Kitchener Rangers 2024-25 Season Thread, Part II

[Billyjack]

That was hard to watch, Rangers seemed to be on Xmas break early!! Long ride home I bet LOL

 

[Fastpace]

Last night game's skill and talent didn't go down, but the mental preparedness did. We see games like these on a regular basis at the junior level, bottom teams working extra to prevent embarrassment, while top teams taking it lightly for easy wins. The journey towards greatness is composed of learning curves. The same almost happened in Owen Sound a couple of weeks back

 

[RangerNation]

How they play Friday will tell a better story. Come prepared, shake off a bad game.

 

[GeoBlue]

He played a decent game. The team in front of him was the problem.

Except for that gaffe on the 1st goal.

 

[bobber]

Except for that gaffe on the 1st goal.

Schauble is a rookie. I would give him a mulligan. Even vet goalies end up on the blooper reel. If Schauble wasn't as sharp as he was Sarnia would have put in more goals. Sting are in 8th place. Rangers should have played 60 minute instead of 20. Not sure why they went so flat after the first. 6 shots in the 2nd and 3rd.

 

[Coaches Coroner]

Does anyone else think there's been too many different players in the lineup recently and it may have screwed up the team chemistry. They really haven't been as sharp lately, tonight being probably the worst effort since the first Windsor game.

I think they got off to a hot start and are coming back down too earth. None of this worries me; I would much rather have a plethora of decent talent than not enough like we had been doing for a decade.

The better we do, the more disappointed people are when we perform the way a rebuilding team performs, when for me the over-achieving is just 'gravey'. We're still ahead of schedule imo when it comes to our young guys developing, and we have to stay on that train. Ws and Ls mean very little to me, I would still like as high a draft pick as we can get while still getting into the playoffs.

Xmas break on the horizon, hockey players are still people and a lot of people are kind of on autopilot at school/work this time of year.

 

[Coaches Coroner]

I really wish this team was 5th to 8th place and the decision was easy for MM. To me it’s easy and we can’t beat the Knights. Does MM try to go for it the 3rd year in a row and fail? I’m guessing he does but it’s the completely wrong thing to do.

The 2007/2008 are very strong. Build around that and try to get to host the Mem Cup. Unload a couple vets for picks and still fight to make it as far as possible in the playoffs.

I'm guessing he won't. I believe he traded Rehkopf in the off season to avoid that, and there is no going back from that. Maybe he is that stupid, but I'm not anticipating the worst on that front.

 

[Jives]

I'm guessing he won't. I believe he traded Rehkopf in the off season to avoid that, and there is no going back from that. Maybe he is that stupid, but I'm not anticipating the worst on that front.

I’m hoping he isn’t that stupid too but I do fear the worst. Maybe he thinks getting to the 2nd (maybe 3rd round) is a success in this league. I look at banners hung in the rafters for success. Trading vets and building for the future will give us the best chance in 2 years to hang a banner. We don’t have a realistic chance this year.

 

[Krangers08]

Rangers have a busy first week back.
29th Sudbury
31st North-bay
2nd Brantford
3rd Erie @ Home
5th Guelph

*Trade Deadline Jan 10th (OA-9th)

 

[RB76]

I had a quick look at the recent OHL Champs since 2021. Every team had somewhere between 10-14 NHL drafted players on their rosters. London has 13 this year.

We currently have four, only one likely to be here in 27. Hopefully a few of the boys will be selected these next two drafts but it seems amassing 10+ NHL prospects on the road to 2027 is going to require a lot of picks.

 

[RangerNation]

Rangers have a busy first week back.
29th Sudbury
31st North-bay
2nd Brantford
3rd Erie @ Home
5th Guelph

*Trade Deadline Jan 10th (OA-9th)

Excited to check out Brantford on the 2nd. I'll be back at 20 rinks after that.

 

[rangersblues]

I'm guessing he won't. I believe he traded Rehkopf in the off season to avoid that, and there is no going back from that. Maybe he is that stupid, but I'm not anticipating the worst on that front.

MM is not adding. While he's likely looking at moving players such as Swick, Ando and possibly Parsons, I hope he doesn't give them away for a few insignificant draft picks. It's much more important to keep developing the 07 talent we have than getting those picks. Best way to keep developing them is to keep them surrounded with capable players. The 07s development is the key to our future.

 

[Ranger77]

The two game losing streak is over. Rangers got lucky with the bounces tonight. I think three of the goals went in off their own players.

I really liked Bilecki's game tonight. Almost scored a highlight reel goal. He's going to be fun to watch as he matures.

