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

[OnlyUpFromHere]

Well it's the eve of start of the season... what are some of the things everyone is looking forward to?

Who are your picks for the 1 forward, 1 defenseman and 1 goalies that MM said the team is looking for?
When/if the team sells off their older players... who is going to go to which team?
Will the team make the playoffs?

 

[EvenSteven]

Well it's the eve of start of the season... what are some of the things everyone is looking forward to?

Who are your picks for the 1 forward, 1 defenseman and 1 goalies that MM said the team is looking for?
When/if the team sells off their older players... who is going to go to which team?
Will the team make the playoffs?

The window for dealing defected players is around the corner. These deals usually happen early in that window. If the Rangers are in on any possible deal regarding Henry Brzustewicz, it could happen this week?

If nothing else, we’ll know Henry B’s status soon.

I don’t expect London to designate Moore defected. I think they’ll wait on him.

 

[OnlyUpFromHere]

The window for dealing defected players is around the corner. These deals usually happen early in that window. If the Rangers are in on any possible deal regarding Henry Brzustewicz, it could happen this week?

If nothing else, we’ll know Henry B’s status soon.

I don’t expect London to designate Moore defected. I think they’ll wait on him.

Would definitely be this week (probably earlier than later too).

If the Rangers are in on him, I think parting ways with Erie’s 2nd (‘24) becomes a lot more easier when you see that Saginaw has PBO’s 2nd this year and you could prioritize getting that in a (Hunter) Brzustewicz deal there if he does end up going there.

 

[Gondrex]

Well it's the eve of start of the season... what are some of the things everyone is looking forward to?

Who are your picks for the 1 forward, 1 defenseman and 1 goalies that MM said the team is looking for?
When/if the team sells off their older players... who is going to go to which team?
Will the team make the playoffs?

Who are your picks for the 1 forward, 1 defenseman and 1 goalies that MM said the team is looking for?

Forward: Without the benefit of seeing training camp yet, I'll go with Hlacar based solely on what I saw at spring camp, and the fact that he is an 06. Akimov is a year older, and may have a shot if outplays Morey (also an 05). Of course when it comes to training camp opinions, management has historically proven me wrong. So take that with a giant grain of salt. Alternatively the Rangers could look for a cheap acquisition instead of the above. On this subject, I'm disappointed that there is no McGurn at camp...from what I see.

D-Man: As I had mentioned a couple of times already I see Scott, Terrance, Runco and possibly Dubey (we'll have to see) fighting it out for 2 of 3 spots, but maybe MM sees Scott's job safe - i.e. his to lose - and there is only one spot left.

Goaltender: Need to see camp.

When/if the team sells off their older players... who is going to go to which team?

I guess logically you could point to Brzustewicz going to Saginaw and Martin to Sudbury. However, these teams do not have to make those moves. dirty pointed out in his posts how crowded the OA market could potentially be. To me, Martin needs a monster year to remove any concern. If little is offered for Martin, will MM then turn to putting Rehkopf up on the block ? In the end, I think Martin gets dealt, but possibly for less than what we may expect. Time will tell. I'm in the camp believing that he is the only OA that is successfully dealt because of lack of interest for the other two. However if either of the other two have great seasons, then maybe that changes. As I said before, I'm not going to underestimate Sop two years in a row .

Will the team make the playoffs?

I simply can't see how. If they ended up 8th with an "all-in" team last year, how can they equal that position in the standings with the departure of so many? I would be shocked. I believe we will be reading a lot of frustrating posts here throughout this upcoming season. Patience will be needed. Three consecutive below-average drafts (04's, 05's and 06's) got us here. Couple that with emptying the cupboard in vain last year and here we are at this low point today.

In my own view, if the Rangers are somewhat able to follow the progressive path of what the Soo did last season (kept it close to 8th until after the trade deadline) that might personally meet my definition of success for this year's squad.

Sorry for the grim outlook. Hopefully everyone else is more optimistic than me. So sit back, pull up a coolie and enjoy the incremental progress of the youngsters as the season goes on.

 

[EvenSteven]

Would definitely be this week (probably earlier than later too).

