The Windsor Spitfires are going to be relying on some rookies on the blueline.
Injury and illness have knocked several players out of the lineup including some key defencemen.
Defenceman Connor Corcoran has a suspected case of mononucleosis and he could be out for a month. Rookie defenceman Nathan Staios is also out as he's playing with Team Canada at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
The most experienced OHL defencemen are Sean Day and Austin McEneny, meaning rookies Thomas Stevenson, Lev Starikov and Louka Henault will be getting a lot more ice time.
Head Coach Trevor Letowski says the coaching staff is concerned. "They're going to play a ton of minutes this weekend. I'm not sure, we might get a 6th D man but it's not going to be anyone wiht a ton of experience at our level, so that'll definitely be the biggest question mark going forward in the short term."
The Spitfires are home to Hamilton Thursday night and then hit the road for a game in Erie Saturday and a visit to Hamilton Sunday afternoon.