Kitchener Rangers 2022-23 Off-Season Thread (Part 4)

[rangersblues]

The player I saw the Rangers taking in a mock draft the other day was RHD Rylan Singn. 5'8" 145 lbs. Supposedly a slippery offensive defenseman. Saw his name on another GTA list only ranking at about number 30 for that league. I doubt they take him but who knows? A few years back I saw Ryan Murphy on an obscure scouting list and mentioned it not thinking they would take him.

At this point we don't need to be picking an Elijah Roberts type player in the first round.

 

[Coaches Coroner]

At this point we don't need to be picking an Elijah Roberts type player in the first round.

Not sure you can compare them without seeing them play. Roberts was more of a puck mover than an offensive D, and Singh's production at the same level at the same age is vastly higher (46 in 36 vs 33 in 54; playoffs 17 points in 8 games. If he's ranked in the 30s, maybe a target with that 2nd depending on who they take in the 1st.

 

[rangersblues]

Not sure you can compare them without seeing them play. Roberts was more of a puck mover than an offensive D, and Singh's production at the same level at the same age is vastly higher (46 in 36 vs 33 in 54; playoffs 17 points in 8 games. If he's ranked in the 30s, maybe a target with that 2nd depending on who they take in the 1st.

Both under sized Dmen with offensive tools. Point taken but not many of us have seen any of the prospects play so why any discussion at all.

 

[EvenSteven]

Both under sized Dmen with offensive tools. Point taken but not many of us have seen any of the prospects play so why any discussion at all.

What else is there to talk about? The game tonight?

 

[bobber]

From Otten's report: Rylan Singh, D, YSE
If I created a Tony Ferrari and Brock Otten-style Frankenstein defenceman, they would have Rylan's brain and approach to hockey. Everything Rylan does is through the lens of pushing play to the dangerous parts of the ice. Rarely will Rylan opt for an uncontrolled play or low-danger shot, but instead, he'll do everything he can to attack a dangerous shooting lane or skirt a forechecker, then thread a pass to the slot. His mobility and evasiveness are at the core of his ability to generate such chances. Rylan can turn, pivot, or spin his way out of any corner or pressure, and he does it with complete control of the puck. Given his mobility and puck skills, Rylan will never back down from a chance to challenge opponents one-on-one and will routinely dangle his way to the middle of the ice. Likewise, Singh will never hesitate to activate up ice and join in on a rush, making him the most offensively involved defender in the class by a long shot. Outside of the offence, Singh is a reliable puck mover who can push play-up ice to his forwards with long stretch passes for fast breaks. He is more than capable defensively, routinely breaking up plays with smart stick position and quick stick checks. I love how Rylan plays hockey, and think he has enormous potential to be a top-pairing defender down the line.

 

[RangerNation]

What else is there to talk about? The game tonight?

Wait, there is a game tonight? I hope the Rangers know there is one.

 

[EvenSteven]

We have the two 1sts and we’ll take who we take and we’ll assume they won’t be busts as 1st rounders.

We need a couple guys at 10 and 11 of comparable calibre to Pinelli and Rehkopf. We cannot miss on these picks. Valade has been a good Ranger but that calibre player could have been had in the 2nd round. And we’ve talked enough here on LeBlanc. We need to hit home runs on these two picks.

What’s really going to make or break this draft is how we fare with our picks in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounds. These three picks need to be good players. Very good players.

Here’s a look at players of note, who eventually reported, that we’ve taken in those rounds over the last 5 years:

2nds
Vukojevic
Sebrango
Schmidt

3rds
McDonnell
Parsons
Mercer
Bottineau

4th
Serpa
Motew
Martin
Andonovski

Those three we took in the 2nd along with McDonnell were all flyers. This is the quality we need out of our picks in these rounds.

We do our homework and pick the right players, it’ll go a long way in having a contender in 25-26 and a top contender in 26-27.

We can’t go into these seasons having to trade our way into contention as we did in 2018 and this year.


I’m getting ahead of myself here a bit, but once the trade deadline opens up, assets we need to acquire have to be with three and four years down the road in mind.

We’ll need to have a strong draft next year as well as this year. The best chance to have that strong draft is to have multiple high picks. When we move out veterans for picks, for me, I make it a priority that we acquire multiple 2nds for the ‘24 OHL draft. I’d love to see us go into the ‘24 draft with 3x2nds.

Sure you need to have a strong 19 year old group in a contending year but that has to be supported by a strong 18 year old group as well. Not having a strong 18 year old group this year forced us to trade more than we should have in order to contend.

