Top NHL Draft prospect Ethan Belchetz exits Spitfires for NCAA as CHL rule changes take hold

Ethan Belchetz. (Source: Tim Cornett/OHL Images)

Projected first-round NHL draft pick Ethan Belchetz is leaving the Windsor Spitfires to play U.S. college hockey.

Belchetz, the Spitfires’ first overall selection in the 2024 Ontario Hockey League draft, announced Tuesday he has committed to Michigan State.

The six-foot-five, 227-pound forward had 34 goals and 59 points in 57 games this season before suffering a broken left clavicle in early March. The injury sidelined him for Windsor’s playoff run.

The 18-year-old is ranked ninth among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting ahead of the June 26 draft in Buffalo.

Spitfires general manager Bill Bowler said the move was unexpected.

“Obviously, we’ve always anticipated high-end athletes leaving to go to the National Hockey League,” Bowler said. “Drafting Ethan first overall, we never thought he’d leave after two years. It becomes challenging. It’s a different landscape, and we’ll adjust.”

Belchetz’s decision follows teammate Jack Nesbitt’s April announcement that he will join the University of Michigan. Nesbitt, a 19-year-old centre, was selected 12th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2025 NHL draft.

Bowler said the losses will be difficult to replace.

“We had no idea a 2008-born Ethan Belchetz or a 2007-born Jack Nesbitt — two NHL first-rounders — would be leaving,” he said. “You can’t replace that kind of ability. We’ll figure it out and put together a good team, as we always do.”

Rule changes introduced in 2024 allow players from the Canadian Hockey League to compete in the NCAA. Previously, CHL participation made players ineligible for U.S. college hockey.

Bowler said the timing is difficult but out of the organization’s control.

“This is something the CHL and OHL have to deal with,” he said. “I don’t know how many teams are losing two players like this in mid-May, but it’s part of it.”

Other Spitfires players committed to NCAA programs for next season include Cole Davis (UConn), Jakub Fibigr (Ohio State) and Carson Woodall (Boston College).