Kitchener Rangers 2018-19 Season Thread

[EvenSteven]

I think it will be a buyers market. Only London in the West, and now Ottawa and Oshawa in the East; Niagara has made their big move. Prices could be marginal for secondary players.

Don't forget about Guelph. They've given London all they can handle this year.

 

[EvenSteven]

I suppose. It just reminds me a lot of the year we put Bracco on the market and we don't have anyone that has near his value right now. Now that Niagara has way overpaid imo and taken themselves out of the market, I think prices will drop. There's quite a few potential players and not many spots .

The only reason we didn't get value for Bracco (at least in the first half of the two part deal that had everyone on this end enraged) is because he would only go to Windsor and they were almost out of assets.

 

[EvenSteven]

Kind of not Rangers related,
But I’m very interested to see how Tortora does in Barrie. I always hoped he’d report here.

I also agree we should be cashing in on potential OAs this year. I can’t see us being a legitimate contender next season. Playoff team for sure, but not really in the mix for a title.

If we do that, which I don't disagree with, we'll be worse next year than we are this year.

 

[SYWTom]

If we do that, which I don't disagree with, we'll be worse next year than we are this year.

Absolutely. I think we would be better off not having two mediocre years leading to more mediocre. Better to have a down year or two, then use those assets to have some good years. IMO

 

[soo hound girl]

If we do that, which I don't disagree with, we'll be worse next year than we are this year.

What would it cost the hounds to Get Hugg from you guys we have a open import spot but not a lot of picks to throw at you

 

[EvenSteven]

What would it cost the hounds to Get Hugg from you guys we have a open import spot but not a lot of picks to throw at you

Though not NHL drafted, based on his play and production this season, I would call Hugg a high end import player (though not elite). The last time we traded away a high end import was when we traded Radek Faksa to Sudbury. We got an import forward back from them basically to make room for Faksa on their roster. Also coming our way were two second round picks. I would expect close to the same in return for a Hugg. I don't expect an import player in return as you only have one and since he hasn't been in the league yet a year, he can't be included in any deal.

Also not lost on me is the fact import players are hard to move. Most teams already have their two import players. And usually, contenders are already set in that position. That brings his value down a little bit when you compare his output to that of a non-import player.

But I don't think it would be out of bounds to expect two second round picks for him. Either that or the equivalent. I'm not sure what your draft pick situation is, but in lieu of two second round picks, a half decent younger player plus a couple of thirds might get the job done. Nobody would expect a high-end 17 or 18 year-old off your roster. No doubt you'd need that player to aid in any run you might want to go on this spring.

Truth be told, I would've thought that the Greyhounds would be in sell mode this year to replenish the assets spent last year in making their run. There will be a lot of tough decisions between now and the deadline for your team.

 

[EvenSteven]

It's starting to look like London and Guelph and the rest won't matter much in the west. I expect the Soo to sell.

We better sell too.

Guelph did us a favour last year dealing Givani Smith over here and he was one of our best playoff performers. We should do the favour back and send a couple quality guys over there to shore up their team for a run against London in the playoffs.

McHugh and Meireles over to Guelph for a decent young player or two and picks.

 

[Jives]

We need to sell something soon before buyers give away all their good stuff. I’d sell any OA or 19 yer old. If aylmyone throws a high price for any 19 year old you have to take it. Preferred to get some good 16 or 17 year olds to play with are younger players instead of draft picks. I’d take either though...let’s just start the sell off though.

 

[rangersblues]

It's starting to look like London and Guelph and the rest won't matter much in the west. I expect the Soo to sell.

We better sell too.

Guelph did us a favour last year dealing Givani Smith over here and he was one of our best playoff performers. We should do the favour back and send a couple quality guys over there to shore up their team for a run against London in the playoffs.

McHugh and Meireles over to Guelph for a decent young player or two and picks.

Unfortunately we don't currently have anyone with the physical presence or game changing capability of Smith to send Guelph's way. This is a less talented squad than the one Spott left us with. A couple of guys are overachieving. We have no MacInnes, Faksa or Bailey on this team. Joey G and Damiani are our only players with real upside. A couple of others like McHugh work their tails off. If Yantsis and Hugg are attracting interest they should unload them now. Their value may be peaked. This team seems like it's on a huge slide especially with Damiani out for the foreseeable future.

Hiebert left this team with nothing. MM traded us into a contender last season. This year we're going backwards again. Worse than that it looks like they've quit as witnessed the past 2 home games.

 

[EvenSteven]

Guelph doesn't need a Givani Smith. They already have a ton of physicality. They need quality depth. McHugh and Meireles would be excellent second line threats behind Guelph's first line.

They are high end on the PK and high end two way players. And this year they're putting up points. And with their playoff experience last year as two thirds of one of the best shut down lines in junior hockey, they cover a lot of bases for a team looking to gear up for a long playoff run.

And since they're not elite 19 year olds, both are good OA candidates.

 

[bobber]

I agree with rangersblues. The Rangers look lost the last two home games. Some fans left after the second period. Last season MM made some trades that worked out great. I am not so enamored with the two players he picked up this season. Campbell is too small and McPherson looked good at first but every Dman looks almost lost when opposing forwards are coming at them. Other than last year's success we sat on our hands at the Aud for years. I would like to ask the management including scouts when are we going to see a team at home that is exciting and hard to play against. Be nice to get our money worth for a change.

