Kitchener Rangers 2023-24 Season Thread (Part 2)

[RangerNation]

Really didn’t expect to win all the games with Rehkopf, Mesar and Martin out at the same time.

How did Arquette and MacNiel look?
And Brady Martin?

First game without Schmidt too. That was not the team we are used too and won't be the one going forward so I'm not taking much from it. If anything, facing some adversity is welcome here.

 

[Squirrel88]

First game without Schmidt too. That was not the team we are used too and won't be the one going forward so I'm not taking much from it. If anything, facing some adversity is welcome here.

I thought Campbell was exposed a bit without Schmidt. He has good speed, but limited hockey sense and no hands at all. Skates his way into trouble way too often.

Joose basically played 4.5 D last night, with Campbell sprinkled in. That won't cut it longer term. They don't seem to trust Scott at all.

I thought MacNeil looked the part of an OHL player, in limited minutes. Good size and decent skating. Can definitely see him killing penalties and taking a regular shift next year.

Arquette struggled with the pace of play at times and had difficulty exiting the zone from the boards. He wasn't out of place, though and looks like he can play a bottom-six scoring role next year.

 

[rangersblues]

I can see why Bruz did not make the junior Team USA team. Defensive liability in that type of tournament. Two BRUTAL giveaways tonight that lead to goals. Can't play like that on the world stage.

Brzustewicz has a lot of room to clean up his game. I wouldn't mind if he was dropped to the second pair if we pick up a number 1 dman. Great offense though.

If we don't beef up the blue line after trading Hamara and Schmidt we might as well sell.

 

[EvenSteven]

Brzustewicz has a lot of room to clean up his game. I wouldn't mind if he was dropped to the second pair if we pick up a number 1 dman. Great offense though.

If we don't beef up the blue line after trading Hamara and Schmidt we might as well sell.

Holes in our depth are starting to show.

I’d still leave Brzustewicz and Andonovski together. Bring in a very good stay at home guy to play with Motew to face the other team’s top line. Bring in a second pairing two way D to play on the third pairing with one of Campbell/Reid, who can maybe be a second unit PP D. Address the third line and we’re good.

As much as I’d include Ellinas in a deal since we haven’t the picks to move, I really see a good future for him here. I’m all about comparables. I may or may not be offside here, but in Ellinas, I see a player who could be a David Clarkson type in a year or two. Today, on a top contender, I don’t see him and Lam as two thirds of a strong third line, but down the road, I believe Ellinas can be a valuable piece.

Maybe swapping Ellinas and Bottineau and adding a very good third line center.

Bottineau. Scoring center. Lam.

Bottineau may have a little more upside this year and Ellinas could fit in good with Mercer / Pugliese.

Thinking out loud here!

 

[bobber]

Holes in our depth are starting to show.

I’d still leave Brzustewicz and Andonovski together. Bring in a very good stay at home guy to play with Motew to face the other team’s top line. Bring in a second pairing two way D to play on the third pairing with one of Campbell/Reid, who can maybe be a second unit PP D. Address the third line and we’re good.

As much as I’d include Ellinas in a deal since we haven’t the picks to move, I really see a good future for him here. I’m all about comparables. I may or may not be offside here, but in Ellinas, I see a player who could be a David Clarkson type in a year or two. Today, on a top contender, I don’t see him and Lam as two thirds of a strong third line, but down the road, I believe Ellinas can be a valuable piece.

Maybe swapping Ellinas and Bottineau and adding a very good third line center.

Bottineau. Scoring center. Lam.

Bottineau may have a little more upside this year and Ellinas could fit in good with Mercer / Pugliese.

Thinking out loud here!

I agree on Ellinas. Kid has an edge to his game for sure. Character player with some size and grit that backs up his team mates. Just a thought. Hamilton GM said in an interview on the tube last season that character is an element they look for in every player when drafting or bringing other players in. It shows in the Bulldogs play every year. Ellinas has these elements and looks like a player that will impact games down the road.

 

[Squirrel88]

Googles Max Dirracolo...

Interesting size.

