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

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Introducing your 2024-25 #OHLRangers Captains!
C: Matthew Andonovski
A: Cameron Reid
A: Luke Ellinas
A: Trent Swick

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Rangers Announce Captain and Leadership Team for the 2024-25 Season - Kitchener Rangers %

Kitchener, ON – The Kitchener Rangers are proud to announce that defenceman Matthew Andonovski has been named the club’s captain for the 2024-25 season. The 19-year-old from Markham, Ontario, steps into this leadership role as he enters his fourth season with the Rangers, bringing with him a...
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K2 said:
Introducing your 2024-25 #OHLRangers Captains!
C: Matthew Andonovski
A: Cameron Reid
A: Luke Ellinas
A: Trent Swick

chl.ca

Rangers Announce Captain and Leadership Team for the 2024-25 Season - Kitchener Rangers %

Kitchener, ON – The Kitchener Rangers are proud to announce that defenceman Matthew Andonovski has been named the club’s captain for the 2024-25 season. The 19-year-old from Markham, Ontario, steps into this leadership role as he enters his fourth season with the Rangers, bringing with him a...
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Makes sense. If and when ando and swick are traded I assume they leave it blank for the rest of the year? And next year Reid starts with it?
 
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frontsfan67 said:
Makes sense. If and when ando and swick are traded I assume they leave it blank for the rest of the year? And next year Reid starts with it?
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I’d take Ellinas over Reid as captain. Romano would probably get an A if either are traded.

Jeez….it scares me a little when I see Ando and Swick get letters. This team still needs to add to the cupboard to help add some 2007 or 2008 help men cup year. Keeping graduating high value players isn’t going to help that cause at all.
 
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EvenSteven said:
I’d have thought Pugliese deserved a letter, then the C after Andonovski moves on.

Should we take that as a sign he’s not a lock to be one of our three OA’s going forward?
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I dont think that’s the case at all. Just shows that Pug is a fan favourite and that doesn’t always translate to what the organization wants their leadership group to be. He’s still a leader on this team, just won’t wear a letter as they want to groom guys like Reid and Ellinas into those roles.
 
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digicamo said:
I dont think that’s the case at all. Just shows that Pug is a fan favourite and that doesn’t always translate to what the organization wants their leadership group to be. He’s still a leader on this team, just won’t wear a letter as they want to groom guys like Reid and Ellinas into those roles.
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In a transition season it's time for the young guys to get ready to lead the way and take over.
 
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Quite the game tonight against Erie. Our young guys stepped up offensively and physically. Diracollo and Hlacar with some big hits and clear decisions in subsequent fights. Elinas came out on top in his fight as well.
Swick was a force all night and had a highlight reel between the legs goal.
Very impressed with MacNiel. He is essentially a rookie but playing with poise and confidence.
 
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A lot of these guys are impressing right now. My biggest pleasant revelation so far is Dirracolo. What a step he has taken! Wins almost every battle, throws his weight around and is making lots of headsy plays with the puck.

Also great to see some toughness and pushback in the lineup after a season with almost none. You can’t be caught without it.
 
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4 sat out today. Campbell, Stark, Misa and Anstis. I thought I saw Anstis in an arm sling but not 100% sure it was him.

Biggest surprise….Dirracalo. He looks faster and actually developed an offence game over the summer. Looks WAY more comfortable handling the puck. Clearly won a fight too.

Hlacer hammered someone into the boards then jump him. Should of been 2, 5 and a game but it was 5 each for fighting. Won the fight. He isn’t as slow as I‘ve heard imo.

Ellinas fought. More of a wrestle match but he had the upper hand. Besides that though I thought he had a down game. Fought the puck a lot tonight.

Ando….was having issues with the puck as well and hanging onto his stick. Still played good most of the time but just not at as dominant as he can be.

Reid…..this kid is great. So freaking smooth. Excellent breakout passes. Puts himself in great spots in the offence zone to receive a pass. Smooth with the puck.

Labrash. I saw a good defensive effort today. I could see him being a good 3rd line center mem cup year. Might turn out to be the Rangers first solid add via U18 draft? Did I forget someone else drafted via U18 by the Rangers in the past?

Bilecki. Bad first period….but looked better every shift.

Schneider…a year younger than Max and Max looked really raw when we signed him last year. This kid looks raw but I see the upside. Hopefully he can have a great year and improve like Max. Big kid.

Arquette. Had a solid 5 on 5 game. I was shocked he started PP1 and Lam PP2. First time Lam gets on the PP he does a bunch of good plays. Arquette then gets bumped to 2nd PP.

Lam…slow start but he looked great by the end of the game. He will put up 100 as a 19 year old…no doubt.

Romano….just solid.

MacNeil. He looks like he has played in the league for a couple years. Nothing fancy but just a solid game.

Edwards. Man I hope that was just nerves. Lots of rebound issues. Too deep in his net a lot of the time. He ended up with the win but it wasn’t a clean game.

Swick. Someone is going to pay picks to get him. Good game.

Bottineau - made some plays. Just doesn’t blow you away. But if he can get back to working his ass off every shift he will be an effective player.

