Kitchener Rangers 2022-23 Off-Season Thread (Part 5)

[Rangers True Blue]

Brown's article today..........Kitchener’s spring rookie camp runs May 12 to 14 at the Aud.

 

[K2]

I am not so sure if we really have anyone that can find that "diamond in the rough". Doesn't hurt to try, I suppose.

Our luck with 'deep fringe' guys like Yantsis & Xhekaj, that were totally passed over, gives one some slight reason to hope either Besner or Narbekov might show up and impress at camp. We could use some 17yo talent on the roster be it from U18, last year, etc. plus it's compulsory so we have to try

Forget the number? 10 in 10 years?

I think it's 6 in 10 'unique names' including Spott who resigned in the 2013 offseason. Might have gone 10 through 10 during 1971-81 though?

Yeah, I'm anxious for Josh Brown to put this question to MM. Pretty much the only way the public is going to know.

I don't expect MM will depart from the party line that we know so well this early ... 'flood of inquiries, stacks of resumes, some outstanding candidates', etc. Then the chorus of crickets will resume and Coach Wideman will be announced We really need COO Birch to join MM on the search this time.

 

[bobber]

Our luck with 'deep fringe' guys like Yantsis & Xhekaj, that were totally passed over, gives one some slight reason to hope either Besner or Narbekov might show up and impress at camp. We could use some 17yo talent on the roster be it from U18, last year, etc. plus it's compulsory so we have to try

I think it's 6 in 10 'unique names' including Spott who resigned in the 2013 offseason. Might have gone 10 through 10 during 1971-81 though?

I don't expect MM will depart from the party line that we know so well this early ... 'flood of inquiries, stacks of resumes, some outstanding candidates', etc. Then the chorus of crickets will resume and Coach Wideman will be announced We really need COO Birch to join MM on the search this time.

One thing that puzzles me about Wideman .He either has to follow the party line like a politician or he just is not cut out to be a coach. He should have the experience to develop defensemen in the very least.

 

[rangersblues]

I think it's 6 in 10 'unique names' including Spott who resigned in the 2013 offseason. Might have gone 10 through 10 during 1971-81 though?

I don't expect MM will depart from the party line that we know so well this early ... 'flood of inquiries, stacks of resumes, some outstanding candidates', etc. Then the chorus of crickets will resume and Coach Wideman will be announced We really need COO Birch to join MM on the search this time.

When the New York Rangers ended their pro sponsorship of the Kitchener Rangers the circus began. In the first few seasons under pro sponsorship, Kitchener was extremely competitive getting to the league final twice and having 2 first place finishes. Wally Kuhlman was fired almost immediately in the first rebuilding cycle by the new board of directors and it's been mostly a joke ever since with the exception of the 80s and DeBoer years.

I think your scenario for naming Wideman Head Coach is bang on unfortunately.

 

[robertmac43]

My guess is we don't hear about a new coach for a few months yet. With seasons still going on its tough to get a full read on who is out there.

Edit: if it ends up being Wideman I will be annoyed.

 

[RangerNation]

The only reason I don't think it will be Wideman is the sole fact that it wasn't him last summer. I think the fans were super clear to MM that he screwed up. Read some resumes that actually have work experience please.

 

[BigHitter67]

U18 draft is a joke. Not worth paying attention to. Since it started in 2017 I can only recognize Dakota Betts as a player drafted by Kitchener.

lol..Gavin White and his NHL contact say hi
If you think they aren’t missing kids the first time around in the U16 draft you dont understand development .
Bessner is the classic late- developer who the U18 draft is meant for . IMO he ( along with #1 U18 selection ,Hammond) were the top 06 kids in HEO U18 this past season . Better than all the 06s in that league who were selected in last years U16 draft.

 

[bobber]

lol..Gavin White and his NHL contact say hi
If you think they aren’t missing kids the first time around in the U16 draft you dont understand development .
Bessner is the classic late- developer who the U18 draft is meant for . IMO he ( along with #1 U18 selection ,Hammond) were the top 06 kids in HEO U18 this past season . Better than all the 06s in that league who were selected in last years U16 draft.