 

[Ward Cornell]

Rangers sign Free Agent Defenceman Max Dirracolo - Kitchener Rangers %

Kitchener, ON – The Kitchener Rangers announced today that they have signed free agent Max Dirracolo to an OHL scholarship and development agreement with the club. “We would like to welcome Max to our organization,” said Kitchener Rangers General Manager Mike McKenzie. “He is a big, physical...

chl.ca

 

[RangerNation]

Googles Max Dirracolo...

Interesting size.

What do they feed these kids? That's crazy.

 

[Jives]

Weird signing? We are short F right now not D. Using a card on a 17 year old with zero OHL experiences vs using a card on acquiring a 19 year old vet OHL player. This is a let’s just ride this ship and really no buy / sell or a future D when we unload some vet Dmen? Maybe I’m reading too much into it but I find this signing very strange.

 

[Habsrule]

I’m all for the signing of Dirracolo.

The kid has size and hopefully he uses it. It doesn’t look like he has much of an offensive side to his game but that is ok. A big and physical defender is always a useful player as long as they can skate and don’t get caught out of position.

 

[RangerNation]

Weird signing? We are short F right now not D. Using a card on a 17 year old with zero OHL experiences vs using a card on acquiring a 19 year old vet OHL player. This is a let’s just ride this ship and really no buy / sell or a future D when we unload some vet Dmen? Maybe I’m reading too much into it but I find this signing very strange.

We most definitely need defense right now. We also have plenty cards left. I don't think this is crazy by any sorts.

 

[bobber]

"Part of a solid defensive weekend with only two goals allowed, Max was the epitome of "hard to play against" as shown by his punishing hits on any forward who dared venture to his side of the ice". This is a quote from his midget or bantam games I found. There was a video of him nailing opposing forwards coming into his end. Hope he plays like that in a Ranger uni. They sure need some grit on the back end to help Andonovski out a bit.

 

[Ward Cornell]

We most definitely need defense right now. We also have plenty cards left. I don't think this is crazy by any sorts.

.....MM has a great track record on signing F.A.s with Yantsis and Adrian Miseljevic (might be missing one or two), hopefully this signing continues his winning streak. Well worth the roll of the dice, he's a piece but not the needed missing piece for this yr and at zero cost. This move isn't so much for this yr, but for the next two yrs. Also this is needed move to make up for the totally lost 2022 draft.

 

[bobber]

Wonder if signing a younger defenseman is an indication of the direction Rangers are looking at going forward? As fans there hasn't been really any mention of buying or selling other than the Schmidt trade which had to happen anyway. Good to get a freebie for sure.

 

[Fischhaber]

Weird signing? We are short F right now not D. Using a card on a 17 year old with zero OHL experiences vs using a card on acquiring a 19 year old vet OHL player. This is a let’s just ride this ship and really no buy / sell or a future D when we unload some vet Dmen? Maybe I’m reading too much into it but I find this signing very strange.

This is just what I saw last night from a visiting team perspective, but I think that you do need defensive depth. Three guys played a lot of minutes and it seemed like they got tired in the third, especially Brzustewicz. The Greyhounds had 4 lines rolling, so it was an up tempo affair.

I thought the forward group was pretty good, considering who was missing. Lam looks like a keeper.

 

[Jives]

Wonder if signing a younger defenseman is an indication of the direction Rangers are looking at going forward? As fans there hasn't been really any mention of buying or selling other than the Schmidt trade which had to happen anyway. Good to get a freebie for sure.

Hamara asked for a trade. An OA had to go. The only OA out of the 4 that would have said we were selling is Sop. The other 3 could have been the one gone depending on how MM wants to fill his roster. This team has yet to make a trade that signals sell or buy. This signing imo hints at a sell but again it’s not clear. It clearly doesn’t say we are buying. This gives us the option to trade Scott with probably losing nothing….without seeing the kid play I’d be willing to bet he is atleast on par with Scott who isn’t that impressive AND a year older then Max.

 

[digicamo]

Holes in our depth are starting to show.

I’d still leave Brzustewicz and Andonovski together. Bring in a very good stay at home guy to play with Motew to face the other team’s top line. Bring in a second pairing two way D to play on the third pairing with one of Campbell/Reid, who can maybe be a second unit PP D. Address the third line and we’re good.

