SAGINAW — Dino Ciccarelli knows both ends of the spectrum in the Ontario Hockey League.

He knows what it’s like to be the league’s leading scorer, destined for pro hockey greatness.

And he knows what it’s like to be damaged goods, fighting to get a chance at the next level.

In his second year in what was then called the Ontario Hockey Association, 1977-78, Ciccarelli scored 72 goals in the regular season — two more than Wayne Gretzky, he likes to point out — playing for the London Knights.

It was soon after that when his career took an abrupt turn; during a playoff practice, Ciccarelli hit a rut in the ice, crashed into the boards and broke his right femur.

The injury limited his playing time and production over the next two seasons, and cast his pro hockey prospects into doubt.

“It went from expectations from going to the World Hockey League at the time or signing a contract and making my dream come true to everything being disastrous,” Ciccarelli said. “It was tough for a good two years after that.”

After going unpicked in the NHL draft, Ciccarelli signed as a free agent with the Minnesota North Stars. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound forward overlooked out of junior hockey went on to have a 19-year NHL career — including four seasons with the Detroit Red Wings — that saw him amass 608 regular season goals and 1,200 points.

Ciccarelli, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last month, reflected on his time in hockey while he visited Saginaw for the team’s Wednesday game against the Erie Otters.

“I feel I got a second chance,” Ciccarelli said. “To get the second chance, let alone play 19 years, have success. I was never one of the lucky guys to win a cup, but it was still a great career. To get the call earlier this year with the Hall of Fame, it was the icing on the cake for me.”

Ciccarelli’s appearance was part of the team’s season-long Hall of Fame series that has already welcomed Red Wing greats Jimmy Devellano, Ted Lindsay and Igor Larionov to The Dow.

On the ice, Saginaw topped Erie, 4-2, to start the second half of the season, backed by a 41-save performance from Mavric Parks and a goal and an assist apiece from Jordan Szwarz and John McFarland. The Spirit will continue its week with a Saturday afternoon trip to Guelph and a Sunday game at Mississauga. The Majors lead the OHL with 57 points through Wednesday’s play, five more than Saginaw’s Western Conference-leading 52.

Before Wednesday’s game, Ciccarelli paid a visit to the Spirit locker room to speak to the players. Ciccarelli, along with his brothers, owns the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, and said he likes to draw on his time as an OHL player and owner to remind players how close they are to the NHL.

“We put these kids in a great environment to succeed,” Ciccarelli said. “When they get to this level, they’re close to making the NHL, and we obviously try to mimic what the NHL does a lot, from having these kids on the ice every day, in the training room, and hopefully their dreams can come true, too.”

Noteworthy

• The Spirit announced this week that George Daniel has been hired as assistant coach, to replace Adam Mattson, who resigned following the first half of the season. Daniel is a former midget major coach with the Compuware youth hockey program in Detroit.