Great point BigHitter. I think it's great that the league gives some players basically a second chance to make an OHL team. Why not. There are a lot of players that end up playing pro that developed into decent players later on. Many of the Under 16 drafted players never get a sniff of the OHL anyway. It's a crap shoot.

 

[bobber]

When the New York Rangers ended their pro sponsorship of the Kitchener Rangers the circus began. In the first few seasons under pro sponsorship, Kitchener was extremely competitive getting to the league final twice and having 2 first place finishes. Wally Kuhlman was fired almost immediately in the first rebuilding cycle by the new board of directors and it's been mostly a joke ever since with the exception of the 80s and DeBoer years.

I think your scenario for naming Wideman Head Coach is bang on unfortunately.

When the Rangers had exciting hard nosed teams that could compete they had hard nose coaches. Watching the NHL playoffs presently. It's one hell of a rough fast game where they take no prisoners. The game has moved to speed but the physicality certainly hasn't gone away. Players have to keep their heads up and feet moving all the time.

 

[OHL4Life]

lol..Gavin White and his NHL contact say hi
If you think they aren’t missing kids the first time around in the U16 draft you dont understand development .
Bessner is the classic late- developer who the U18 draft is meant for . IMO he ( along with #1 U18 selection ,Hammond) were the top 06 kids in HEO U18 this past season . Better than all the 06s in that league who were selected in last years U16 draft.

no chance that any of them are better then villenuvue, etc. the level between u18 and the ohl is monumental.

 

[bobber]

no chance that any of them are better then villenuvue, etc. the level between u18 and the ohl is monumental.

Slight chance. Jonathan Yantsis was suppose to go into the draft but Rangers signed him early. The signing was challenged but legal. He was our last 50 goal scorer.

 

[OHL4Life]

Slight chance. Jonathan Yantsis was suppose to go into the draft but Rangers signed him early. The signing was challenged but legal. He was our last 50 goal scorer.

to suggest that anyone who has never played in the league is better then every other player drafted and played from that league is silly. yantsis played in the same league as robert thomas, so thats the equivaltent as saying that yantsis at the time of signing was better then robert thomas.

not arguing they can be good ohl player, but suggesting that multiple players are the best players in the age group out of a u18 laegue? come on.

 

[BigHitter67]

no chance that any of them are better then villenuvue, etc. the level between u18 and the ohl is monumental.

lol..I didn’t say that . I said they are better than the HEO 06s drafted last season who played in HEO U18 again this past season .

 

[bobber]

to suggest that anyone who has never played in the league is better then every other player drafted and played from that league is silly. yantsis played in the same league as robert thomas, so thats the equivaltent as saying that yantsis at the time of signing was better then robert thomas.

not arguing they can be good ohl player, but suggesting that multiple players are the best players in the age group out of a u18 laegue? come on.

OHL4life not saying your wrong but the point of this exercise was whether a player in the Under 18 draft can make an OHL team and be successful. Never mentioned multiples of players or apples. Yantsis proved this. He was signed early before the draft. That all that was said. If you want to make it into something else that's your prerogative. Have at it. I do appreciate your knowledge of the league and players coming up.

 

[robertmac43]

Super happy for him!

 

[OHL4Life]

OHL4life not saying your wrong but the point of this exercise was whether a player in the Under 18 draft can make an OHL team and be successful. Never mentioned multiples of players or apples. Yantsis proved this. He was signed early before the draft. That all that was said. If you want to make it into something else that's your prerogative. Have at it. I do appreciate your knowledge of the league and players coming up.

we are talking about 2 different items.

you are saying the draft brings value, i dont argue that.

i agruee the throught that the player drafted 1st overall in the u18 draft is bettter then any player who played in the ohl last year.

thats it, thats all.

