From Ohio to Ontario, AJ Spellacy’s multi-sport background strengthens and sustains his hockey dreams
PLYMOUTH, Mich. — AJ Spellacy is one of the top American hockey players in his age group, because of the time he spent playing sports other than hockey.
If you’re interested in a real-life rebuttal against the prevailing pressure to specialize in a single sport, Spellacy may be your new favorite athlete.
Spellacy, 18, is at USA Hockey Arena this week for the first step in the selection process for Team USA at the 2025 World Junior Championships. He arrived as a newly minted NHL Draft pick, having sufficiently impressed the Chicago Blackhawks to be selected 72nd overall last month. Spellacy rocketed up draft boards in the months prior to the draft, by adeptly handling the center position with the OHL Windsor Spitfires and standing out at the NHL Scouting Combine.
Even more remarkable? Had he chosen an alternate path, Spellacy might be on campus at Ohio State or Notre Dame this summer while preparing for his freshman football season.
The Spellacy family has a longstanding link to football, through the storied program at tradition-rich St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, where AJ’s father, John, is in the Athletic Hall of Fame. John went on to play football at Marshall. AJ’s older brother, John Jr., did the same at East Carolina.
AJ was a standout free safety in his sophomore year at St. Ignatius. Then he stunned many in the Ohio football community by deciding to focus on hockey.
“I think every football coach thought I was going to play college football,” Spellacy said after his first practice at the World Junior Summer Showcase. “They didn’t know I was going to play hockey until I made the decision. Everyone was very surprised. They had no idea I was even thinking of going to play hockey.
“I always thought I was going to play football. That was always my dream, until probably three years ago, when I started to love hockey more . . . I thought if I put in the work toward this, I could be a great player someday. The work’s only starting.”
In the spring of 2022, Spellacy tried out for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. He was cut. As much as the disappointment stung, AJ believes he’s benefited from it. By moving to Windsor, he’s matured through the experience of living in a new country while playing a higher volume of games than during his gridiron-focused years.
“I think it was for the best,” he said. “I got to develop in Windsor, and they were great to me. That made me the player I am today, and now I get an opportunity to hopefully be on this World Junior team.”
There’s a lesson in that, for kids, parents, and youth coaches, regardless of sport: As much as Spellacy would have loved to make the NTDP roster two years ago, that tryout was merely one moment in time. The larger goals are still in front of him, including the ’25 and ’26 World Junior rosters and his NHL career.
The skills Spellacy developed while playing football, basketball, and baseball help him on the ice today. By being a well-rounded, adaptable athlete, he has a brighter future than if he’d solely focused on hockey as a U-10 player.
“I think growing up playing all those sports helped me in the long run,” Spellacy said. “Everyone’s here now [at the World Junior Summer Showcase]. I don’t think it matters how long it takes you to get there. I have no doubt that in a couple years I’ll be in that spot where I want to be. It’s props to all those years playing every sport.”
John Spellacy Sr. captained the football and hockey teams at St. Ignatius. In a video tribute upon his 2019 Hall of Fame induction, his friend and former teammate Kevin Ginley described him as “a linebacker on skates” and “faster than anybody on the ice.”
A generation later, AJ invites similar descriptions while seeking to help the U.S. win back-to-back World Junior golds for the first time.
“The speed and the size and that athleticism certainly comes through,” Team USA head coach David Carle said. “I’m sure we’ll see a lot of that through camp.”
U.S. forward James Hagens, projected by many as the first pick in next year’s NHL Draft, said he’s been impressed by Spellacy’s size and speed.
“It’s tough to knock him off the puck,” Hagens said. “He moves well, which is awesome to see, and he’s got a nice shot. That’s a guy who’s taken a big-time step and is looking really good. Such a good guy off the ice, as well.”
Jon Paul Morosi is an MLB Network broadcaster and lead features reporter for NHL Network’s coverage of the World Junior Championships.
