Kitchener Rangers 2023-24 Off-Season Thread (Part 2)

[Rangers True Blue]

Andonovski or swick practicing?

Both there and both on cruise control.

 

[All the Answers]

Andonovski or swick practicing?

Both

 

[All the Answers]

How’d the young goalies look?
Did any unsigned players impress at all?

Thought Schaubel the better of the 2 youngsters.

Zimmerman around the play more than the other FAs, but none really impressed. Copeland did score 1 nice goal, but overhandles the puck and is mostly on the periphery. Team badly needs guys with jam.

 

[Jives]

Copeland is 19 not an OA. I see him getting a spot. Hopefully he has an amazing start and becomes a trade piece.

 

[All the Answers]

Copeland is 19 not an OA. I see him getting a spot. Hopefully he has an amazing start and becomes a trade piece.

My bad! Will edit. Yes I can see him making it then as we need some mature bodies on a young team.

 

[Rangers True Blue]

Headrick can maneuver and is a talent for sure. He's good at evading the big guys but when it's the opposing team, going to be rougher. Saw him level a larger player so he's not afraid out there. But yes, he will need protection.

Cameron has the size and skill to do well this season. Antsis is a great add to the team. I liked him at the dev camp and like him even more now that he's mixed in with the team. Lebrash (who scored a goal) and Hlacar were a little loss out there but we will see what this morning brings.

Romano's speed (wow) and skill are noticeable.....confidence too. With the right line mates (who can keep up to him), he should take a major step up for the team this season.

I noticed that the 3rd period featured Ranger players and newly drafted only. Different line combinations and defensive pairings were also seen. Weird seeing Stark on D but he has the talent to make it work.

I'm going to keep an eye on the invitees this morning. Last night, Copeland had some zip and Ayden Agius was noticeable on D....plays for the Admirals and was an alternate in the OHJL Prospects game back in January.

 

[Gondrex]

Of the three young goaltenders, I agree, Schaubel likely had the best outing. The other two struggled a bit. It's only one scrimmage I suppose.

Romano was, and arguably should have been, one of the best players on the ice considering he is fresh off the international tournament. In fairness, also playing against many who won't make it out of camp.

I agree that Hlcar and LaBrash are likely not up to speed in this league. For now though, I tell myself they are cheap signings that don't cost anything for a team on a "draft pick shoestring budget". Maybe it buys MM some time on something in the future pipeline ? Maybe there is development curve that we don't presently see.....who knows.

This team is going to struggle, no doubt. I know the same thing was said last year at this point, but at least you had a Rehkopf and Brzustewicz returning, and Sop had a decent, 19 year-old year which would turn into an excellent OA finale. On a positive note, at this early stage it looks like signing both Arquette and MacNeil last season, and then having them spend the year where they did, may have paid off. I know it's just camp, but I like what I see in both of them this early. Time will tell.

 

[Krangers08]

Is this the first year they’ve only done 2 games? Will anyone get signed out of camp?

 

[LostRangers]

Just got back from this morning’s scrimmage. Out of the new guys/up and comers I was impressed with Labrash, hard on the puck and gets to the front of the net. He needs to work on his first couple of strides. Hlacar similar with a little more quickness. MacNeil was solid and threw in some offensive forays. Think last year has given him some confidence. Bilecki was good in that I didn’t notice him much which is good for a rookie D.
Cameron was good for White and used his side to advantage. Copeland has good hockey IQ, hope they find a spot for him. Headrick was good but not necessarily 15th overall good. I liked Schneider…good in his own zone.
In terms of returnees….Romano was very good, as was Elinas. Reid tried to force it too much. Stick, Pug and Missile all drove the play well. Ando was his usual solid self.
Didn’t notice Antsis. Bottineau as well. Think Bot got injured…didn’t see him on the bench. Or could be coaches decision to hold him back to give others an opportunity.
Tough to grade the goalless….not enough defence and muscle out there to give them much help. Edwards exited the ice with about 10 to go…hope nothing serious.
Hope they don’t cut down to the expected roster and keep some of the new kids around for a bigger look and experience in some ex games.

 

[Tim Wallach]

My 2 cents is a little different from some of the other views I see here. I think fans too often fall into the trap of thinking bigger players are slow because they look slower than they are. It’s an age old trap. Just ask Mario Lemieux. But I thought Labrash was quite decent. Guys his size will never look like they have the motor of the 5’8 guys but I urge people to watch the results, not the mechanics.

This time badly needs size and jam. He created as much as most. And he certainly has the size. Hlacar struggled a bit more with the pace but knew to go to the net when unsure.

Of the goalies, I actually thought Schaubel struggled quite a bit. It’s to be expected of a 16 year old, but he was small and deep in the net and let several sneak by that can’t go in at this level. Time in Jr. B will help a lot.

On the positive side, I thought most kids showed something. MacNeil and Dirracolo both have some offence to their games, the latter having a good, low accurate point shot. Some overhandling by the forwards, but Anstis and Arquette among others showed some skill. It’s not like some years where a few looked way out of place. Definitely need some more jam this year.

 

[Matttheleaf]

Rangers are doing their Media Day pictures on the ice right now according to their Instagram account so I guess we may know soon who was signed out of camp if anyone.

