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Kitchener Rangers 2023-24 Season Thread (Part 4)

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The Martin we saw post injury this year, was either not near 100% healthy or drastically out of game shape both physically and timing wise.

In any case, the guy we get if and when he comes back will probably be the same player.

Can that player bump one of Lam or Romano out of the lineup?

I’m not optimistic.
 
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EvenSteven said:
The Martin we saw post injury this year, was either not near 100% healthy or drastically out of game shape both physically and timing wise.

In any case, the guy we get if and when he comes back will probably be the same player.

Can that player bump one of Lam or Romano out of the lineup?

I’m not optimistic.
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Considering that the Lam Romano combo did very well in that game and are showing us what to look forward to next season. The duo showed this in pre-season camps. Now with Romano steadily gaining confidence, they will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. For now, we need more of Romano in the playoffs.

Side note......when Rangers have a multi-point game, they don't follow it well in the next game. This is not the first time. Rangers need to come out strong tonight and take control from the get-go.
 
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Rangers True Blue said:
Considering that the Lam Romano combo did very well in that game and are showing us what to look forward to next season. The duo showed this in pre-season camps. Now with Romano steadily gaining confidence, they will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. For now, we need more of Romano in the playoffs.

Side note......when Rangers have a multi-point game, they don't follow it well in the next game. This is not the first time. Rangers need to come out strong tonight and take control from the get-go.
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These were the forward scratches in the five games Martin played after his return:

Lam. Stark.
Lam. Stark.
Mercer. Stark.
Mercer. Stark.
Lam. Stark.

So based on the above, if Martin plays in the post season, Lam and Stark will be the scratches barring injury. Can’t see a healthy Mercer being scratched.

For me, Lam might be the better option than the Martin we saw in those five games. Lam isn’t big, but his creativity would be an asset - especially when you consider he’d be spotted against the opposition’s bottom six.

Ellinas is now bringing close to the type of game Martin was supposed to bring and a line with him, Lam and Romano may be more of an offensive threat, vs the opposition’s bottom six, than if you subbed in Martin. That’s IF the Martin we get is the guy we saw in those five games.

It could be tug o war time going into the post season. Ahokas will want to dress the best lineup possible and I’d bet MM will want Martin dressed. Can’t see him being happy if his choice as the 3rd OA is a playoff scratch if he’s “good to go”.

It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.
 
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Rangers True Blue said:
Considering that the Lam Romano combo did very well in that game and are showing us what to look forward to next season. The duo showed this in pre-season camps. Now with Romano steadily gaining confidence, they will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. For now, we need more of Romano in the playoffs.

Side note......when Rangers have a multi-point game, they don't follow it well in the next game. This is not the first time. Rangers need to come out strong tonight and take control from the get-go.
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Rangers weren't very aggressive when they came out against the Storm in Guelph. They were skating the same way they did against the Knights. Playing catch up the whole game this time of year isn't a good look. I am sure they want the Storm in the play offs . Why build up their confidence?
They have to come out harder and play 60 minutes. They should want to send the Storm the right message leading up to the play offs. The Storm play with more of a physical edge which is part of their system. Rangers have to match this.
 
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EvenSteven said:
These were the forward scratches in the five games Martin played after his return:

Lam. Stark.
Lam. Stark.
Mercer. Stark.
Mercer. Stark.
Lam. Stark.

So based on the above, if Martin plays in the post season, Lam and Stark will be the scratches barring injury. Can’t see a healthy Mercer being scratched.

For me, Lam might be the better option than the Martin we saw in those five games. Lam isn’t big, but his creativity would be an asset - especially when you consider he’d be spotted against the opposition’s bottom six.

Ellinas is now bringing close to the type of game Martin was supposed to bring and a line with him, Lam and Romano may be more of an offensive threat, vs the opposition’s bottom six, than if you subbed in Martin. That’s IF the Martin we get is the guy we saw in those five games.

It could be tug o war time going into the post season. Ahokas will want to dress the best lineup possible and I’d bet MM will want Martin dressed. Can’t see him being happy if his choice as the 3rd OA is a playoff scratch if he’s “good to go”.

It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.
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Mercer had a shoulder Strain, only reason he was out. Fixter mentioned it on a broadcast.

I could be getting my information wrong, but my sources have been very reliable this year and i've heard Martin is done for the year. I'm really hoping not but i'm afraid what we have all been worried about has happended. ( MM hanging on to Martin hoping for a Full recovery and his body not responding ) Big hole in a year we're trying to win with a OA spot open. Punnett would have looked very nice on the back end.
 
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Offside by a mile said:
Mercer had a shoulder Strain, only reason he was out. Fixter mentioned it on a broadcast.

I could be getting my information wrong, but my sources have been very reliable this year and i've heard Martin is done for the year. I'm really hoping not but i'm afraid what we have all been worried about has happended. ( MM hanging on to Martin hoping for a Full recovery and his body not responding ) Big hole in a year we're trying to win with a OA spot open. Punnett would have looked very nice on the back end.
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That was everyones concern as well but its water under the bridge...it is what it is and time to move on.
 