 

[bobber]

Couple of points on last night's game. Pfeil let in 5 but he made some incredible saves. Our defense was brutal in front and in panic mode and he made 2 or 3 saves in a row a couple of times that would of been goals. Sbrango's hit looked clean from our view but others may not think so. He can throw them for sure but the team should not be depending on a 16 year old to do their fighting. And yes there will still be the odd scrap in hockey.

 

[Rangers True Blue]

IMO, that hard hit by Sebrango was just that, a hard hit. I had clear sight of it and so did the Rangers bench (Mckee says clean hit). Yes, Gritz's head went back but with a hit like that, of course it's going to go back. DUH. Now, Gritz would have to go through concussion protocol and it must have been negative because Gritz was back to play the rest of the game and looked just fine. Likely had the wind knocked out of him.

VIDEO:

This is the second time that a hard hit has been immediatly cited as a head check. Is this Branch's next target.....no hitting? Maybe we could have flag hockey? I can hardy wait for the suspension. 5 seems to be the OHL's favourite number....oh....unless it's slew footing which only gets you 2.....or if you're a star forward.....and it gets you zero.

Rant over. Now...who knew....we've been asking for grit and young Sebrango sure showed his boxing skills. Sellan was all for it but quickly realized his mistake. BOOM.

And I hope the coaching staff worked the boys real hard last night because they sure weren't working out on the ice. I felt like leaving after the 2nd period but mistakenly thought they'd make a comeback. If it wasn't for Pfeil, the score would have been much higher.

 

[Ward Cornell]

Wasn't at the game last night therefore just a basic observation on the Rangers play from the last month or so. When a team in their rebuild and was "pegged" by most to to be in the lower grouping of teams in the western conference. Losing 2 of the top 3 defenceman a while back (I'm a big gentles fan and think he's vastly under-rated by most fans) and then their top forward a week ago this type of play has to be almost expected. It also reveals character of players for MM to analyze for next season.

 

[Rangers True Blue]

Couple of points on last night's game. Pfeil let in 5 but he made some incredible saves. Our defense was brutal in front and in panic mode and he made 2 or 3 saves in a row a couple of times that would of been goals. Sbrango's hit looked clean from our view but others may not think so. He can throw them for sure but the team should not be depending on a 16 year old to do their fighting. And yes there will still be the odd scrap in hockey.

Agreed Bobber! Just ranted about it. And though Pfeil looked very good considering the barrage that came his way. And Erie's second goal went off Yantsis' stick and into the net when Yantsis was trying to clear.

 

[Kenny Chu]

IMO, that hard hit by Sebrango was just that, a hard hit. I'd love to see video footage to prove me wrong. I had clear sight of it and so did the Rangers bench (Mckee says clean hit). Yes, Gritz's head went back but with a hit like that, of course it's going to go back. DUH. Now, Gritz would have to go through concussion protocol and it must have been negative because Gritz was back to play the rest of the game.

This is the second time that a hard hit has been immediatly cited as a head check. Is this Branch's next target.....no hitting? Maybe we could have flag hockey? I can hardy wait for the suspension. 5 seems to be the OHL's favourite number....oh....unless it's slew footing which only gets you 2.....or if you're a star forward.....and it gets you zero.

Rant over. Now...who knew....we've been asking for grit and young Sebrango sure showed his boxing skills. Sellan was all for it but quickly realized his mistake. BOOM.

And I hope the coaching staff worked the boys real hard last night because they sure weren't working out on the ice. I felt like leaving after the 2nd period but mistakenly thought they'd make a comeback. If it wasn't for Pfeil, the score would have been much higher.

I would like to see management gone. If you are losing due to skill that is one thing, but when you lose primarily due to competitiveness that is totally wrong and certainly within the control of the bench and management. Our D don't compete, what were you thinking letting our Best D go and replacing with McPherson? The problem is MM you decided not to have a competitive training camp and simply preordained your roster before. You could have iced a better team.

 

[GeoBlue]

Sbrango's hit looked clean from our view but others may not think so. He can throw them for sure but the team should not be depending on a 16 year old to do their fighting. And yes there will still be the odd scrap in hockey.

My thoughts exactly. Sebrango was the player of the game for the Rangers based on his last shift alone...Throws one of the few hits, and a dandy, then backs it up with a fight...All as a 16-year-old. This is the guy we should be building around. It will not happen next year. Who do we have? Damiani and a few OA's? I do not want to go for it via trade AGAIN.

It is back to coaching again and these guys looked lost AGAIN last night. And now we are heading to the tough teams! I know some will point to the success of last year's team but IMO, it was not well coached team but a team that went as far as it could on raw talent. I think if we were well coached, we could have cake-walked away with it all last year.

