Kitchener Rangers 2024-25 Season Thread, Part I

[LostRangers]

The Rangers have taken flyers on multiple NCAA commits. Outside of the usual suspects, I’m not sure many more teams have taken as many.

The majority of the OHL likely won’t have multiple mid season reports this year. That means we should be able to find landing spots for our excess skaters.

I also think we might see more 16 year olds than we thought relegated to JrB this year.

Cameron is good enough to play full time here but likely stays on a B card.

I assume Anstis has to play here since as a US player, he cannot play JrB. Or at least that used to be the rule.

Headrick may be faced with playing at JrB once he comes back. He’ll need minutes and how’s he going to get them? If Jussi dresses his 12 best forwards today, he may not be one of them. Especially when you know he’s going to go with size in the bottom six. Tough to expect a 16 year old to start his rookie season near the end of that season and excel. Once he comes back, which is still a ways down the road, there won’t be much regular season left.


Ok. Thought it was preseason. The OHL has him at 0 games and he isn’t on the roster for that Windsor game.

It was. He only shows 5 preseason games on his stats. Believe he got hurt against the Shwa.
A new high in late to the party.

 

[I Mac 80]

Headrick got injured during the second game of the season in Windsor.

I am pretty sure that Headrick got hurt in the preseason game in Oshawa and has not played and game in the regular season.

 

[Fastpace]

Tomorrow night's game, regardless who win, will be a test, not the final exam for both teams, but what a big test this will be.

 

[EvenSteven]

Including Valentini. How would that change the use of other young players? Valentini would certainly amp up the top 6.

Valentini = A card

Our maximum four 16 year old’s in the new year would be:
Bilecki
Valentini
Schaubel*
Anstis.

I put an asterisk on Schaubel because his games are way low (6). It would not totally surprise me if, should Valentini happen, and either Headrick comes back earlier than anticipated or another 08 flyer reports (you never know these days), that Schaubel stays on a B card and is swapped out with Edwards to finish the season.

Don’t let Edward’s numbers this year fool you. He’s playing on a very bad team in Komoka. He’s seeing a ton of rubber, which is a good thing.

Schaubel would see that rubber for the rest of the season at Komoka. Then when their season is done, he’d be back here a few weeks before the start of our post season.

 

[Gondrex]

Tomorrow night's game, regardless who win, will be a test, not the final exam for both teams, but what a big test this will be.

Yeah it seems like MM found that out the hard way last season when he thought he could compete with the Knights based on pre-deadline games (then proceeded to spend some assets to go "all in"), only to find out that the real Knights show up from that point on. Almost seemed like the dreaded rug-pull.

 

[Fastpace]

Yeah it seems like MM found that out the hard way last season when he thought he could compete with the Knights based on pre-deadline games (then proceeded to spend some assets to go "all in"), only to find out that the real Knights show up from that point on. Almost seemed like the dreaded rug-pull.

That was last season ! I think London is the team to beat again this season, because of their more aged talent and experience they have. I see Kitchener blowing this league apart the next two season, they are young and right up there with the best of the league, it is a good year for Kitchener fans. You never know how well they'll do, this is a junior hockey league, made of young hockey players. And the Rangers do have a whole boat loads of talented young hockey players in their ranks, don't you dare tell them they are too young.

 

[Tim Wallach]

That was last season ! I think London is the team to beat again this season, because of their more aged talent and experience they have. I see Kitchener blowing this league apart the next two season, they are young and right up there with the best of the league, it is a good year for Kitchener fans. You never know how well they'll do, this is a junior hockey league, made of young hockey players. And the Rangers do have a whole boat loads of talented young hockey players in their ranks, don't you dare tell them they are too young.

The only caveat I'd add there is that the Rangers aren't currently THAT young. Because so many of their young guys are currently hurt or playing elsewhere (Headrick, Anstis, Stark, Cameron) and some being scratched often (Schneider, Bilecki), the team added some older bodies (Vermeulen, Chromiak, Grisolia, Pridham) and it drastically changed the composition of the roster.

So it's a bit misleading to think of them as this young, upstart team. Even though some of those kids will be very good in time, I do think if they were all playing right now in place of the 19 year old additions, the record wouldn't be so strong.

 

[Fastpace]

The only caveat I'd add there is that the Rangers aren't currently THAT young. Because so many of their young guys are currently hurt or playing elsewhere (Headrick, Anstis, Stark, Cameron) and some being scratched often (Schneider, Bilecki), the team added some older bodies (Vermeulen, Chromiak, Grisolia, Pridham) and it drastically changed the composition of the roster.

So it's a bit misleading to think of them as this young, upstart team. Even though some of those kids will be very good in time, I do think if they were all playing right now in place of the 19 year old additions, the record wouldn't be so strong.

I do understand my friend, without naming any names yet, there are 5 young men on the Kitchener Rangers, right now, that I am excited about, I am sure scouts are too.