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Offside by a mile said:
Mercer had a shoulder Strain, only reason he was out. Fixter mentioned it on a broadcast.

I could be getting my information wrong, but my sources have been very reliable this year and i've heard Martin is done for the year. I'm really hoping not but i'm afraid what we have all been worried about has happended. ( MM hanging on to Martin hoping for a Full recovery and his body not responding ) Big hole in a year we're trying to win with a OA spot open. Punnett would have looked very nice on the back end.
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The source that said Martin would be back was a Ranger coach or GM. One of the Guelph tv anylist asked them about Martin's statis. Can't get much closer that for information.
 
Offside by a mile said:
Well as a die hard fan, i will be pleasantly surprised.
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I'm with you on that! Doesn't sound that promising. As Ward said time to move on. If Martin does come back and make an impact in the play offs we take it as a bonus and run with it. Rangers seem too inconsistent at the moment. Going to have to see a more solid game if they hope to advance in the playoffs.
 
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bobber said:
I'm with you on that! Doesn't sound that promising. As Ward said time to move on. If Martin does come back and make an impact in the play offs we take it as a bonus and run with it. Rangers seem too inconsistent at the moment. Going to have to see a more solid game if they hope to advance in the playoffs.
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with Martin in the lineup or out of the lineup, IMHO its still a second round exit!
At the start of the season we would be jumping for joy making the playoffs....actually even sniffing the playoffs we would've been thrilled.
 
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Ward Cornell said:
with Martin in the lineup or out of the lineup, IMHO its still a second round exit!
At the start of the season we would be jumping for joy making the playoffs....actually even sniffing the playoffs we would've been thrilled.
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I agree Ward. The teams above the Rangers would be a challenge to beat in a 7 game series for most. Still there are always upsets in the play offs. Have to be concerned with getting out of round one before considering round 2.
 
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Martin Puggs and Ellinas Out.

Arquette in.

Havent heard between Campbell/ Savard or Dirracalo. Although Dirracolo has not been in the rotation so far.
 
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bobber said:
The source that said Martin would be back was a Ranger coach or GM. One of the Guelph tv anylist asked them about Martin's statis. Can't get much closer that for information.
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Oh interesting! I hadn't heard them mention a source, that is at least somewhat reassuring. He still will probably be out of game shape. MM likes to take some gambles, and it looks like his gamble on the OA situation came up snake eyes.
Going from 4 quality OA options to only 2 guaranteed, is not ideal.

Ward Cornell said:
with Martin in the lineup or out of the lineup, IMHO its still a second round exit!
At the start of the season we would be jumping for joy making the playoffs....actually even sniffing the playoffs we would've been thrilled.
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Good point. I think this is one thing not to lose sight of. It was supposed to be year 1 of a rebuild with hope's being closer to the 4th overall pick than 4th seed. Being in the mix as much as we have and not completely emptying the rookie/draft pick cupboards for the coming year is a silver lining if we don't go as far as we may hope now.

I like the odds of our young guys developing under Ahokas and co. more than I have in the last decade or so.
 
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Ward Cornell said:
with Martin in the lineup or out of the lineup, IMHO its still a second round exit!
At the start of the season we would be jumping for joy making the playoffs....actually even sniffing the playoffs we would've been thrilled.
Click to expand...
I agree. Martin or not, our thin D won’t get us past round two. To be honest, we’d have a hard time taking any of the three teams ahead of us to six games.

I understand that at the start of the season, we’d have been thrilled with a fourth place finish in the standings. But not with an empty cupboard going forward. That’s what stings.

This team was at the top of the standings leading up to the deadline. That wasn’t an accident. It could be argued that all of Rehkopf, Sop, Brzustewicz, Andonovski, Swick, and Miseljevic performed way better than expected with only maybe Miseljevic tapering off a bit. Add to that the unexpected return of Mesar and Schmidt and there was every reason to believe that we had a contender on our hands.

The two things that look to have probably torpedoed the season were the Hamara trade demand and the decision by MM to go with Martin as the third OA as opposed to an OA D.

The team’s performance after the Hamara / Schmidt deals exposed that the huge weakness was D. I understand that MM may have been loyal to Martin, but considering our thin draft cupboard at the deadline, Martin out and Punnett in should have been the move at the deadline.

The word around the Aud for years was that we needed to follow the London model to win. Well one thing the Hunter’s do right is their shrewdness when it comes to allegiances to players. They’ve shown in the past that they were willing to move out family for the greater good (Logan Hunter. Rick Steadman). Certainly they wouldn’t allow an allegiance to a player, a player with ??’s as to their injury status, negatively effect the greater good. We saw that this year with Ethan MacKinnon. They held on as long as they could but once it was evident it was a gamble having him as the third OA, they moved on from him bringing in Kaleb Lawerence, on the cheap no less.

Along with a few other things under the London model, that is one that MM is going to need to adopt going forward.
 
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