 

[LostRangers]

A good bounce back game, with the 4th line to thank for it. Much better team game.
I used to live in Ottawa, back in the Kilrea days. Every year, his teams would just slowly improve as the year progressed. Even as a lower seed, nobody wanted to face them come playoff time.
I am hoping the same for these ‘kids’ as Jussi calls them. Get marginally better each game and by the end of the season, this team will be hard to play against. And continue that into nest season. In other words, I hope for a soft sell.
Merry Christmas Ranger fans. Happy New Year!

 

[Krangers08]

2023-2024 Prospect updates-mid season

Valentini 11 points in 23 games
Cameron 18 points in 20 games
Gaitens 8 points in 27 games
Xu 14 points in 31 games
Bray 15 points in 28 games
Anstis 3 points in 5 games
Carriere 9-1 (u18)
Young 5 points in 16 games (u18)
Hextall 15 points in 19 games
Orr 24 points in 24 games (prep)
Roberson 7 points in 19 games
Maki 2-5-1
Giordano 8 points in 26 games

*Souter is not playing and made the switch to Lacrosse
Import
Pobezal 17 points in 26 games (playing at wj’s)
Sale 13 points in 23 games (playing at Wj’s)
Chrenko 16 points in 17 games u20 ( 7 points in 8 games div 2) (5 points in 14 games top league)

 

[Gondrex]

2023-2024 Prospect updates-mid season

Valentini 11 points in 23 games
Cameron 18 points in 20 games
Gaitens 8 points in 27 games
Xu 14 points in 31 games
Bray 15 points in 28 games
Anstis 3 points in 5 games
Carriere 9-1 (u18)
Young 5 points in 16 games (u18)
Hextall 15 points in 19 games
Orr 24 points in 24 games (prep)
Roberson 7 points in 19 games
Maki 2-5-1
Giordano 8 points in 26 games

*Souter is not playing and made the switch to Lacrosse
Import
Pobezal 17 points in 26 games (playing at wj’s)
Sale 13 points in 23 games (playing at Wj’s)
Chrenko 16 points in 17 games u20 ( 7 points in 8 games div 2) (5 points in 14 games top league)

Your post is a bit of a coincidence for me. Just yesterday I was checking in on both Valentini and Hextall's stats on the USHL site. I don't claim to have seen Hextall play before, but I had noticed that (FWIW) he is actually on a better PPG clip than Valentini. I know I've commented on Hextall a couple times in the past, but I'm still hopeful that he considers a jump to the Rangers before Youngstown potentially enters the league.

 

[EvenSteven]

Your post is a bit of a coincidence for me. Just yesterday I was checking in on both Valentini and Hextall's stats on the USHL site. I don't claim to have seen Hextall play before, but I had noticed that (FWIW) he is actually on a better PPG clip than Valentini. I know I've commented on Hextall a couple times in the past, but I'm still hopeful that he considers a jump to the Rangers before Youngstown potentially enters the league.

I still think any player currently the property of OHL teams (ie Hextall), should remain the property of those teams. Youngstown / Muskegon would enter the OHL as expansion teams under expansion rules.

 

[Krangers08]

McKenzie on the trade deadline- intermission interview on the radio

“At this point we feel no pressure doing anything. If there’s something available that makes sense to improve the team we will definitely look at doing that and if there’s something that makes sense for the future of the team we will look at doing that too. At the end of the day there is no pressure to swing one way or the other. Rehkopf trade took the pressure off”

-Excited about the 07/08 talent in the system
-likes what he’s seeing from Cameron and Anstis in jr b
-Anstis was penciled in as a full time player before the injury and took the reassignment well and the right way
Made the most sense for him as a offensive player to get big minute in jr b where he can play with the puck rather than playing 8 minutes a night every other game

-mentioned the importance of the 09 draft

 

[LostRangers]

McKenzie on the trade deadline- intermission interview on the radio

“At this point we feel no pressure doing anything. If there’s something available that makes sense to improve the team we will definitely look at doing that and if there’s something that makes sense for the future of the team we will look at doing that too. At the end of the day there is no pressure to swing one way or the other. Rehkopf trade took the pressure off”

-Excited about the 07/08 talent in the system
-likes what he’s seeing from Cameron and Anstis in jr b
-Anstis was penciled in as a full time player before the injury and took the reassignment well and the right way
Made the most sense for him as a offensive player to get big minute in jr b where he can play with the puck rather than playing 8 minutes a night every other game

-mentioned the importance of the 09 draft

Don’t agree with MM’s positioning. As someone mentioned earlier, league champs tend to have 10+ NHL drafted players on the roster. We don’t project to come anywhere close to that with our current roster. Rekhopf trade recouped MM’s prior seasons misfireS. We still need more in the cupboard to find some more studs to help build a Mem Cup contender. Do that now while we have some desirable assets for other teams. IMHO, that means you should feel pressure to do something now.
In another topic, heard on the NHL intermission show that the OHL governors have approved the USHL merge of teams. However USA Hockey, for whatever reason, also needs to sign off and they voted against. So not yet a done deal.