 

[bobber]

We have the two 1sts and we’ll take who we take and we’ll assume they won’t be busts as 1st rounders.

We need a couple guys at 10 and 11 of comparable calibre to Pinelli and Rehkopf. We cannot miss on these picks. Valade has been a good Ranger but that calibre player could have been had in the 2nd round. And we’ve talked enough here on LeBlanc. We need to hit home runs on these two picks.

What’s really going to make or break this draft is how we fare with our picks in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounds. These three picks need to be good players. Very good players.

Here’s a look at players of note, who eventually reported, that we’ve taken in those rounds over the last 5 years:

2nds
Vukojevic
Sebrango
Schmidt

3rds
McDonnell
Parsons
Mercer
Bottineau

4th
Serpa
Motew
Martin
Andonovski

Those three we took in the 2nd along with McDonnell were all flyers. This is the quality we need out of our picks in these rounds.

We do our homework and pick the right players, it’ll go a long way in having a contender in 25-26 and a top contender in 26-27.

We can’t go into these seasons having to trade our way into contention as we did in 2018 and this year.


I’m getting ahead of myself here a bit, but once the trade deadline opens up, assets we need to acquire have to be with three and four years down the road in mind.

We’ll need to have a strong draft next year as well as this year. The best chance to have that strong draft is to have multiple high picks. When we move out veterans for picks, for me, I make it a priority that we acquire multiple 2nds for the ‘24 OHL draft. I’d love to see us go into the ‘24 draft with 3x2nds.

Sure you need to have a strong 19 year old group in a contending year but that has to be supported by a strong 18 year old group as well. Not having a strong 18 year old group this year forced us to trade more than we should have in order to contend.

Personally I hope the Rangers take a couple of the decent size skilled forwards that will be available to them in the 10th / 11th pick area of this draft. No surprises, flyers or taking second round players in the first.

 

[bobber]

Rangers will be on a mission tonight to pull another upset and send the series back to the Aud. They are hungry for another game seven in London. Pinelli with a hatty tonight! Go Rangers! Two more kicks at the old proverbial can!

 

[Gondrex]

.............We’ll need to have a strong draft next year as well as this year. The best chance to have that strong draft is to have multiple high picks. When we move out veterans for picks, for me, I make it a priority that we acquire multiple 2nds for the ‘24 OHL draft. I’d love to see us go into the ‘24 draft with 3x2nds.

Sure you need to have a strong 19 year old group in a contending year but that has to be supported by a strong 18 year old group as well. Not having a strong 18 year old group this year forced us to trade more than we should have in order to contend.

I believe you are right on the money ES. The two first rounders selected tomorrow to build this team around are key, and will go a long way for the future. However, they cannot be misses. Plus next year's high picks will be equally important. Having consecutive successful drafts could make or break this team's ultimate success down the road IMO.

 

[Ward Cornell]

We have the two 1sts and we’ll take who we take and we’ll assume they won’t be busts as 1st rounders.

We need a couple guys at 10 and 11 of comparable calibre to Pinelli and Rehkopf. We cannot miss on these picks. Valade has been a good Ranger but that calibre player could have been had in the 2nd round. And we’ve talked enough here on LeBlanc. We need to hit home runs on these two picks.

What’s really going to make or break this draft is how we fare with our picks in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounds. These three picks need to be good players. Very good players.

Here’s a look at players of note, who eventually reported, that we’ve taken in those rounds over the last 5 years:

2nds
Vukojevic
Sebrango
Schmidt

3rds
McDonnell
Parsons
Mercer
Bottineau

4th
Serpa
Motew
Martin
Andonovski

Those three we took in the 2nd along with McDonnell were all flyers. This is the quality we need out of our picks in these rounds.

We do our homework and pick the right players, it’ll go a long way in having a contender in 25-26 and a top contender in 26-27.

We can’t go into these seasons having to trade our way into contention as we did in 2018 and this year.


I’m getting ahead of myself here a bit, but once the trade deadline opens up, assets we need to acquire have to be with three and four years down the road in mind.

We’ll need to have a strong draft next year as well as this year. The best chance to have that strong draft is to have multiple high picks. When we move out veterans for picks, for me, I make it a priority that we acquire multiple 2nds for the ‘24 OHL draft. I’d love to see us go into the ‘24 draft with 3x2nds.

Sure you need to have a strong 19 year old group in a contending year but that has to be supported by a strong 18 year old group as well. Not having a strong 18 year old group this year forced us to trade more than we should have in order to contend.

