Before the season began, Windsor Spitfires general manager Bill Bowler offered a prediction: Ethan Belchetz, he said, was going to challenge to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.“He does it all,” Bowler told The Athletic at the time. “The sheer strength and size of the guy and the fact that he can play hockey, you just don’t see it, you don’t see guys this size that can skate and play hockey the way that he does. Any type of game you choose to play, Ethan will excel at that. And that’s still a part of hockey. Ethan’s got a bright, bright, bright future, and we’ll hear his name real early.”Early on in the season, Bowler’s prediction held true. On October weekends in Brantford and Windsor, NHL scouts and NCAA coaches left games talking about him as a potential top-three player in the 2026 class. After leading Canada in scoring with four goals and seven points in five games at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he scored 10 goals in his first 13 games of the OHL season, often racking up 6-8 shots per game. Next to early-season linemates Jack Nesbitt and Liam Greentree, two older first-round picks, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Belchetz was often the standout — a top player on one of the CHL’s top teams.But then he disappointed at the CHL USA Prospects Challenge in Calgary and Lethbridge at the end of November, falling down Team CHL’s lineup.A little more than three months later, in a March 3 practice, he suffered a broken clavicle that prematurely ended his draft year. He underwent surgery to repair the S-shaped collarbone that connects the arm to the shoulder blade on March 10.By then, his production had also leveled off from that hot start. He’d still scored 34 goals and 59 points in 57 games (an impressive 41-goal pace which would have been good for third-most in the OHL), but the conversation had shifted to other names at the very top of the draft. At year’s end, NHL Central Scouting would slot him as their No. 9-ranked North American skater for the draft.Still, when Bowler picked up a call at season’s end, shortly after Belchetz had announced his decision to leave the Spitfires and commit to Michigan State next season, his opinion of the player hadn’t changed.He was “extremely surprised” that he left as early as he did and acknowledged he didn’t anticipate when he selected Belchetz with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection that he’d only be a two-year player. But his belief in that player was unwavering.“He’s a talented, huge body that had an unfortunate injury that delayed some of the progression or expectations, but nothing has changed in my opinion of the hockey player or the person,” he said. “He can score from outside, he has an elite shot, and for a big guy, he has presence and sense around the net. He’s just a real big body and complete player that should translate at the NHL level.”Ethan Belchetz skates with the puck in the CHL/USA Prospects Challenge. (Jenn Pierce / CHL)About 10 months after Bowler’s prediction, Belchetz had to skip the pull-ups and bench press at the NHL Scouting Combine as he completed his recovery.He was told it would take 6-12 weeks for the bone to heal fully. He eventually started to stick handle with one arm, his other in a sling, in his front yard. Then he started skating with no stick.