Kitchener Rangers 2018 Offseason Thread

[Hockey2314]

I will not be surprised if there will be no import player with this coach next season. He gives them no chance to play normally.

 

[OhSheila]

You can complain about missed calls and how they made a difference.

I'd say if the Rangers played with the intensity they are capable of, bad calls or missed calls wouldn't be an issue.

Play with urgency, play a disciplined game and the Rangers should win.

Guelph outworked the Rangers and as the old saying goes hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

 

[rangersblues]

I will not be surprised if there will be no import player with this coach next season. He gives them no chance to play normally.

I'm curious how much of a chance they should have been given. They were slotted on top lines and given substantial PP time early in the season and ended up with 18 goals between them and averaged about 0.5 points per game. They just aren't productive enough to play a lot of minutes for a contending team. I find fault with a lot of things our coaching staff does (or doesn't ) do. This isn't one of them.

Hopefully MM finds a better pipeline for our imports. It's one area that's been sorely lacking in recent years.

 

[hedgeway]

I will not be surprised if there will be no import player with this coach next season. He gives them no chance to play normally.

I think they're slotted where they should be given the current lineup, but I'd still be looking to play that 4th line more than they have been. The ability to roll 4 good lines if one of the clear advantages Kitchener has in this series.

 

[bobber]

Putting the last two games into perspective the Rangers got out coached IMO. Secondly where is the leadership from the vets in the play offs? The Rangers seem to fall apart at the slightest hint the goalie is not on his game. Culina obviously was not. I actually thought the coach should have pulled him for Richy if nothing more than to get the team to start playing defense. Culina let in one of every four shots so Richy could do no worse. As I mentioned before the Storm proved they can score on Culina before the play offs. Rangers regardless of who is in net have to do a better job defending a play more disciplined.

 

[Ranger007]

Smith isn't the only one who took a bad penalty last night. Rangers were rolling in the first when Mascherin decided to trip a Guelph defender behind the play as the puck was leaving the Guelph zone. 10 seconds later, the puck is in the net.

Would also be nice to see Brown score a playoff goal. In 15 playoff games with Windsor and Kitchener Brown has 15 assists but no goals.

 

[Jantung]

I was at the game last night and was going tonight not anymore. I have been to many barns and feel I've always had good experiences but between the constant verbal abuse in the first and second and than the popcorn and beer cans thrown at us in the third. I know this isn't normal behavior but i just wanted to urge rangers fans to stay away from section 107. Sad part is I'm from Guelph and have always considered them my second favorite team.

 

[Northernstormfan]

I was at the game last night and was going tonight not anymore. I have been to many barns and feel I've always had good experiences but between the constant verbal abuse in the first and second and than the popcorn and beer cans thrown at us in the third. I know this isn't normal behavior but i just wanted to urge rangers fans to stay away from section 107. Sad part is I'm from Guelph and have always considered them my second favorite team.

Jantung that behavior is unacceptable in any arena and as a Guelph fan who has been to Aud only twice I can say the behavior of the hometown crowd towards my family and myself wasn't any better than what happened to you last night. Popcorn, drinks and nasty disgusting slurs towards us was unacceptable. We found a security person and reported the behavior and was told that if we didn't like it than we could move seats or leave. Was absolutely speechless and I can say we will never return to this arena.

 

[bobber]

I was at the game last night and was going tonight not anymore. I have been to many barns and feel I've always had good experiences but between the constant verbal abuse in the first and second and than the popcorn and beer cans thrown at us in the third. I know this isn't normal behavior but i just wanted to urge rangers fans to stay away from section 107. Sad part is I'm from Guelph and have always considered them my second favorite team.

Jantung so if the Storm are your second team are all the rest number one? I kid. You don't have to urge me to stay out of that barn. We experienced the same on more than one occasion. If you wear a Ranger jersey and complain about rude behavior don't expect any mercy from the staff in Guelph. They will ask you to leave.

 

[ScoresFromCentre]

Really sorry to hear fans have had such negative experiences in opposing arenas. Guelph's such a nice city with good people, and their team has snazzy uniforms and a funny mascot. Plus they've been generous about not being competitive when the Rangers have been. (At least in the modern OHL.) They're also pretty clearly the Blue Jays of the Midwest division. (London = New York, Kitchener = Boston *shudder*, OS = Tampa, Erie = Baltimore, for the record.) I just can't dislike those guys.

In my experience, starting a "London sucks" chant at the Sleeman during Guelph-Kitchener games is always a good bet to get the home crowd to warm up.