 

[OnlyUpFromHere]

Has anyone else noticed that 3 out of the 5 Sunday games this year are at 6:00pm instead of the traditional 2:00pm times? I don't remember this being the case in the past few seasons

Just wanted to add some likely reasoning for these times.

Those 3 games at 6:00pm are the final games of 3-in-3 weekends for the team so they likely requested the later today to give the players some additional rest/travel time.

 

[EvenSteven]

From those of us who can’t get to these scrimmages, thanks for your analysis. It is greatly appreciated!

 

[LostRangers]

From those of us who can’t get to these scrimmages, thanks for your analysis. It is greatly appreciated!

My silver lining in a cloud. Had to cancel vacation plans to the west coast due to this Covid thing. Recovered now, finally, so took advantage.

 

[Krangers08]

Some notes from Browns article with Jussi.
-They will name a captain
- Over half the roster is 18 or younger
- Dirracolo looks like a different player

 

[Matttheleaf]

Rangers Reassign 13 players from Camp.

 

[Krangers08]

Rangers Reassign 13 players from Camp.

Kaden Schneider’s getting a longer look. Only one remaining.

 

[Jives]

Copeland cut. Thought he would get an exhibition game.

 

[Coaches Coroner]

It's probably fine if Hlacar and Labrash are a little lost at times, it's a down year and if they have a negative goal differential it's unlikely to have a serious negative affect on the season...provided they play the physical role they are here for. If they were still not keeping up to the pace a year from now (not necessarilly skating but mentally following the play etc) then you make some tough decisions. Especially LaBrash, I think his leash ought to be fairly long, at least more so than Hlacar.

 

[GeoBlue]

Thought Schaubel the better of the 2 youngsters.

Zimmerman around the play more than the other FAs, but none really impressed. Copeland did score 1 nice goal, but overhandles the puck and is mostly on the periphery. Team badly needs guys with jam.

Mostly agree with you but I thought Edwards was the better of the rookie goalies. Schaubel let in a couple that he probably wished he had back.

Romano's speed (wow) and skill are noticeable.....confidence too. With the right line mates (who can keep up to him), he should take a major step up for the team this season.

Calling Filip Mesar !!! ??? LOL!

 

[EvenSteven]

Kaden Schneider’s getting a longer look. Only one remaining.

We will be lean on D. With the expected trading of Andonovski, there will be an open slot or two.

Campbell
Dirracolo
Reid
Stark
MacNiel
Bilecki

Could Schneider squeeze in as the 8th D for now, splitting his time between here and B, then be elevated once the Andonovski trade happens?

Will Stark actually stay on the back end? Question: Did Stark play D regularly at lower levels, then play F in his draft year? That was the road Andre Benoit took to get to where he did as a Ranger.

 

[Krangers08]

Will Stark actually stay on the back end? Question: Did Stark play D regularly at lower levels, then play F in his draft year? That was the road Andre Benoit took to get to where he did as a Ranger.

Believe it’s his first time as he was seen as one of the top 2 way centres in his draft. Enjoyed playing it in the London series and wants to do it full time. I think it’s pretty unheard of to do it in a NHL draft year.

Quote from the article
“It’s one of those things, where we told him this can’t be an experiment where you are changing your mind after one week at training camp,” said McKenzie. “He’s committed to it and he’s training with the assumption that he’s going to start back there, so we’ll see how things go.”

 

[OnlyUpFromHere]

We will be lean on D. With the expected trading of Andonovski, there will be an open slot or two.

Campbell
Dirracolo
Reid
Stark
MacNiel
Bilecki

Could Schneider squeeze in as the 8th D for now, splitting his time between here and B, then be elevated once the Andonovski trade happens?

Will Stark actually stay on the back end? Question: Did Stark play D regularly at lower levels, then play F in his draft year? That was the road Andre Benoit took to get to where he did as a Ranger.

Personally thought that Stark didn’t look out of place at all as a defenseman. As the article mentioned, he’s committed to the move to the backend and seems like he will be more than serviceable there.

 

[Rangers True Blue]

From Brown's article:

“Nobody thinks we’re going to be good this year,” said head coach Jussi Ahokas, who returns for his second stint as skipper. “But that suits us well. We have to prove to everybody that as a young team we can be really good.

“We have to be patient and do a lot of teaching,” said Ahokas. “We have to be really structured and hard working. That is kind of our identity, it has to be.”

“I’m excited about our group,” said Ahokas, who returned to Kitchener last week after spending the summer at home in Finland. “They’re young boys and you have to put your egos away and play for the team. We need to keep getting better. One per cent every day. That’s the biggest issue for us.”

“We’re going to name a captain this year,” said Ahokas.

 

[Rangers True Blue]

Yesterday morning........game 2. Spent more time watching and less time making notes.

Some line combos tested.

Hendrick, Missile, Pug (lots of speed and Pug there to keep an eye on Hendrick)
also Pug Headrick Cameron

Hlacar Botts Labrash ( a big boy line for sure)

Swick Mercer Romano

All Rangers D are 6 feet and over. If Schneider is added, also a 6 footer.

With white and blue teams gone, looking forward to seeing the lineups over the weekend of three games. The "kids" are really going to get a taste of things to come with Erie (have a score to settle with the Rangers for last season's playoffs, Saginaw (Memorial Cup Champions), and Brantford (going to be a tough one!).