Kitchener Rangers 2018 Offseason Thread

[Ward Cornell]

Brown: Former Rangers first rounder Mike Davies is tied for the lead in GOJHL scoring with 19 points in nine games for the St. Kitts Falcons

... guess he found his niche. good for him.

Too good for the GOJHL but not good enough for the OHL.
Also Darby was released from his ECHL tryout today!

Hoping the flu bug has made its way through the team before this coming weekend.

 

[Tim Wallach]

Barnaby leaving? Very odd timing and peculiarly short message. Hate to speculate but something unexpected must have occurred. Not good. Yet more instability for these kids.

 

[Medway Bear]

Rather a brief statement about Barnaby, makes you wonder whether he jumped or if he was pushed.

 

[Ward Cornell]

Barnaby leaving? Very odd timing and peculiarly short message. Hate to speculate but something unexpected must have occurred. Not good. Yet more instability for these kids.

Well, IMHO can't have it both ways. I think we all agree that Barnaby was in over his head in coaching the d-corps and the PK (assuming he coached the PK). I think the greater disservice to the players is to have Barnaby underperforming as a coach to the players. This is not any different than a player being being cut for not being up to the task. If it was MM making the move with consultation with McKee then full kudos to him.
Mike McKenzie is getting rid of the countryclub atmosphere in Rangerland which is good for the fans and even better for the players!

 

[BogeyJ]

Very odd timing but also clearly abrupt for a reason. We may never know why he was let go or left, but we can assume it wasn't planned just based on the above and the brief media release. Wonder who will be next to replace him? If this was planned one would think the other is already hired and an announcement will be made quickly. I also like the tone MM is setting. Get the job done or you can be replaced with someone who can. Rangers PK has been less than OK since he's been here and typically that falls on the D coach. Good move MM imo.

 

[BogeyJ]

Well there it is:
https://www.therecord.com/sports-story/7594288-rangers-fire-assistant-coach-barnaby/

He's been fired for philosophical differences as per JB from MM.

Sounds like it was a combo of not getting the job done and what to do to change it not jiving with MM imo. Wonder how McKee fits in.. strange situation but glad MM isn't afraid to make changes as he sees fit for the benefit of the club. All the best to Barnaby.

 

[Generalsupdates]

Rather a brief statement about Barnaby, makes you wonder whether he jumped or if he was pushed.

 

[OhSheila]

Another move by MM to move the direction of the team to where he wants it to be. Matthew is a likeable guy. I can see the players loving him. The question is was he the right fit for this team? For MM he was not. For another team he may be.

 

[OHLFan90]

I like the move getting rid of Barnaby

He was in over his head as a coach. After getting Hall and Blaisdell back and the addition of Stanley, the D-Corps just picked back up where they left off last year. Except with practically 3 new body's added. That is a disaster waiting to happen. My opinion though.

I thought from day 1 he shouldn't be in this place and was right. As OhSheila mentioned, I've met Matthew and he is a likable guy. Could be a good coach down the road but from the time he was hired until now he just wasn't a good fit and was in all likely hood rushed into this position. I mean he only coached minor hockey before his position here. And people will say well he is a former nhl player. That may be, but just because he could play the game doesn't mean he can coach.

I am sure he will find his way though. This is all a learning process. Coaches get fired all the time, maybe the next team/league will be the right fit.

This is an aggressive move as well and right now MM has all my respect. Most teams would have waited a bit but to insist on doing this 2 weeks into the season just goes to show that the old boys club is not going to be as comfy as it has been in the past.

Just hope this isnt a distraction moving forward!

 

[Tim Wallach]

Well, IMHO can't have it both ways. I think we all agree that Barnaby was in over his head in coaching the d-corps and the PK (assuming he coached the PK). I think the greater disservice to the players is to have Barnaby underperforming as a coach to the players. This is not any different than a player being being cut for not being up to the task. If it was MM making the move with consultation with McKee then full kudos to him.
Mike McKenzie is getting rid of the countryclub atmosphere in Rangerland which is good for the fans and even better for the players!

Ward, I sure hope you're right. Any move that upsets the country club is a great move. It sure sounds from the timing and wording like there was a blow-up. But kudos to MM for standing his ground. I feared he might take a back seat to the Buffalo Buds.

 

[OhSheila]

I agree with what SebJHockey said. He was in over his head having just coached minor hockey prior to this. He will likely develop into a strong coach but it seems it was too much too soon. Maybe he should not have been assigned the defensive responsibilities. This seems like a case of a good guy who wasn't quite ready for this level of coaching at this time. He and McKee are good friends but sometimes good friends don't always translate into good coaching partners

When MM was promoted to GM he said he wanted the Rangers to be one of the elite teams in the OHL. To be that you need the right people in place coaching and developing the players. MM already made a move to make the coaching staff more like the vision he has for it by adding Andreas Karlsson and removing Jason Fortier. MM wants to strengthen the coaching staff and wants them to be in philosophical agreement with his vision for the team.

I'm not of the opinion that there is a "country club" atmosphere around the team. I do think there might have been a tendency in both Fortier and Barnaby to want to be liked by the players. That may have come as the result of telling the players what they like to hear instead of what they need to hear. You don't need to be a mean, intimidating, screaming coach. You do need to make corrections and hold players responsible to themselves and each other.

I have no clue what Matthew was like as a teacher. I think he is a good guy and that he will coach again it's just that right now where the Rangers are and where MM wants them to be, he isn't the right man right now.

Another example of how MM isn't afraid to make a move he thinks will improve the team.