 

[Jantung]

Jantung so if the Storm are your second team are all the rest number one? I kid. You don't have to urge me to stay out of that barn. We experienced the same on more than one occasion. If you wear a Ranger jersey and complain about rude behavior don't expect any mercy from the staff in Guelph. They will ask you to leave.

Well I don't want to put down the whole fan base I have been to many game at the sleemen center and have never had an issue before last night. It was ment to be a warning there may be a bad egg in that section.

I did have on a rangers jersey and all I know is rangers are number #1 I like Ottawa windsor and Guelph and hate London lol

 

[Spinner]

It's a seven game series. I know it's easy to get caught up in the 2 seed vs. 7 seed narrative, but sweeping a team four straight isn't easy. This Rangers team was inconsistent all season. Of course the hope was once playoffs began we might see a more consistent effort and unfortunately that hasn't happened yet. I understand the benefits of keeping a series short to maintain health, energy etc., for the next series. But it also doesn't hurt psychologically to be in a tight grueling series. I think the worst thing for this Rangers team, which at times seems to be elsewhere mentally, would have been to sweep Guelph and win games handily. Time and time again this season we have seen just how complacent this team can be. I personally think a tight and physical series will actually benefit this team moving forward.

 

[bobber]

Well I don't want to put down the whole fan base I have been to many game at the sleemen center and have never had an issue before last night. It was ment to be a warning there may be a bad egg in that section.

I did have on a rangers jersey and all I know is rangers are number #1 I like Ottawa windsor and Guelph and hate London lol

Jantung there isn't a team in the OHL where fans own a monopoly on halos. There are bad eggs in every crowd and some get few beers in them and think they own the place. Don't worry about it.

 

[Ward Cornell]

Well I don't want to put down the whole fan base I have been to many game at the sleemen center and have never had an issue before last night. It was ment to be a warning there may be a bad egg in that section.

I did have on a rangers jersey and all I know is rangers are number #1 I like Ottawa windsor and Guelph and hate London lol

I've been to every OHL arena since the late 60's and been to Guelph at least 30x and I never had an issue anywhere. Just mark this down to one person being a jerk!

 

[bobber]

Not to take things away from the play offs but like to mention the upcoming draft on April 7. What do others think the needs of the Rangers should be?
Rangers will be in rebuild mode next season. I always like to see the team draft big mobile defensemen. Rangers always seem to struggle getting pucks out of their zone and a couple of mobile Dmen would help that situation. I think if the team picks a goalie they grab one early before the top players are gone.

 

[Ward Cornell]

Not to take things away from the play offs but like to mention the upcoming draft on April 7. What do others think the needs of the Rangers should be?
Rangers will be in rebuild mode next season. I always like to see the team draft big mobile defensemen. Rangers always seem to struggle getting pucks out of their zone and a couple of mobile Dmen would help that situation.

Offence Offence and more Offence!
I use to be a big believer in drafting big d-men but have been a convert to offence. You can always teach defence but you can never teach natural offensive talent. (***but hire a skills coach like they did a few yrs ago with Daniel Tzachuk)

 

[bobber]

Offence Offence and more Offence!
I use to be a big believer in drafting big d-men but have been a convert to offence. You can always teach defence but you can never teach natural offensive talent. (***but hire a skills coach like they did a few yrs ago with Daniel Tzachuk)

I agree they still need someone that can get more out of the players drafted.
Beating that old horse Deboer seemed to get more out of players than anyone since. He could make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
On a side note we always see Matt Gordon walking the concourse at the games. He had a player with him Sunday that looked like Kobe Desmond drafted in the under 18 draft. Not positive. Plays for the Powasson Voodoos in the Northern Junior League I believe.

 

[Living Vicariously]

Well I don't want to put down the whole fan base I have been to many game at the sleemen center and have never had an issue before last night. It was ment to be a warning there may be a bad egg in that section.

I did have on a rangers jersey and all I know is rangers are number #1 I like Ottawa windsor and Guelph and hate London lol

Jantung there isn't a team in the OHL where fans own a monopoly on halos. There are bad eggs in every crowd and some get few beers in them and think they own the place. Don't worry about it.

I've been to every OHL arena since the late 60's and been to Guelph at least 30x and I never had an issue anywhere. Just mark this down to one person being a jerk!

