Spirit gets goalie Ekblad from Plymouth

The Saginaw Spirit announced this week that the team has acquired goaltender Darien Ekblad from the Plymouth Whalers.

In return, the Spirit send their West Division counterpart a 13th round pick in the 2013 OHL Priority Selection.

Ekblad was originally selected by London in the ninth round of the 2010 draft, then was part of a package that saw goaltender Jake Patterson move to the Knights from Plymouth.

The Belle River, Ont., native is a 1994 birth year, and is the brother of Aaron Ekblad of the Barrie Colts, the OHL’s first overall pick in 2011.

This season with the Chatham Maroons of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, Ekblad has enjoyed a solid campaign with 17 wins and a goals-against average of 2.93 in 24 games. He was named the league’s Western Conference Goaltender of the Month for November.