 

[AvgJoe]

MM appears to be shutting down the country club atmosphere that has built up the last few years. As well I'm guessing making your #1 draft pick a healthy scratch this early in the year didn't go over well.

 

[Naz]

MM appears to be shutting down the country club atmosphere that has built up the last few years. As well I'm guessing making your #1 draft pick a healthy scratch this early in the year didn't go over well.

I would think the making your #1 draft pick a healthy scratch would be a Coaches decision not a assistant coach Matthew Barnaby decision ?

 

[BogeyJ]

Yeah we can all speculate but sitting a 1st rounder isn't grounds for termination imo. Stanley was 12th overall 1st rounder for Windsor and was eased in the first couple months in his first year as well if I remember correctly.

 

[Rangers True Blue]

There has been much discussion up to now about the coaching staff and its ability to get the job done. Many of us also wondered if MM would walk the talk and indeed, he proved that again with Barnaby. MM is showing that his sights are set on an elite team. Why he didn't do this earlier? No idea. But if the replacement is in line with his elite philosophy and areas like the PP and the PK drastically improve.....and a no quit attitude are the result, it will be a great move on his part.

All the best to Barnaby.....and Fortier too......but it's time to take this team to an elite level. I can't help but think that MM has some moves in mind once teams like Erie are ready to unload. Only time will tell.

 

[OhSheila]

Great Points RTB. Thanks to Murray Hiebert and Mike McKenzie we're in a great position to add quality players. Erie will likely want a player and picks for either Lodnia or Raddysh. We have both. Be prepared to give up a good younger player as London has done in the past. To get quality, you've got to give up quality.

 

[EvenSteven]

A couple assistant coaches get fired over the last few months and all of a sudden we have been running a country club? Just to play devils advocate, perhaps Barnaby, seeing our current inept PK and PP, voiced his opinion to try and change things up but was met with resistance. One thing lead to another...

We have no idea whether that was the case just like we have no idea that there was a country club atmosphere and he and Fortier were the problems.

Whatever. Let's just hope they hire the right person to take his place. Also, traditionally, head coaches had a say in who their assistants were. Some may argue MacKenzie may be overstepping his boundaries in that regard.

Just saying.

 

[OhSheila]

Here is a synopsis of our recent Coaching and GM changes.

4/29/15 - Troy Smith is let go

6/19/15 Mike Van Ryn: Named Head Coach
Jay McKee: Named Associate Coach
Daniel Tkaczuk: Named Assistant Coach
Mike McKenzie: Named Assistant General Manager/Assistant Coach

5/9/16 Mike Van Ryn: Resigns as Head Coach

5/12/16 Jay McKee: Named Head Coach

6/14/16 Matthew Barnaby: Named Assistant Coach

7/24/16 Daniel Tkaczuk resigns for a job with the Chicago Wolves

7/28/16 Jason Fortier: Named Associate Coach

3/31/17 Mike McKenzie named as GM. Murray Hiebert moves to Director of Hockey Operations

6/14 /17 Jason Fortier released as Associate Coach

6/14/17 Andreas Karlsson Named Associate Coach

10/3/17 Matthew Barnaby released as assistant coach

 

[WildcatMapleLeafs28]

What's the scoop with Dylan Steitz ?

Apparently Moncton added him as a free agent and will join the team Friday.

 

[OHLFan90]

What's the scoop with Dylan Steitz ?

Apparently Moncton added him as a free agent and will join the team Friday.

He's got potential to be a crash and bang guy energy guy. He's a capable player in the CHL. That's all i will say and honestly its not a bad thing.

I wasn't sold on him when he signed.

Not going to put up a ton of points. Could be a decent PK guy in the future.

 

[Ward Cornell]

http://moncton-wildcats.com/article/wildcats-acquire-dylan-seitz-from-kitchener-rangers

Shocked there wasnt a trade partner in the OHL.


Edited to add.....maybe in exchange for a defensive asst coach!

 

[SYWTom]

Wow.
Seitz being waived is a bit of a shock.

But I imagine with him being a 99, the 2000s in Guest and Damiani IMO had already moved past him on the depth chart.
Probably wanted more ice time then last year, not less.

Was looking forward to his little bit of sandpaper back in the lineup tho.

 

[EvenSteven]

Seitz is a very useful player in this league. He certainly could've played among our bottom six and not been a liability. For me to get nothing for him makes little sense. On a team with little sandpaper, he will be missed. If the sole reason for waving him was to make room for others, wouldn't it have made a little more sense to deal somebody a little higher than him on the depth chart who will also play in our bottom six this year ? Say, Guest for example (using him merely for arguments sake ) That way, we would have Seitz in the lineup plus whatever assets we would've gotten in return for Guest.

Just throwing this out there. However, if Seitz did request to be moved in an effort to get more ice time then of course all this is moot.

 

[OhSheila]

Seitz was waived through the league. That says something when there are teams like Erie and Windsor who would like to add some experience to their roster but have no draft picks to use in trades. Guest is a more talented player than Seitz. Guest is the type of player it will take as part of a trade to land us a player like Lodnia or Raddysh or Villardi.

We currently have 14 forwards on the roster and that's without Matt Gordon. We have 8 defencemen. There will be some movement. There is opportunity to upgrade the talent level and we have the draft pick supply and some extra players to use in trades to do that.

 

[rangersblues]

Barnaby - I didn't mind the hiring until I found out he was coaching the defence. I think replacing him is a positive move. Possibly Vukojevic reports at some point now with better coaching.

Ladd - we played 3 in 3 last week and have spare bodies. Why would we put a 16 year old through 3 in 3?