Like Northernstormfan, I've had a bad experience at the Aud as well, but just one. That was enough for my wife to refuse to go there anymore, but I'm "meh". I've also seen my share of idiots at the Sleeman Centre - mostly loudmouths that are attending their first hockey game - fortunately I haven't witnessed throwing of debris, but I have no doubt it happens. The unfortunate part is, the bad eggs that are responsible for making an impression are generally not regular fans or hockey game attendees for the most part, based on what I've seen. As a sth, I get to recognize the folks in my section - both sth and those who come to games more frequently. The worst fans for being loudmouths are those that I've never seen before: they show up once in a season, usually with a group, and usually, because it's an outing, with a bellyfull of brown pop. A couple of weeks ago, I snuck off to the washroom during a whistle, and had two guys (again, never seen them before) lipping off at me about Storm players going down - this was in my own rink! I don't think they were there to support the other team either, as they spent most of the game yapping at their table overlooking the rink, and only glanced at the game once in awhile to yell out something incoherent that made them all laugh at how funny they were. They looked more like crapkickers that came into town for the night looking to get drunk and stir up something.

My point is, as Bobber mentioned, they are in every rink, and if it were up to the regulars, they'd like to have them tossed out as well. Unfortunately, they're the ones that leave the lasting impression during their once a year visit to the rink.

Sorry you had to be the target of that nonsense Jantung. If you change your mind and go tonight, maybe wear a Storm jersey?

 

[rangersblues]

Offence Offence and more Offence!
I use to be a big believer in drafting big d-men but have been a convert to offence. You can always teach defence but you can never teach natural offensive talent. (***but hire a skills coach like they did a few yrs ago with Daniel Tzachuk)

If we draft another dman in the first round I'll crap.

 

[Gondrex]

It's a seven game series. I know it's easy to get caught up in the 2 seed vs. 7 seed narrative, but sweeping a team four straight isn't easy. This Rangers team was inconsistent all season. Of course the hope was once playoffs began we might see a more consistent effort and unfortunately that hasn't happened yet. I understand the benefits of keeping a series short to maintain health, energy etc., for the next series. But it also doesn't hurt psychologically to be in a tight grueling series. I think the worst thing for this Rangers team, which at times seems to be elsewhere mentally, would have been to sweep Guelph and win games handily. Time and time again this season we have seen just how complacent this team can be. I personally think a tight and physical series will actually benefit this team moving forward.

This pretty much nails it. A lot of people got fooled by this team's 5-0 lead out of the series gate. Sure, with this team's talent they could be much more dominant against their opponents. But I've been waiting since October for this to happen on any kind of semi-regular basis. I have no idea how the talent on this team compares to that of the past Kitchener teams - such as the two squads that made it to the Mem Cup in the last 15 years, or if you're old like me, the great teams from the '80's. But I can tell you, I do not have the same confidence in this team compared to any of those teams.

I admit I was a bit surprised by the talk about the Ranger's 2nd round opponent and 4-game sweep. I give Guelph credit for refusing to roll over. They obviously know that anything is possible vs. this edition of the Rangers.

 

[RangerNation]

Let's just win game 4 and wrap this up in game 5. I don't want to watch a game on Easter Sunday.

 

[EvenSteven]

Officiating aside (only one minor penalty to Guelph all game before the scurmish at end of the game? Really? I was there. I saw everything), had we been a little more disciplined (Mascherin's trip and Smith's blindside) and a little more accurate in our shooting (we rang the bar st least three times), then we win the game hands down.

I expect us to be much more disciplined tonight. I also expect Culina to be better. I think we win this one tonight by a couple goals.

 

[Melrose]

Guelph has been trying to goat Rangers into retaliation penalties since game one, and it worked for them last night. They are interfering a lot to try and slow down the speed. This is where good coaching can apply strategy to break down the process. It just seems to me that this coaching staff never have any answers to counteract any of these moves during a game and we just keep walking into the same trap. A good team is always able to make adjustments during the course of a game.

 

[bobber]

Guelph has been trying to goat Rangers into retaliation penalties since game one, and it worked for them last night. They are interfering a lot to try and slow down the speed. This is where good coaching can apply strategy to break down the process. It just seems to me that this coaching staff never have any answers to counteract any of these moves during a game and we just keep walking into the same trap. A good team is always able to make adjustments during the course of a game.

Melrose if you go back to the 2008 series against Belleville we thought the Rangers would win that going away. It was Belleville that would not go away. The made adjustments and caused headaches. A fellow poster reminded me today the present Storm coach was the guy that made that adjustment and he has a ton of coaching experience. As Yogi Berra said" It's dejavu all over again".

 

[bobber]

If we draft another dman in the first round I'll crap.

I am hoping for forwards that have natural talent and speed in the first couple of rounds. Speed seems to be the way of the future in hockey these days. Probably the every team in the league has the same ambitions.