Flint, Mich. – The Flint Firebirds announced today that 2022 first-round pick Kaden Pitre has committed to an Ontario Hockey League standard player agreement with the club.
“We are very excited to welcome Kaden to the Firebird Family and are looking forward to working with him,” Head Coach and Interim General Manager Ted Dent said.
Pitre was selected 18th-overall in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection and spent the year with the Vaughan Kings U16 (GTHL). The Stouffville, Ont. native recorded 13 G and 17 A in 31 GP this season. He also added 1 G and 1 A in 5 GP for Vaughan at the OHL Cup.
“It’s a great feeling and I can’t wait to get started,” Pitre said. “Obviously it was great to see that the team got as far as they did and I can’t wait to be a part of that next year.”
The 5-foot-11, the 176-pound center is the younger brother of current Firebirds forward, Coulson. The younger Pitre brother plans on wearing number-17 in Flint.
“I’m a strong physical forward that can help on both the offensive and defensive side of the game,” Pitre said. “I’m excited to bring that into such a skilled locker room. It’s a good learning opportunity and will help make me better.”
Scouting report from SI Prospects: “At one point in time, Kaden Pitre was the most feared player in the ETA, and received high praise for being special. Since then, Pitre has taken his talents to Vaughan, where he serves as one of the top players. Pitre is praised for his strong two-way game, which helps assert him as a lethal player on both sides of the ice. Pitre is one of the best skaters around, and he uses this elite skating to help make him a deadly offensive force, which when coupled with his good shot, makes him a scoring threat more often than not. Pitre is a very quiet, yet mature player for his age, a trait that will help him mesh very well on an OHL team with older players on it.”
