On the wall in his room, Ethan Belchetz has a poster of the famous picture showing heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston after knocking him down in a 1965 bout.
“It was my dad’s,” the Windsor Spitfires left winger says with a smile. “Every single time I went to his office as a kid I said, ‘That’s the coolest poster ever.’ Then when I turned 18 and came home I was like, ‘Dad, can I please throw that poster in my room?’ And he finally said yes. It’s just a super cool photo. It’s pretty sick.”
Whenever Belchetz looks at the poster he is reminded of his five fights in the Ontario Hockey League. His favourite one came on Dec. 13, 2024 against Rene Van Bommel of the London Knights.
“London is always a pretty hectic atmosphere,” he recalled. “They get 10,000 in that arena, and I want to say I did pretty well in that fight. So, it’s a pretty cool memory of mine.”
Belchetz always knew he wanted fighting to be a tool in his toolbox and he sought out tips on how to do it best. Physicality is a key part to his game.
Belchetz is the tallest (6-foot-5) and heaviest (228 pounds) prospect in the top 30 of TSN’s 2026 Final NHL Draft Ranking. He came in at No. 12.
“When I’m playing my best game it’s that mix of power, the brute force, using my size, going in front of the net, laying the body, being physical, being in other people’s heads, but also showing that skill when I have the puck on my stick and making plays, tape-to-tape passes, setting up my teammates, getting to the front of the net and using my soft skill,” he said. “So, it’s a mix of those two and when those two combine nicely together, it’s pretty fun to play. I like to make an impact.”
Belchetz made a big impact this season, racking up 34 goals and 59 points in 57 games before his draft year ended prematurely due to a broken left clavicle on March 3.
When asked who he enjoys watching in the NHL, Belchetz lists off a series of rough-and-tumble role models.
“It’s the Tkachuk brothers, Aliaksei Protas, Juraj Slafkovsky, Tom Wilson, those big, strong power forwards who use their size first and get on the forecheck, get in other guys heads, but they have the soft skill and the playmaking to play on that first line or second line with those elite centermen,” the 18-year-old from Oakville, Ont. said. “Those are guys I watch. It’s pretty fun to watch those guys.”
During a conversation with TSN, Belchetz reflected on his growth this season and revealed what song will play when he’s picked at the draft. Belchetz, who is off to Michigan State next season, also explained how his sister, who is a goalie at the University of Connecticut, helped him develop his hard shot and strong mental game.
The following is an edited transcript of the interview.
TSN: What do you think the Tkachuk brothers are going to be like together now in Florida?
Belchetz: Oh, it’s crazy. You just see them at the Olympics and the 4 Nations [event] and how they played together there and you’re gonna expect that in Florida. It’s crazy to see those two on the same team.
TSN: If you could pair up with one other guy and have a sort of bash brother relationship in the NHL, who would you choose?
Belchetz: [Philadelphia Flyers prospect] Jack Nesbitt. I played with him for the past two years and we’re both big guys who like to get on the body and like to put the puck in the net. Me and him worked well for the past two years and I think we’d be a good duo.
TSN: Are you a trash talker on the ice?
Belchetz: Not crazy where I’m getting 10-minute penalties, but if I find it’s needed I’ll beak around.
TSN: When is it needed? What’s an example?
Belchetz: I don’t know. Maybe it’s a scrum in front or something like that. There’s little times in the game when I don’t even think about it and it just happens.
TSN: You dunk your head in a cold tub before warm-ups. How did that start?
Belchetz: Rob Maggio, our strength and conditioning coach in Windsor, would always wheel a big bucket of ice and water and into the washroom area and me and [Anthony] Spellacy, [Jean-Christoph] Lemieux when he was with us, we’d always do that. I don’t know, it just kind of wakes you up even more and it also kind of calms my nerves. Maybe I’m going 100 miles per hour and then you dunk your head and you’re calm and ready to go.
TSN: You’re no fun to play against. How does your personality on the ice compare to off the ice?
Belchetz: I think I’m a good guy. I have a lot of relationships and some of my best friends I’ve made are through the game of hockey. On the ice is a different person than off the ice. My dad always said, ‘Be the meanest guy on the ice, but the nicest guy off the ice.’ I kind of live by that.
TSN: What member of your family is most excited for the upcoming draft?
Belchetz: It’s between my sister and my dad. It’s pretty tight. My sister plays hockey and is pretty involved so she’s pretty pumped to get to the draft and experience all that. My dad, he’s been there every single step of the way and same with my mom. So, they’re excited.
TSN: Your sister Taylor is a NCAA goalie, how much have you guys leaned on each other?
Belchetz: It’s easy because she’s my sister and she’s only one call away. We try to pick up every single time we call. It’s so easy to just call her and talk to her when you just played your best game. It’s easy to call her and then you have a smile on your face the whole time. And then if you just played the worst game, it’s easy to call her because she knows exactly what it takes to get mentally ready because she’s a goalie. It’s a little bit different for a goalie versus a player. The mental game is so important being a player but even more so as a goalie. She’s learned so much. She’s two years older than me now and has gone to school and is using her experience, her mental [approach] to help me.
TSN: What’s the best tip she’s given you?
Belchetz: It’s just about moving forward. For her, you let in a goal or you let in a bad goal and you can’t worry about that. You have to worry about that next save that you have to make. I use it if I have a bad shift. You can’t worry about your past shift. You have to worry about your next shift and next game. You move on quick and have a memory like a goldfish.
TSN: How did you mentally process the season-ending injury?
