Aspinall, Battaglia Lead Flint Firebirds to First Round Sweep

The OHL playoffs are underway and the New York Rangers have several players in their prospect pool who are leading their teams in the chase for the Memorial Cup. Two players in particular have helped their team make history, setting the record for largest goal differential in a playoff series, as they out-scored their opponents 35-3.

All season long, Nathan Aspinall has been one of the main story lines in the Rangers' prospect pool. A former fifth round pick (159th overall) in 2024, Aspinall had a monstrous regular season in the OHL, doubling his previous career best point total, and nearly hitting the 100 point mark.

Prior to his 94 point season this year (33 goals, 61 assists), Aspinall’s best season came last year where he finished with 47 points split across 17 goals and 30 assists. While he’s fallen into that category of big bodied forwards that Chris Drury has drafted in recent years, this is a player who could be a very exciting piece to the Rangers’ future, as he has a ton of skill and is proving to be a consistent offensive contributor. 

Additionally, the Rangers have their newest addition to their prospect pool on the Firebirds, as well, in Jacob Battaglia. He had an Aspinall-like season last year, and has continued to find success since joining the Firebirds. I’ve mentioned in previous stories that many were viewing Battaglia as a steal from his draft class after his 90 point season last year. While that level of production dropped drastically this season, he’s having a bit of a resurgence since joining Aspinall in Flint. In 28 games played following the trade, Battaglia has tallied 12 goals and nine assists for 21 total points. 

The key take away here is that Aspinall and Battaglia have combined for an astounding total of 28 points in four games played through round one of the OHL playoffs. 

Game 1: Flint Firebirds Win 8-1, Battaglia 2 G, 4 A, Aspinall 1 G, 3 A

The Firebirds opened the scoring just over eight minutes in on the power play. Nathan Aspinall, moved the puck down the half wall to Jimmy Lombardi who saucer passed it towards Jacob Battaglia who was positioned strongly at the front of the net. Battaglia ended up tapping the puck in out of mid-air to open the scoring, making it a 1-0 game. 

With under seven minutes to go in the opening period, Flint had a 5-on-3 power play and Aspinall was set up perfectly at the top of the right face-off circle. Winnipeg Jets prospect Kevin He set him up for the one timer to extend the lead 2-0 as Battaglia picked up the secondary assist. On that same man advantage shortly after, Aspinall moved the puck ahead to Battaglia whose shot created a rebound for Lombardi to make it a 3-0 game. Flint closed out the first by making it a 4-0 game as Battaglia won a faceoff, creating a shot for Christopher Thibodeau that found the back of the net. 

Owen Sound settled things down in the second period but with four minutes to go, Battaglia finished on a partial breakaway, sneaking a shot five-hole to make it 5-0. Both Aspinall and Battaglia picked up assists in the third as Aspinall did a great job of slowing down the rush to set up Darian Anderson for a shot to make it six and Battaglia led a similar sequence on the power play for Dryden Allen. Flint outshot Owen Sound 40-25 as they dominated game one of the series.

Game 2: Flint Firebirds Win 11-1 Aspinall 1 G, 1 A, Battaglia 1 G, 2 A

While it was a quieter night for Aspinall and Battaglia, Flint continued their dominance against Owen Sound, scoring eleven consecutive goals. At the end of the first, Battaglia made a nice play to Thibodeau as he began skating behind Owen Sound’s net. Instead of wrapping around to the other side, Battaglia made a no-look pass which caught the Attack’s netminder cheating and gave Thibodeau plenty of room to shoot. This extended their lead to 4-0. 

Battaglia opened the second with a goal of his own as he picked up a drop pass off the rush and just danced his way to the slot to make it 5-0. Midway through the second, Aspinall entered the zone on a power play and found Lombardi across the slot to make it 6-0. Battaglia picked up the secondary assist on the play. 

In the final minute of the middle period, Aspinall made a fantastic play to set himself up for another one timer, which has been a noticeable strength of his all season long. Once he sent the pass back to Urban Podrekar, he cut backwards to open up for the shot that was destined for the back of the net. This doubled his team’s lead heading into the second intermission as they went on to hold an 11-0 lead into the final minute of the game. Firebirds goaltender Mason Vaccari was just four seconds away from a shutout when Cole Zurawski tucked one in off a pass from down low. 

Game 3: Flint Firebirds Win 10-0, Aspinall 2 G, 1 A, Battaglia 0 G, 1 A

Flint established another early lead as they were up 2-0 within the first six minutes of play. A minute later, Aspinall picked up a pass at the right point, walked his way to the slot and found the back of the net off another strong wrist shot to make it 3-0. Aspinall also picked up the secondary assist on Lombardi’s goal that made it 4-0 early in the second period. 

Aspinall opened the third on a breakaway which gave credit to goaltender Vaccari on the primary assist. A simple forehand-backhand move snuck through five-hold to make it an 8-0 game. Five minutes later, Battaglia fed Thibodeau with another slick backhand pass on an odd-man rush to make it 9-0. This time around, Vaccari held onto the shutout making 32 saves in the process.   

Game 4: Flint Firebirds Win 6-1, Aspinall 2 G, 2 A, Battaglia, 2 G, 3 A

Aspinall and Battaglia had a helping hand in all six of Flint’s goals to propel them to the victory that secured the sweep. It took Aspinall almost eight minutes to convert on a power play attempt as he walked right down center ice to fire a shot to the back of the net. Another assist from his netminder on the play. With three and a half to go in the first, Battaglia redirected a shot from the point and buried the loose change to give his team a 2-0 lead they took into the first intermission. 

Owen Sound came within one in the second but midway through the period, an Aspinall one timer deflected off of Battaglia in front of the net which set up Lombardi at the doorstep to make it 3-1. About a minute later, a shot from Battaglia set up a rebound for Ihnat Pazii to make it 4-1. 

The two future Rangers had goals two minutes apart to take care of business in the third. Both goals coming again on the power play. Battaglia had a give and go with Aspinall to make it 5-0 and Aspinall scored on another shot from the point to make it 6-0. It certainly seems Aspinall has two sweet spots and that’s from either side of the point. He likes to shoot glove side from the left and to open up for one timer on the right. How often he’ll be able to put himself in those positions at the professional level remains to be seen but he has the size to put himself in advantageous situations as well as the skill to make plays in all areas. 

As for Battaglia, he’s certainly more of a down low goal scorer that can make plays along halfwall but it’s becoming evident in the postseason that both of these players are ready to take their game to the next level. Flint will advance to the next round of the OHL playoffs as they await the results of the rest of the first round. There is a chance they could run into Liam Greentree’s Windsor Spitres down the road as they are currently up three games to none against the Guelph Storm.