 

[Jives]

McKenzie on the trade deadline- intermission interview on the radio

“At this point we feel no pressure doing anything. If there’s something available that makes sense to improve the team we will definitely look at doing that and if there’s something that makes sense for the future of the team we will look at doing that too. At the end of the day there is no pressure to swing one way or the other. Rehkopf trade took the pressure off”

-Excited about the 07/08 talent in the system
-likes what he’s seeing from Cameron and Anstis in jr b
-Anstis was penciled in as a full time player before the injury and took the reassignment well and the right way
Made the most sense for him as a offensive player to get big minute in jr b where he can play with the puck rather than playing 8 minutes a night every other game

-mentioned the importance of the 09 draft

The good news is he didn’t flat out saying we are looking at improving and going it. The correct move is to add some more picks / young players. Hopefully that’s the way it turns out.

 

[Ward Cornell]

With the probable OHL expansion, could McKenzie be reluctant to trade excess players for picks. With this new NCAA rule and the Rangers having a bunch of highly regarded players that could come, perhaps he would rather lose those excessive extg Ranger players in the expansion draft?

 

[digicamo]

Don’t agree with MM’s positioning. As someone mentioned earlier, league champs tend to have 10+ NHL drafted players on the roster. We don’t project to come anywhere close to that with our current roster. Rekhopf trade recouped MM’s prior seasons misfireS. We still need more in the cupboard to find some more studs to help build a Mem Cup contender. Do that now while we have some desirable assets for other teams. IMHO, that means you should feel pressure to do something now.
In another topic, heard on the NHL intermission show that the OHL governors have approved the USHL merge of teams. However USA Hockey, for whatever reason, also needs to sign off and they voted against. So not yet a done deal.

I think everyone here agrees that the ideal path to be a mem cup host in a few years requires loading up on young talent now, but how many teams ranked in the CHL top 10 have had a sell-off historically? How do you convince the common fan that a team tied for 2nd overall in the league needs to get rid of their best players? A community-owned team, unfortunately, means staying competitive, and right now, the attendance is through the roof, making all of the bigwigs happy. Personally, I'm happy with any path that doesn't lead to us moving out young players for rentals.

 

[rve24]

With the probable OHL expansion, could McKenzie be reluctant to trade excess players for picks. With this new NCAA rule and the Rangers having a bunch of highly regarded players that could come, perhaps he would rather lose those excessive extg Ranger players in the expansion draft?

Interesting take. Never thought of this. TY. It's common with an expansion to have a protected list. If ya can keep a player or 2 that'll have interest in a draft it saves a player ya may wanna a keep in the fold.

 

[Squirrel88]

I wouldn't take what management says in an interview too literally. They aren't going to disrespect the players and coaches by saying anything that would suggest they don't think this group can win, especially since they are ranked nationally.

On the other hand, you can try to read the tea leaves based on what he didn't say. Normally you expect to hear something about defensive depth or depth scoring or something from a top team. He seems to be signaling that we shouldn't anticipate big adds, while messaging that they won't trade players away at a discount. Not sure what else he can be expected to say in the circumstances.

 

[EvenSteven]

With the probable OHL expansion, could McKenzie be reluctant to trade excess players for picks. With this new NCAA rule and the Rangers having a bunch of highly regarded players that could come, perhaps he would rather lose those excessive extg Ranger players in the expansion draft?

Interesting take. Never thought of this. TY. It's common with an expansion to have a protected list. If ya can keep a player or 2 that'll have interest in a draft it saves a player ya may wanna a keep in the fold.

Any expansion draft I think will be different than expansion drafts of the past.

The hockey world learned a lesson with the recent expansion drafts in the NHL. They learned that if you have healthy expansion teams that can put a decent team on the ice from the get go, they can be successful as a franchise immediately.

I don’t believe the OHL would want to allow a couple expansion teams into the league and have them struggle in attendance and in the standings because of a poor on ice product. They would probably want teams that are immediately decent, if not better than decent. That means short protected lists. That’s the route the NHL went and it proved to be successful.

I can see the OHL going in that direction too. So be prepared if there is expansion, to lose at least one or two players that you don’t want to lose.