Pug - I think if he actually played top 2 lines he would put up 25. He just works every shift. Such a different player. OA playing on what was the 4th line and gets a goal. He also had some other looks. Drew 2 penalties. Solid effort and game.
 
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Well - that was fun! A few random thoughts:

Arquette and MacNeil both looked good. I thought both looked more controlled and confident than in their brief callups last year. Both tried to do more with the puck and had some success. Arquette has a ton of skill and could become a really valuable support player.

Dirracolo seems to be a late bloomer. Look for him to log a lot of minutes.

PP2 of Lam, Headrick, Labrash, Ando and Dirracolo is basically wasting Lam's talents. I get it that preseason is the time to try stuff.

If Botts is going to play on Lam's line, he needs to do a better job of turning passes into scoring opportunities. Too many passes received in good locations that were bobbled and turned into nothing quickly.

I thought Labrash looked...decent? Hit a post, got some time on the PK. Needs to adjust to the play speed, though. For a guy picked up in the U18, there is something to work with.

Pug is doing everything he can to earn a spot. If Swick is auditioning for contenders, tonight was some good tape. He abused that young defenceman on his goal, and could have had a couple more.

Schneider and Bilecki weren't terrible, and both had some good plays, but that can't be a pairing to start the season (and likely won't be).

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised. I suspect Erie had more talent sitting in the stands, but KIT carried the play most of the game.
 
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I agree that both Arquette and MacNeil had very good games. Just exhibition, but already both looked like they've had a full season under their belts - not just a handful of games.

Pleasantly surprised with Schneider, and like the size considering he's on the backend.

Bilecki has undeniable talent from what I see. I agree a bit of a rough go to start, but settled in nicley the rest of the way. Some good clearing decisions last night, including that tape-to-tape pass to Swick for his goal. To me it seemed evident that he needs to get bigger, stronger, and a bit quicker though. It'll come in time. I'm confident that as the season progresses, they'll put him in the right situation at the right time, whenever possible to help him as he matures.

I felt the other rookies did a reasonable job. Looking forward to see how Headrick develops as he gets a feel for the league. He's got size against him, but I like everything about else about his game. He's not timid.

It looked like Hlcar felt he was left out after the first two fights. So you could definitely tell he was looking for it. Erie likely had a case in asking why he didn't get the extra two. Looks like he and Knight both had played against each other in the GOJHL last season. So maybe some familiarity there.

Am I correct in assuming Dirracolo and Da Silva were teammates for half a season last year? Interesting that they had tangled ! ....and yeah, Max is looking solid here early on like all are posting here.

These kids are all going to need to mature fast. It's looking promising though. There will be some rough patches along the way, but it looks like JA has something to work with.
 
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Well, worried about grit? :hit:Worry no more. In the Dirracolo fight, DaSilva instigated and paid for it dearly. Sauder was looking for it and Ellinas finished it. Knight and Hlachar get into it and Hlachar (who had several hits in the game) took it to him. Teams be on notice.....Rangers will not take any crap.

Lots already said about the actual hockey :naughty: Here's a bit more.......

Headrick is fast and ultra talented...kept away from the rough stuff...and will need line mates who can keep up to him and his play making. He certainly didn't shy from OHL play.

I do like the Ando/Dirracolo tandem. And the PK unit was pretty darn good....plus Jussi had the newbies out there already to learn the system. Team defense will only get better. Defense is going to have to be on all cylinders this season. It should get dearly challenged against Sag tonight.

Cameron's a good one and made his presence known. Labrash hit the post and I wished he would have scored. It would have been a confidence booster. He has upside just needs to listen to the coach's and realize his potential.

Arquette's time last season was well spent and it shows on the ice now.

Edwards seemed to settle in more as the game progressed. He needs to play.

Tonight, do we see Parsons in net? Will those in the box be in the game? The D is going to be severely challenged. OH......Stark was listed on Offense because....error?
 
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digicamo said:
You are correct, it was him.
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Did he play in the 2nd Blue/White scrimmage? I saw a player hurt his arm in the first game but did not catch a number. Seemed to be favouring it at the end of his shift and then on the bench. I was thinking "shoulder separation" at the time but I'm not a doctor.
 
OK.....game one and Rangers stand up against a tough Erie team out for revenge. They go to a shootout and WIN. Edwards in net.

Game two....it's the Memorial Cup Champs with Oke in net. Rangers.....Ando and Swick out.....Cameron and Missile in. Schaubel in net. Rangers #3 goalie thrown in the deep end.

1st period....two goals Erie. I expected it and thought, more of the same in the 2nd. NOT SO. Rangers pushed back, Schaubel settle in, and by the end of the period it's all tied up.

In the 3rd, a beautiful pass by Reid up to Pug and BOOM...Pug beats Oke! BUT big mistake during a PP and Erie ties it up. Rangers woke up and managed to keep it that way to the end. Totally...for me anyways....not expected. Good on them.

This afternoon.......it's the Bulldogs who hammered Erie 10-5. Rangers have lots of distractions today before the game. This should be a tough game. But I've said that before......
 
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