PUBLICATION

Sam Walker
January 6, 2026  (8:00 PM)

Chicago Blackhawks prospect Alex Pharand is heading to the Windsor Spitfires in an OHL trade that screams all in.

Windsor has officially acquired Blackhawks prospect Alex Pharand plus Seattle Kraken prospect Nathan Villeneuve from the Sudbury Wolves as the league’s trade deadline creeps toward Friday.

Sudbury acquired Jean-Christoph Lemieux and eight OHL Priority Selection picks running from 2026 through 2029, a whopping nine-asset haul.

For Chicago fans, Pharand is the headline, a 6-foot-3 right shot who was taken 99th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft.

He has 168 points in 293 OHL games, including 10 goals and 26 points in 37 games this season.

Alex Pharand joins Windsor Spitfires playoff push in large trade

I get why Spitfires fans are buzzing; this is the kind of move that changes how you watch every close third period.

Pharand brings a straight-line, heavy-on-pucks style that should fit Windsor’s forecheck and net-front looks on the power play.

He also arrives hot, posting 14 points in his last nine outings with Sudbury.

Villeneuve isn’t some throw-in either; he is Sudbury’s captain and a second-round Kraken pick from 2024.

The Ottawa native has 186 points in 196 OHL games, and he had 44 points in 28 games this year.

Sudbury’s return is about the future, with Lemieux, the 22nd overall pick in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection, plus that mountain of draft capital. Lemieux has 10 goals and 18 points in 33 games, and he is on NHL Central Scouting’s early watch list for 2026.

For the Blackhawks, the big question is runway, and Windsor should give Pharand more meaningful games when the pace spikes. He turned 21 on Monday, so the next milestone is proving his game holds up when every inch gets contested.

In no time, we will be able to witness this phenom in Chicago alongside Connor Bedard!

Previously on Chicago Hockey Insider