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Stouffville Spirit fans know what Edmonton Oilers fans now know.

It’s called Drake Caggiula.

The former Spirit star scored two goals and was named second star as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Chicago Black Hawks 4-0 in Edmonton Thursday.

The 24-year-old from Whitby is the sixth Stouffville Spirit graduate to play in the NHL.

Foreshadowing?

Caggiula talked after Thursday’s morning skate about playing on the Oilers’ top line alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid. 

"Cause havoc on the forecheck, create a lot of loose puck opportunities and allow them to do their thing… If I can just be ready to shoot it at all times it's going to go a long way for me," he said Thursday morning.

Oilers head coach Kevin McLellan likes what he’s seen.

"Since he's got healthy post-training camp and we sent a little message to him in Game 1, he has been pretty feisty," said McLellan of Caggiula. "He's been practising hard, there's been nothing casual about him or his game. He does a good job of staying over pucks, does a good job of winning tight battles and he'll go to the net like he scored tonight."

Caggiula has scored four goals in eight games this year.

Caggiula played two seasons (2010-11) for the Spirit. As a 17-year-old, he was MVP of the Ontario Junior Hockey League playoffs in 2012, leading Stouffville to the Central Canadian championship final.

Caggiula led the University of North Dakota to the 2016 NCAA Division 1 championship in April, and was named most outstanding player at the Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla. He signed a free-agent deal with the Oilers that summer.

Caggiula is looking ahead. The Oilers’ next game is in Detroit on Saturday night.

"The coaches put me in a new role today and I was happy to answer the bell," said Caggiula. "It's just one game and you just got to make sure you stay consistent."

Caggiula looks back fondly on his time with Stouffville.

“Some of my fondest memories while playing in Stouffville were the championships we won, our playoff runs, and the friends and connections I made,” he told Chris McLachlin of the OHA in 2017.

“I gained experience from winning the Buckland Cup and going to the Dudley-Hewitt Finals which I have been able to take with me to the next levels.”  

 “The OJHL helped me get to where I am today for a few reasons,” said Caggiula, who played with Spirit head coach Rob Acton and assistant coach Chris Porter in Stouffville. “It helped me receive a full scholarship to the University of North Dakota, it allowed me at a young age to play a big role on a championship winning team and provided exposure to the NHL.”

Devin Shore, Caggiula’s childhood friend, and teammate also scored Thursday, helping the Dallas Stars defeat Toronto. Shore played for his hometown Whitby Fury in 2012, losing to Caggiula and the Spirit in that OJHL final.

BIG LEAGUE: The other five Spirit grads to play in the NHL are: Mike Duco (Vancouver, Florida), Darren Archibald (Vancouver), Will Acton (Edmonton), Chris Tanev (Vancouver) and Trevor Carrick (Carolina).

Archibald was recalled by the Canucks from Utica of the AHL Tuesday. Tanev is out of the Vancouver lineup with a hip injury.

Acton, the older brother of Spirit coach Rob Acton, is in his fourth season in Germany’s top division. He has three goals and seven assists in 16 games with the Nurnberg Ice Tigers.

Carrick is in his fifth season with Charlotte of the AHL – Carolina’s top farm team.

Duco, who retired in 2016, is the inaugural head coach of the Okanagan Hockey Group’s AAA U18 team based in Whitby. He also works in player development with Peterborough of the OHL. Duco was an assistant coach with the Petes last season.

THE SKED: The Spirit (2-12-0-1) is in tough tonight against the North York Rangers (17-0-1-3) in North York. The Rangers are the fifth ranked team in the land, according to this week’s Canadian Junior Hockey League rankings. The Oakville Blades (15-1-1-1) are No. 2, behind only the Brockville Braves.

The Spirit doesn’t play again until Nov. 10, in Georgetown. They also have a yawning 19 days between home games. The next one at the Stouffville Arena comes Nov. 15, against the Aurora Tigers.

Spirit This Week is a weekly feature sponsored by Farmer Jack’s in Stouffville and Sharon.