 

[bobber]

we are talking about 2 different items.

you are saying the draft brings value, i dont argue that.

i agruee the throught that the player drafted 1st overall in the u18 draft is bettter then any player who played in the ohl last year.

thats it, thats all.

Not what I said. I just said that Yantsis was an example of a player that was missed in the draft and signed later. He would have gone into the draft but the Rangers picked him up early and he developed into quite a player here in Kitchener. His parents sat behind us a few times when we had season tickets. Never said once he was better than any other player drafted earlier or later as you are referring to. Maybe your discussion should have been with BigHitter who initially brought up the subject referring to a player I have never heard of the Rangers drafted in the under 18 draft. The only info I have on potential draft picks is gleaned from the draft thread. Other than that and maybe Brock Ottens write ups I an oblivious to who is on any list or what there potential might be.

 

[bobber]

Asking on the Knights board about the size of the main camp in the fall. They still have a fairly large camp in London. Rangers use to do this and then made the decision a while back to pare it down. You would think they would be scouring every corner of the province and any other legitimate areas for undrafted players with potential and invite them for a look. A total rebuild is a great time to hold a larger camp IMO.

 

[OHL4Life]

Not what I said. I just said that Yantsis was an example of a player that was missed in the draft and signed later. He would have gone into the draft but the Rangers picked him up early and he developed into quite a player here in Kitchener. His parents sat behind us a few times when we had season tickets. Never said once he was better than any other player drafted earlier or later as you are referring to. Maybe your discussion should have been with BigHitter who initially brought up the subject referring to a player I have never heard of the Rangers drafted in the under 18 draft. The only info I have on potential draft picks is gleaned from the draft thread. Other than that and maybe Brock Ottens write ups I an oblivious to who is on any list or what there potential might be.

i wasnt replying to you, i was replying to 'bighitter', look at the context of my quote.

you jumped in after i replied to him.

im not sure why this is still going, read a few posts up.

 

[rangersblues]

Asking on the Knights board about the size of the main camp in the fall. They still have a fairly large camp in London. Rangers use to do this and then made the decision a while back to pare it down. You would think they would be scouring every corner of the province and any other legitimate areas for undrafted players with potential and invite them for a look. A total rebuild is a great time to hold a larger camp IMO.

I recall 3 or 4 years ago the Knights had enough players for 4 intersquad teams. We have two teams.

 

[OHL4Life]

I recall 3 or 4 years ago the Knights had enough players for 4 intersquad teams. We have two teams.

they dont like doing it, its hard to manage and there is no way to truly evaluate 80 kids in 2 days.

 

[bobber]

i wasnt replying to you, i was replying to 'bighitter', look at the context of my quote.

you jumped in after i replied to him.

im not sure why this is still going, read a few posts up.

The reason I replied was you replied to me on it after BigHitter made a comment. All good. Your information on players coming into the league is always appreciated.

 

[bobber]

I recall 3 or 4 years ago the Knights had enough players for 4 intersquad teams. We have two teams.

I remember being at Lions Arena many moons ago when Crozier was coach. They had a huge camp there. He was actually bringing groups of players out into the lobby and letting them know they were being cut.
I can imagine it is a difficult to run a camp with a large group of players attending. London must do it for some reason. This is why I asked over on that thread. Successful franchise doing something right.

 

[rangersblues]

they dont like doing it, its hard to manage and there is no way to truly evaluate 80 kids in 2 days.

I agree you can't truly evaluate them. And there is a considerable gap in talent between the top and bottom. But I think you can at least pick out a couple of guys that surprisingly are able to compete with the top talent.

What would the reason be for having a large camp if they don't like to do it?

 

[OHL4Life]

I agree you can't truly evaluate them. And there is a considerable gap in talent between the top and bottom. But I think you can at least pick out a couple of guys that surprisingly are able to compete with the top talent.

What would the reason be for having a large camp if they don't like to do it?

look at the kids going, lots of local connections. its good pr to have local kids at camp

looking at their roster, how many kids have made if from those 80 men camps? over the last 5/10 years the only name i remember may be riley coome?