final. Windsor escaped from an 0-3 series deficit to beat the upstart Kitchener Rangers in seven games. The Spitfires have not lost since Game 3 of the West final, when a long dump-in shot eluded backup goaltender Troy Passingham for the winning goal.

Those three losses to Kitchener were the only ones the Spitfires suffered in these playoffs, as the swept the Erie Otters and Plymouth Whalers before doing the same to the Barrie Colts in the OHL final to win its second consecutive league title.

The road to repeat was anticipated as far back as last season. Like the Spokane Chiefs in 2008, last year's version of the Spitfires was deemed a year ahead of schedule. The core of this team was built through the draft with 1990 and 1991 birth dates, all of whom are now a year older and wiser after having already won the Memorial Cup.

Veteran forward Adam Henrique finally began receiving recognition by winning the Wayne Gretzky 99 award as playoff MVP. Henrique is the straw that stirs the drink in Windsor and along with Taylor Hall presents a formidable offensive attack.

While the majority of the core remains, the most notable difference is in goal. The Spitfires traded for German goaltender Philipp Grubauer in a blockbuster deal with the Belleville Bulls at the deadline. Grubauer struggled to find consistency in his new uniform until late in the playoffs. He was exceptional, however, in Windsor's comeback against Kitchener and sweep of Barrie.

Strengths:

Like last season, the strength of this team is in its deep wave of offence. Hall finished tied with Plymouth's Tyler Seguin atop the scoring race in the regular season and was first in playoff scoring with 35 points. The potential NHL No. 1 pick learned to distribute the puck more efficiently this season, but still has the ability to raise fans out of its seats with electrifying individual rushes.

Henrique is the model of consistency and his cool demeanour has helped him score so many timely goals that his trophy case is running out of space.

The depth on offence is the deepest in Canada. This team can score from any given line and has plenty of scoring from the back-end with Ryan Ellis, Cam Fowler and Mark Cundari. Ellis regained last season's form after struggling through the first half of the season and has a cannon of a slapshot. Fowler can pick apart a defence with his vision and release. Cundari scored some timely goals during the run, although his job is mainly as a shutdown specialist.

Weaknesses:

The biggest concern heading into the tournament will be how the defence and goaltending perform. Windsor was exploited in the series against Kitchener and needs to better protect the front of its goal. The Spitfires seemed to have difficulty clearing the crease to avoid second-chance opportunities and have been known to shorten the bench in close games.

Grubauer was solid and consistent in the final, but his performance up to then left something to be desired. When he's on his game, he's making acrobatic saves and stretching from post to post. When he's off his game, Grubauer has difficulty containing rebounds and occasionally lets in a soft goal.

Keys to victory:

The Spitfires have the ability to win playing several styles, but appear to be at its best when they limit the opposing team's chances and play an opportunistic style. Kitchener proved Windsor could lose in an all-out offensive track meet, despite the firepower in its lineup.

Since this team has so much offensive punch, the Spitfires can win playing with a defence-first mentality and cautiously awaiting its opportunities. This team knows its chances will come and they make teams pay for its mistakes.

Noteworthy:

The Spitfires became the first back-to-back OHL champions since the 1991 and 1992 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds … The 1994 and 1995 Kamloops Blazers were the last team to capture consecutive Memorial Cup championships … The Spitfires were runners-up to the Medicine Hat Tigers in the 1988 Memorial Cup … The last OHL team to win the Memorial Cup on Western Hockey League soil came in 1986 when the Guelph Platers were crowned champions. That tournament was hosted by the Portland Winterhawks … Windsor was ranked third in the final CHL Top 10 rankings … 13 teams from the OHL/Ontario Hockey Association have won the Memorial Cup since 1972, when the tournament format originally included all three leagues.

NHL Drafted Spitfires:

Dale Mitchell, 3rd round in 2007 (Toronto Maple Leafs); Greg Nemisz, 1st round in 2008 (Calgary Flames); Adam Henrique, 3rd round in 2008 (New Jersey Devils); Stephen Johnston, 6th round in 2008 (Detroit Red Wings); Harry Young, 7th round in 2008 (New Jersey Devils); Ryan Ellis, 1st round in 2009 (Nashville Predators); Zack Kassian, 1st round in 2009 (Buffalo Sabres); Kenny Ryan, 2nd round in 2009 (Toronto Maple Leafs); Scott Timmins, 6th round in 2009 (Florida Panthers); Eric Wellwood, 6th round in 2009 (Philadelphia Flyers).

2010 NHL Draft Eligible Players:

Taylor Hall, LW; Cam Fowler, D; Philipp Grubauer, G; Justin Shugg, RW; Saverio Posa, D.