Im sure there has been yrs that this hasn't happened but not too many of them. But the Knights models it seems like is to go into every draft with full picks in the top 3 or 4 rounds...usually multiple picks at that. Its an easy model to do if you dont always trade for a contender. It makes for a very competitive camp every yr and gives the team depth. Also makes the players feel uncomfortable if he knows another player is on his backside for playing time.

 

[bobber]

Im sure there has been yrs that this hasn't happened but not too many of them. But the Knights models it seems like is to go into every draft with full picks in the top 3 or 4 rounds...usually multiple picks at that. Its an easy model to do if you dont always trade for a contender. It makes for a very competitive camp every yr and gives the team depth. Also makes the players feel uncomfortable if he knows another player is on his backside for playing time.

Reading Otten's mock they talk about the Knights model changing from a high end skilled forwards to a more structure defensive system with elite Dmen. They look for players that can skate with high hockey IQs. What ever it is it seem to work for them. It will be interesting going forward for the Rangers. They are talking of bidding for the next Mem Cup in four years. We'll see if they have what it takes to put the right players together. Unless they change their model from what ever it is (chaos?) I have my doubts.

 

[GeoBlue]

Rangers will be on a mission tonight to pull another upset and send the series back to the Aud. They are hungry for another game seven in London. Pinelli with a hatty tonight! Go Rangers! Two more kicks at the old proverbial can!

I wish I had your optimism, Bobber! Would love to see another miracle round with the Rangers coming back and winning the series. Unfortunately, I see game 3 as an aberration, and not the norm.

 

[EvenSteven]

I look back on that powerhouse Windsor team and the nucleus of that team came about via the draft and their accumulation of high picks. Having those high picks gave them the quality depth needed to build a winner and give them pieces to use to replenish the cupboard and trade for pieces at the deadline.

06 draft:
Greg Nemisz. Adam Henrique. Mark Cundari. Eric Wellwood. Matt Hackett.

07 draft:
Taylor Hall. Ryan Ellis. Jesse Blacker.
Garrett Wilson. Matt Hackett.

Those two drafts weren’t too shabby for the Spits.
That’s the kind of pick accumulation I’d like to see for the Rangers.

 

[rangersblues]

Reading Otten's mock they talk about the Knights model changing from a high end skilled forwards to a more structure defensive system with elite Dmen. They look for players that can skate with high hockey IQs. What ever it is it seem to work for them. It will be interesting going forward for the Rangers. They are talking of bidding for the next Mem Cup in four years. We'll see if they have what it takes to put the right players together. Unless they change their model from what ever it is (chaos?) I have my doubts.

Even when London had high end forwards (Domi, Marner, Tkachuk...) they were always responsible defensively. Hunter coaches them to be complete players. They always find open ice and move the puck quickly. This year they just don't happen to have the extreme high end.

 

[Coaches Coroner]

I look back on that powerhouse Windsor team and the nucleus of that team came about via the draft and their accumulation of high picks. Having those high picks gave them the quality depth needed to build a winner and give them pieces to use to replenish the cupboard and trade for pieces at the deadline.

06 draft:
Greg Nemisz. Adam Henrique. Mark Cundari. Eric Wellwood. Matt Hackett.

07 draft:
Taylor Hall. Ryan Ellis. Jesse Blacker.
Garrett Wilson. Matt Hackett.

Those two drafts weren’t too shabby for the Spits.
That’s the kind of pick accumulation I’d like to see for the Rangers.

I'm pretty sure those are the drafts that they ended up getting sanctioned by the league for illegal (by league rules, not law) recruitment methods.

 

[RangerNation]

I've already wrote this game off so a win is a nice surprise. First goal, or two would be great. If it's 2/3-0 London end of first, that's all she wrote.

 

[RangerNation]

6 shots on net half way through the game. Where's that big lady at? Start warming up those vocals!

 

[rangersblues]

6 shots on net half way through the game. Where's that big lady at? Start warming up those vocals!

At least they were playing a decent defensive game. Then 2 massive breakdowns.

 

[RangerNation]

At least they were playing a decent defensive game. Then 2 massive breakdowns.

Unfortunately that's all it takes with this team this year.

 

[EvenSteven]

At least this isn’t happening on home ice.

 

[RangerNation]

At least this isn’t happening on home ice.

It pretty much did on Tuesday. This is just a formality now.

 

[rangersblues]

It pretty much did on Tuesday. This is just a formality now.

Second period looked exactly like Tuesday. Good chance of getting shutout 2 games in a row.

 

[GeoBlue]

Please draft the fastest player available tomorrow.

 

[GeoBlue]

I have a plan to win this game. Slip in the Flint Firebirds into Ranger sweaters and score a few late ones!