If the Rangers are in on him, I think parting ways with Erie’s 2nd (‘24) becomes a lot more easier when you see that Saginaw has PBO’s 2nd this year and you could prioritize getting that in a (Hunter) Brzustewicz deal there if he does end up going there.

Does Saginaw have Pete’s ‘24 2nd? According to the database, Barrie has it with conditions.

The database doesn’t have Saginaw having any ‘24 2nds this year except for the conditional 2nd from Kingston.

Well it's the eve of start of the season... what are some of the things everyone is looking forward to?

Who are your picks for the 1 forward, 1 defenseman and 1 goalies that MM said the team is looking for?
When/if the team sells off their older players... who is going to go to which team?
Will the team make the playoffs?

If Martin has a strong first half, and looking at his playoff last spring, he should bring good return at the deadline.

I agree Hunter B to Saginaw makes the most sense. Especially if the return is comparable to Christian Kyrou return.

To move Rehkopf this year the return would have to be significant, especially when he has a good first half. That return has to include a 16 year old 1st plus high picks or the equivalent if a 1st isn’t available. Otherwise, move him next year.

It may be unrealistic to expect to move all three OA’s or even two of them. And I trust MM won’t give them away.


My uneducated, uninformed prediction:

-We trade for Henry B.
-We trade away Hunter B at the deadline.
-We trade away Martin at the deadline.
-Sop and Motew are not traded.
-No fair trade for Rehkopf. He’s moved next year.

I hope I’m wrong on Rehkopf. The sooner we deal him, the bigger the return.

 

[rangersblues]

What I expect from this year's team - improvement. That's all I want to see is players get better from September 29 to March 15. I don't expect any hockey past that and frankly would rather have the lottery pick.

What I do expect is our very young, inexperienced lineup improves to the point where we have some players who are highly rated in the 2025 NHL draft. That's been an almost complete failure in the past decade+ . If we're to compete to host the Memorial Cup that has to end.

 

[OnlyUpFromHere]

Does Saginaw have Pete’s ‘24 2nd? According to the database, Barrie has it with conditions.

The database doesn’t have Saginaw having any ‘24 2nds this year except for the conditional 2nd from Kingston.


If Martin has a strong first half, and looking at his playoff last spring, he should bring good return at the deadline.

I agree Hunter B to Saginaw makes the most sense. Especially if the return is comparable to Christian Kyrou return.

To move Rehkopf this year the return would have to be significant, especially when he has a good first half. That return has to include a 16 year old 1st plus high picks or the equivalent if a 1st isn’t available. Otherwise, move him next year.

It may be unrealistic to expect to move all three OA’s or even two of them. And I trust MM won’t give them away.


My uneducated, uninformed prediction:

-We trade for Henry B.
-We trade away Hunter B at the deadline.
-We trade away Martin at the deadline.
-Sop and Motew are not traded.
-No fair trade for Rehkopf. He’s moved next year.

I hope I’m wrong on Rehkopf. The sooner we deal him, the bigger the return.

I was under the impression from someone in the loop that SAG does have Petes ‘24 2nd, my reasoning for including that little info.

I would expect a Henry B trade either tomorrow or Wednesday, cause I’m sure whichever team deals for him (Kitchener? Saginaw? London?!?) want him at camp ASAP with their groups.

 

[RB76]

What I expect from this year's team - improvement. That's all I want to see is players get better from September 29 to March 15. I don't expect any hockey past that and frankly would rather have the lottery pick.

What I do expect is our very young, inexperienced lineup improves to the point where we have some players who are highly rated in the 2025 NHL draft. That's been an almost complete failure in the past decade+ . If we're to compete to host the Memorial Cup that has to end.

There’s opportunities for the team to be successful: can the coaches foster a competitive and character driven culture; does MM pull off the right trades; can last year’s players step up and be leaders on and of the ice; and can the 07s develop, contribute and push the vets to excel.

 

[Habsrule]

Well it's the eve of start of the season... what are some of the things everyone is looking forward to?

Who are your picks for the 1 forward, 1 defenseman and 1 goalies that MM said the team is looking for?
When/if the team sells off their older players... who is going to go to which team?
Will the team make the playoffs?

I’ll try to make my predictions.