Belchetz: No one wants to get injured. No one wants to be upstairs watching the game with a sling on. But it’s just about moving on. You can’t control it once you’ve been injured. All you can control is how quickly you’re going to recover. Are you going to become a better person and a better player and get stronger and healthier? I did a good job with that. I was right away stickhandling with my one hand. And, as soon as I could get on the ice, I was doing power skating and pushing it, so if I was able to come back – you never know, those things can happen – that you’re ready to go and you don’t need time to get back into game shape.
TSN: You were the No. 1 pick in the OHL draft in 2024. How did you handle the pressure and expectations that come with that?
Belchetz: Obviously there’s expectations when you go first overall and you’re a high draft pick. You want to live up to those expectations and do more. But I didn’t see it as pressure and expectations. It’s more thinking that I was picked for a reason. The team saw something in me, and so it’s just about bringing my best. I’m the first guy to know when I’m not doing my best or when I just didn’t have my best game. It comes from me. When I am not playing my best, I know I need to get up for the fans, the community and the team and stuff. So, for me, it wasn’t necessarily the pressure and the expectations. It was all about, you know, you were drafted here and we drafted you for a reason so do what you do every single night to perform for us.
TSN: Did you ever think about being a goalie like your sister?
Belchetz: No, my dad never let me (laugh). But it kind of worked out, because now I get to shoot on her. I never wanted to be in net and now I still shoot on her to this day. Like, yesterday we were on the ice together and she was my goalie at practice. It’s still fun.
TSN: What’s it like shooting on your sister?
Belchetz: I try not to hit her in the head (smile). That’s the goal.
TSN: That wouldn’t go over well with your parents.
Belchetz: No, no, not at all.
TSN: Are bragging rights on the line?
Belchetz: Sometimes, at the end, when we do a shootout or something, we have a little bragging rights on the line. But we try to keep it pretty calm so when we get home there’s no bad blood.
TSN: In the OHL coach’s poll, you came in second in the Western Conference in the hardest shot category. How did you develop that weapon?
Belchetz: If you came to my house and looked at my garage you’d know exactly which house mine is because one’s covered in puck marks. So, I think it just all starts from there. You’re in front of the house ripping pucks. You come home from school and get on the ODR and shoot pucks. I think it all starts from there.
TSN: Your parents okay with the state of the garage?
Belchetz: Well, at one point my dad had to paint it over because the landlord was getting mad. But, yeah, he’s okay with it. He likes it when I’m out there.
TSN: How do you feel about your draft year?
Belchetz: Overall it went really well. I made a lot of steps and learned a whole bunch. Obviously you’re going to have ups and downs and after every single down you want to learn from it. We had a really good team in Windsor. We had so much fun. Such a great group of guys and it sucks when you go out with an injury at the end of the year. I was really excited to go on a long playoff run with the guys in that group. We had a really special team to do it. We made the Western Conference Finals.
TSN: Where did you improve the most?
Belchetz: With the puck on my stick and making plays and putting the puck in the net. Just that confidence when you’re on the ice, you’re on the power play and you’re making those plays. Just the playmaking side of it and putting the puck in the net, I think that was the biggest step.
TSN: How did you improve there?
Belchetz: I’ve been working on that a while with [skills coach] Andrew Fritsch. We did video every week or every two weeks, watching shifts with the puck. Maybe it’s a zone entry or rush and you work on that. Maybe there’s a play I made that worked out in that shift but maybe I could have done something better or it didn’t work out or something. So, it’s just going over video with him. And then it’s also just learning and getting older and getting used to the league, which is a big part of it.
TSN: What’s it like working with skating coach Dawn Braid?
Belchetz: I’ve been working with Dawn for a couple years now and she’s awesome. She transformed my skating. If you took a video of me skating going into my OHL career to now, it looks like two different skaters. I’ve taken a lot of steps with her with skating, crossover agility and all that. But also there’s a lot more steps to be taken, so I’m going to continue to work with her.
TSN: How much more room do you feel like you have to grow with skating?
Belchetz: It’s not just skating. I think it’s every part of my game, every single part of my game needs improvement. For me, as a bigger guy, if I can get the pace up, get the skating up the first couple steps, it’s just going to make it that much easier for me on the ice to get to a puck and use my skill and use my size.
TSN: Just days away from the draft in Buffalo, what are you feeling?
Belchetz: A lot of excitement. It’s gonna be a fun week. You work your whole life towards this, all those early mornings going to the rink, all those late nights at the rink, and it all comes down to this. It’ll be a fun week and you don’t have too many expectations because it’s all about what you do in the next couple years going forward.
TSN: Do you have any sense of when you may be picked?
Belchetz: Talking to some people there’s obviously a range that you’re looking at but, for me, it’s not necessarily about a number I’m looking at. It’s more what I have to do the next day, the next time I go on the ice, the next time I go in the gym and just all that work combined throughout this summer, the next summer, the next few seasons. If you’re drafted four picks higher, four picks later, at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter too much. It’s when you’re looking back 20 years down the road and how your career went and how hard you worked and that’s really what matters.
TSN: Anything special planned in terms of your draft night fit?
Belchetz: I have a good outfit. I’m pretty excited about the inside of it. For now, I don’t want that many people to know about it. I want to keep it between me and my family.
TSN: Do you have a song picked for when you are picked?
Belchetz: ‘Good Riddance’ by Green Day. That’s my go-to song for these types of things. Just the words in it, if you really listen to the lyrics, you know what it means.
