Spinozzi brings physical element to Greyhounds

If what Soo Greyhounds GM Kyle Dubas said during the OHL Priority Selection is accurate, the Greyhounds blueline will be a lot tougher to face in the future.

In fact, Dubas called the 15-year-old Kingston native a “mean individual.”

“He’s not a lot of fun to play against; he’s a mean individual,” Dubas said of Spinozzi at the time. “Everyone who watched our team last year would recognize very clearly that we need to be a lot tougher team in our own end. Unfortunately, in any level of hockey, to try and make a trade for those guys is very difficult. It may be one of the most difficult things to do. When Kevin was there with our pick, we had to pull the trigger.”

Spinozzi loves playing a physical brand of hockey, though he tried to chip in on the offensive side more during his minor midget season with Kingston.

“I’m a two-way defenceman and I love to hit. That’s my style of play,” said Spinozzi. “Any time I have an opportunity to throw a hit, I will. I played a little more offensively this year in Kingston because we needed a little bit of help there.”

The 15-year-old blueliner (Spinozzi turns 16 later this month) also has the ability to say he has already played overseas as well. Spinozzi’s father Frank has spent the past three seasons coaching pro hockey in France and the younger Spinozzi spent the 2010-11 season playing in France. While there, Kevin lived with a billet family in northern France.

“My dad ran hockey schools for about 20 years so I spent a bunch of hours on the ice as a kid,” said Spinozzi. “I was always working with him and it helped a lot. I’ve been skating since I was about a year-and-a-half old. When he coached university, I was skating with them at three-years-old with his team.”

Spinozzi suited up for four games with the Kingston Voyageurs of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, where he played with a number of Sault Ste. Marie natives, including the likes of Brian Nanne, Michael Schug and Aiden Wright, all of whom were in touch with the defenceman prior to, and shortly after, the draft.

“The moment I got drafted, I received about six text messages,” Spinozzi said. “They all told me that I was going to love it up here. That it’s a great town with great fans. I was talking about it before the draft with the guys and they told me that the Soo would be good. It would be fun. They told me about how the fans were great and that the organization was great.”

With Kingston, Spinozzi scored eight goals and 20 points in 32 games during the 2011-12 season.

This weekend, Spinozzi will suit up with other Greyhounds hopefuls during their annual spring development camp, which opens on Friday.