My breakout players are Misaljevic and Swick breakout up front and Andonovski on the back end.

Misaljevic I predict top six minutes and he will score 20. Swick won’t have a massive offensive outburst but he will play key PK minutes and be a big team contributor. Andonovski will never be an offensive threat but this year he takes his defence to the next level. He will be really physical and a pain to play against.

Brzustewicz gets traded to Saginaw. I think as of right now that is a no brainer and all of the stars align.

Rehkopf is kept all season and gets dealt next year. He scores 40 goals this season and keeps the Rangers competitive in games.

Rangers miss the playoffs but not by too much. They start the year off with a lot of hit or completely miss games. They will be hard working and there will be growing pains. Some games they will be competitive and lose by a goal and other times they will get blown out.

Romano and Reid both play a really solid game and get better as the season progresses. Lam brings people out of their seats but will have a lot of turnovers. He will have a big learning curve.

Parsons is my wildcard. If he is the Parsons that beat London two years ago then he has the ability to steal some games. My guess is that he has a really good season and is a big bright spot. The team will have a losing record so it is always easier for a goalie to look good on a losing team with no pressure on them. I can see him being traded at the deadline with a team looking to pick him up for this year and next year as an overager.

The coaching will be a factor. Ahokas may have a bit of a learning curve but he has done well coaching teenagers. Their assistant coaches have been upgraded too. I see much better structure this season and a very hard working team. They will lack in skill but will be a hard working team.

 

[Rangers True Blue]

The window for dealing defected players is around the corner. These deals usually happen early in that window. If the Rangers are in on any possible deal regarding Henry Brzustewicz, it could happen this week?

If nothing else, we’ll know Henry B’s status soon.

I don’t expect London to designate Moore defected. I think they’ll wait on him.

Ottawa hasn't announced their training camp yet and I believe that if HB doesn't show and says he's not coming to the team, Ottawa can then claim him as defected and must trade him before September 15th to receive a compensatory pick.

 

[Squirrel88]

I remember a few years ago Josh Brown mentioned in an article that OHL execs use returning goals from 17, 18 & 19 yo (no rooks or OA) players as a rough guide to how competitive a team will be that year. That metric is not kind to Kitchener. Assuming no Mesar, Sarnia and Kitchener were tied for last in the West going into the off-season, and well behind the other teams, including Windsor. That was before Sarnia picked up the twins. I agree with other posters that the goal should be to be in the mix for 8th and try to be competitive while giving rookies whatever ice time they can effectively handle. The mid-west also looks loaded this year, so Kitchener's record may be ugly (similar to the '13-'14 season). It will be tough to get a lot of wins off of London, Guelph and OS this year, and Erie will be improved.

As for trades, I'll go with Hunter in November, Martin in December and one of the '04 forwards at the deadline for a limited return. Let's say Misal. Swick takes the net-front spot on PP1 after the Martin trade and has a good second half, getting to 25-30 goals.

Rehkopf and Andonovski get traded next year, both for good returns.

Fans spend most of the season trying to glean for positive news and green shoots in development.

 

[Rangers True Blue]

Ottawa hasn't announced their training camp yet and I believe that if HB doesn't show and says he's not coming to the team, Ottawa can then claim him as defected and must trade him before September 15th to receive a compensatory pick.

Found this on a CHL page re training camps that wasn't there when the article was first published.

There's been nothing about this on Ottawa's website other than and article on the work leading up to training camp....yet.

 

[OnlyUpFromHere]

Looks like the Rangers training camp roster has been updated and American D Brandt Dubey was removed from it... going from 16 defensemen to now 15.

My guess is participating in camp (specifically scrimmages) would have affected his NCAA eligibility.

Still has 23 forwards and 5 goaltenders listed like when the roster was initially released.

 

[Rangers True Blue]

Found this on a CHL page re training camps that wasn't there when the article was first published.
View attachment 739595
There's been nothing about this on Ottawa's website other than and article on the work leading up to training camp....yet.

Announcement now on their website...training camp opens tomorrow Aug 30th. No roster listed.

 

[rangersblues]

Looks like the Rangers training camp roster has been updated and American D Brandt Dubey was removed from it... going from 16 defensemen to now 15.

