Spirit's Misa on the cusp of historic season as he prepares for NHL Draft
Published
Michael Misa is putting his best foot forward as he continues his draft year in the Ontario Hockey League.
The 17-year-old Saginaw Spirit centre has been dominant by leading the league with 23 goals and 42 points in 21 games, and is on pace to have an historic offensive season.
If Misa continues his pace, he has a chance to hit the 80-goal plateau, which is hasn’t been done since Ray Sheppard hit the mark with the Cornwall Royals during the 1985-86 season. He is also on pace to reach 130 points, which hasn’t been done since John Tavares hit the mark in the 2006-07 season with the Oshawa Generals as a 16-year-old.
While the idea of a historic season is a fun idea, Misa said that isn’t the goal he has set.
“If someone were to come up to me and tell me that I’m on pace for an 80-goal season, I might just smile but it’s not something that I’m focused on,” said Misa. “I’m just coming out each night and making sure my team wins. That is the big priority.”
Misa’s production helped him to be named as part of Team CHL in the CHL USA Prospects Challenge taking place on Nov. 26 and 27 from London and Oshawa, respectively. The two-game series pits the top NHL draft eligible players across the CHL’s three major junior leagues against the U.S. National Under-18 team.
This allows prospects to showcase their talent to scouts and fans, while adding to the rivalry between the Canada and the United States. It also creates a grudge match between the top two hockey development systems in North America.
“I think it’s a great way to showcase all the top prospects, I really like the idea of it,” said Misa. “Both systems are very highly ranked and a lot of players come through both those programs that are still in the NHL now. It should be a couple of days of battles and I’m looking forward to it.”
The 6-foot-1 centre is no stranger to having extra attention on him on and off the ice. He is one of nine players in CHL history to receive exceptional player status, which allowed him to be drafted first overall by the Spirit in the 2022 OHL Priority Draft as a 15-year-old.
Misa joined a club that included other past CHL phenoms like Tavares, Connor McDavid, Aaron Ekblad, Shane Wright, and Connor Bedard. Everett Silvertips defenceman Landon DuPont also added his name to the list at the end of last season.
Being in a group of recognizable names added extra attention and pressure to Misa, which is something he admits was an adjustment.
“You can’t focus so much on everything else going on around you, which was something I had to learn in my first year,” said Misa. “You really have to focus on your game and have a daily routine of getting to the rink and getting better each day. I was able to take those steps with me into the next two seasons.”
Misa can draw from his experience from going through the exceptional player process to his current situation as a prospective top prospect for the NHL Draft. Prospects’ draft stock is talked about throughout the year, which can lead to a lot of outside noise entering the locker room.
The Oakville, Ont., native said he did everything he could to prepare for his draft season from getting stronger and faster by gaining 15 pounds of muscle in the summer to talking with his brother Luke and teammate Zayne Parekh, who both went through the draft process last year.
He also believes that going through a long playoff run last year that resulted in a Memorial Cup victory was key for his development and gave both him and his teammates a better understanding of what it takes to win at any level.
“I think it will help in the long run to get that experience of playing against the best of the best in the Memorial Cup,” said Misa. “Going through those long playoff runs, you really gain experience on the ice and understand what you have to do to make the next level where everyone is a lot bigger and faster.”
Even though the pressures that surround the NHL draft builds as the season goes on, Misa says he wants to make sure that he is able to enjoy and be present for everything that his draft year has to offer.
“You can’t really take it too seriously because it’s just hockey,” said Misa. “There’s going to be so many things that happen during the draft, whether it be interviews, combines, or games. So, I just want to soak it all in and enjoy it while it happens.”