As much as I’d include Ellinas in a deal since we haven’t the picks to move, I really see a good future for him here. I’m all about comparables. I may or may not be offside here, but in Ellinas, I see a player who could be a David Clarkson type in a year or two. Today, on a top contender, I don’t see him and Lam as two thirds of a strong third line, but down the road, I believe Ellinas can be a valuable piece.

Maybe swapping Ellinas and Bottineau and adding a very good third line center.

Bottineau. Scoring center. Lam.

Bottineau may have a little more upside this year and Ellinas could fit in good with Mercer / Pugliese.

Thinking out loud here!

I really don’t see any indication from management or the coaches that they don’t plan to give Reid or Campbell regular shifts in the playoffs. They seem to love both players and they’re serviceable. I do think we will bring in a 2nd paid D to play with Motew and Reid/Campbell will make up the third pair with the new kid and Scott getting in the line up occasionally.

 

[Stellar29]

Googles Max Dirracolo...

Interesting size.

He was a FA invite to Owen Sound camp. Big body but didn't really stand out in any meaningful way. I don't remember him moving all that well. Maybe he's found something since then? Good luck to him in Kitchener.

 

[EvenSteven]

I really don’t see any indication from management or the coaches that they don’t plan to give Reid or Campbell regular shifts in the playoffs. They seem to love both players and they’re serviceable. I do think we will bring in a 2nd paid D to play with Motew and Reid/Campbell will make up the third pair with the new kid and Scott getting in the line up occasionally.

I really don’t like the thought of Campbell / Reid as the third pairing, if we go deep in the playoffs. I’m afraid they’d exposed by a deep forward group.

And I don’t like the idea of our top 4 D playing the bulk of the minutes. That won’t end well.

 

[K2]

 

[bobber]

I really don’t like the thought of Campbell /Reid as the third pairing, if we go deep in the playoffs. I’m afraid they’d exposed by a deep forward group.

And I don’t like the idea of our top 4 D playing the bulk of the minutes. That won’t end well.

Looking back over the decades at some of the most talented squads that played in the Aud. Most had at least 4 big shut down defenseman. I remember a Whaler team had 4 D like that and on the PK you could hardly get a puck to the net without it being blocked. Deboer said they looked like a semi pro team. The Soo blocked a few shots in the third last night. Hard to get players to sacrifice their bodies like this today. The Rangers certainly don't have this at the moment. I think the Rangers made an error with Hamara letting him go. Plus Schmitd was just coming around but they probably got what they thought was a decent offer and grabbed it.

 

[Coaches Coroner]

I'm tempted back toward a soft selll. Maybe trade Brz, add cheap depth and let the rest of the guys who started the run this year try and finish it going as far as they can in the playoffs. Build around Rehkopf and OAs like Parsons and Swick.
It's very tempting to jump into the fray with other contenders, but I still think we can trade, have a decent playoff run and have next year as a potential option while laying the foundation for 2027 otherwise.

 

[GeoBlue]

When it comes down to the Schmidt / Martin decision, one would have to look at "what can I get for Schmidt NOW" and "What can I get for Martin AT THE DEADLINE". It really seems to me that they are either taking a HUGE gamble that Martin will be his old self come playoffs or perhaps they are just in sell mode and it was easier trading the healthier player.

I also believe trading Hamara was a mistake. They could have put him to work more. I see no reason why him and Ando could not cycle on and off on the first pairing.

 

[Ward Cornell]

When it comes down to the Schmidt / Martin decision, one would have to look at "what can I get for Schmidt NOW" and "What can I get for Martin AT THE DEADLINE". It really seems to me that they are either taking a HUGE gamble that Martin will be his old self come playoffs or perhaps they are just in sell mode and it was easier trading the healthier player.

I also believe trading Hamara was a mistake. They could have put him to work more. I see no reason why him and Ando could not cycle on and off on the first pairing.

We like to think that an OHL team runs independently from any interference from the players NHL team. The optics here isn't good with Hamara now playing for his NHL teams owners OHL team. Not playing along with the request could have ramifications in the future.

 

[RangerNation]

The playbook against the Rangers "Just wait till they crumble in the 3rd". At least Sop spoiled the comeback.

"Let’s see where they are at Christmas " is now here. Half the season is done. 24-8-2 is good for 1st in the league. Not bad for this rebuilding team. Do what you need to do MM. It's been a fun ride regardless!