My guess is participating in camp (specifically scrimmages) would have affected his NCAA eligibility.

Still has 23 forwards and 5 goaltenders listed like when the roster was initially released.

Players who want to keep their NCAA eligibility can only attend camp for 48 hours and may not play in any exhibition games.

 

[Stellar29]

Players who want to keep their NCAA eligibility can only attend camp for 48 hours and may not play in any exhibition games.

They can technically stay longer than 48 hours but have to foot the bill for any costs associated with the camp visit themselves. The "48 hour" rule is a one time deal where the CHL team can foot the bill for the costs associated with the player attending camp but maxes out at two days. The player can attend more than one camp but can't take any financial help from the CHL team with the costs associated with their visit.

 

[Habsrule]

I will give a half report on what I saw from the practices tonight.

I took my 10 year old son and he got bored about 10 minutes into the second (white team) practice. So I can’t really give too much of a scouting report on them.

For some reason I had a feeling that Ahokas would be more of a strict and stern type of coach. He was actually interacting with the players and he had a smile on his face. When the first practice was done he was first bumping all of the players. It seems like the players like and respect him.

It’s pretty difficult to single out players who stand out in a practice because they were running all set plays. During a game the players have to think and improvise and react on their own.

Motew looked really good out there. He had a lot of confidence and played the puck really well. Most of the rookies were over playing the puck. I’ll chalk that up to nerves and wanting to impress. Hamara was not there. DiFelice is a big boy.

The rookies all had full cages on their helmets except of Reid, Romano and Lam.

From the white team Martin looked really good with his skating. Hlacar impressed me with his work ethic from what I seen. He is a big guy and from their end to end skating drills he was always one of the first to finish from his group. He has this weird hunched over stride but you could see the effort he was putting forth. He was more winded than most players.

Arquette and Lam both look tiny out there.


The one thing that was a big difference in this coaching staff is how they want the players to go to the net. Now I may be reading too much into this one practice but it was what they were instilling in them. Always had the forwards standing by the net to screen and tip the defencemen’s shots. Looks like a lot more garbage goals this year compared to last.


I am going to miss the morning Blue / White game but will see the evening one. I’ll give a scouting report from that one.

 

[Rangers True Blue]

From what I've read, Ahokas believes in bringing out the best in every player but in return, he expects hard work and accountability. IMHO. he does want them to succeed and when they succeed, the coaching staff does too.

Thx for the practice update, Habsrule. Your comments about Lam and Arquette seeming so small compared to the others speaks out to the size of the other players. I can remember when the Rangers were somewhat undersized and were pushed around by the opposing teams.

And Hlacar is hungry I'm sure. I'm hoping to see a few big hits and the fact that he can play and contribute. As for going to the net and being there for chances to stuff the puck in, I'm all for anything that will help scoring against older, more experienced teams.

I'll be at both morning Blue/White games as I suspect a few others from this thread will.
GO RANGERS!

 

[EvenSteven]

For those who cannot attend, thanks a bunch for the updates !!!

 

[Rangers True Blue]

Henry's a no-show......

 

[Habsrule]

Henry's a no-show......
View attachment 739736

He could be doing that to keep his NCAA eligibility. I would love for the Rangers to try to trade for him though. He will be a lot cheaper to acquire now as opposed to when he is a 19 year old.

Andonovski - Brzustewicz
Motew - Reid
Hamara -Brzustewicz
Scott

 

[EvenSteven]

He could be doing that to keep his NCAA eligibility. I would love for the Rangers to try to trade for him though. He will be a lot cheaper to acquire now as opposed to when he is a 19 year old.

Andonovski - Brzustewicz
Motew - Reid
Hamara -Brzustewicz
Scott

We don’t have many movable picks, (2nd, 3rd, 4th, 4th).

But for the 22nd overall pick, that night get it done, especially if Ottawa needs that comp pick and Henry demands to be dealt to Kitchener.

In any case, it’ll be an interesting where Henry lands.

 

[HockeyPops]

He can attend camp and still keep his eligibility.

 

[Erikfromfin]

Jurri Ahokas

 

[tjziel]

Hey question, who is your OA’s this year?