Definitely have to take a hard look at the scouting team as well. Even I can pick a player that is "next on the list". What ever happened to those wonderful Ranger teams of the 80's? :-(

 

[bobber]

IMO, that hard hit by Sebrango was just that, a hard hit. I had clear sight of it and so did the Rangers bench (Mckee says clean hit). Yes, Gritz's head went back but with a hit like that, of course it's going to go back. DUH. Now, Gritz would have to go through concussion protocol and it must have been negative because Gritz was back to play the rest of the game and looked just fine. Likely had the wind knocked out of him.

VIDEO:

This is the second time that a hard hit has been immediatly cited as a head check. Is this Branch's next target.....no hitting? Maybe we could have flag hockey? I can hardy wait for the suspension. 5 seems to be the OHL's favourite number....oh....unless it's slew footing which only gets you 2.....or if you're a star forward.....and it gets you zero.

Rant over. Now...who knew....we've been asking for grit and young Sebrango sure showed his boxing skills. Sellan was all for it but quickly realized his mistake. BOOM.

And I hope the coaching staff worked the boys real hard last night because they sure weren't working out on the ice. I felt like leaving after the 2nd period but mistakenly thought they'd make a comeback. If it wasn't for Pfeil, the score would have been much higher.

The NHL is presently trying to look at ways to get hitting back into the game. These leagues keep imposing more and more rules that take away the essence of what made hockey exciting to watch. Most real fans love to see a good solid clean hit or even the odd scrap. The Sbrango scrap was the only thing that got the crowd roaring last night. We all love the taste of vanilla but a little butterscotch on it once in a while is good to.

 

[OHLFan90]

Anyone else other then me starting to think that maybe this team has just quit on McKee?

 

[johnnyhockey1982]

I think that yesterday Sebrango showed he's the best 2002 on the team.....he seems to be the only rookie working hard and what a clean hit he delivered on the Otters last night...and defended himself too! i thought the Rangers actually looked good in the first... but then I think Mckee started to mess around with the line pairings and thats when they scored two quick goals on us. hopefully the after game workout put a fire under them!

 

[rangersblues]

Wasn't at the game last night therefore just a basic observation on the Rangers play from the last month or so. When a team in their rebuild and was "pegged" by most to to be in the lower grouping of teams in the western conference. Losing 2 of the top 3 defenceman a while back (I'm a big gentles fan and think he's vastly under-rated by most fans) and then their top forward a week ago this type of play has to be almost expected. It also reveals character of players for MM to analyze for next season.

Patience is all fine and well. We are in a rebuild. I get that and my expectations for results is low. BUT that wasn't the London Knights that made us look like that on Tuesday and Friday. That was Sarnia and Erie - two teams also in a rebuild. Rebuild doesn't mean a complete mulligan. Young players that are future blocks of the next contending team should be emerging and I sure would like to see them. Can anyone honestly say this is happening besides with Sbrango?

Maybe it's still too early for evaluation, but we're 8 games away from the half way mark of the season. If you go back to the 2008-9 team that was in a rebuild, it did not have great results by any stretch. But they fought hard almost every game and you could see the foundation of the future being built. Shouldn't we be seeing that starting to happen by now with this team?

 

[Melrose]

It makes you wonder about coaching when you see a player like York wander all over the ice, constantly out of position game after game.

 

[rangersblues]

It makes you wonder about coaching when you see a player like York wander all over the ice, constantly out of position game after game.

Not to mention how Vukojevic's season has gone. Last year before he arrived he was being touted as a can't miss NHLer to the point that he may be gone immediately after his draft year. After playing only half a season last year I think most saw him as a definite 1st rounder this year especially if his offensive game emerged. Now - not so much.

 

[Coaches Coroner]

Wasn't at the game last night therefore just a basic observation on the Rangers play from the last month or so. When a team in their rebuild and was "pegged" by most to to be in the lower grouping of teams in the western conference. Losing 2 of the top 3 defenceman a while back (I'm a big gentles fan and think he's vastly under-rated by most fans) and then their top forward a week ago this type of play has to be almost expected. It also reveals character of players for MM to analyze for next season.

This is basically my take on things as well. There are still things to complain about but I find the amount of game to game hand wringing about the future of the team to be a bit over the top here at times. Granted I am not an STH so I have a little less skin in the game than others, but this season is going more or less as I expected. The only thing I didn't expect was the hot start and IMO that has possibly thrown some people's expectations out of whack.

My issue with the season thus far has has been with how Mckee uses certain players (specifically the younger guys). Arguably our top asset going forward in Vukojevic still get's shafted on PP time despite injuries,even in blow outs, in games where other guys on the PP aren't working (or when guys on the PP have terrible games, ie. York last game). He's had some decent looks in the offensive end at even strength, he really deserves a chance. Almost temped to go to a game with a "Free Vuk" sign.
Not a huge fan of how some of the rookies are being used either, IMO you need to give them more PP time to help them develop and get more confidence offensively in this league...especially over an OA like Cambpell. McKee's decision making still seems rooted in a "win now" mindset when he needs to be focused more on developing the young players, I'm just not sure he has the skillset as a coach to do that.

 

[bobber]

Patience is all fine and well. We are in a rebuild. I get that and my expectations for results is low. BUT that wasn't the London Knights that made us look like that on Tuesday and Friday. That was Sarnia and Erie - two teams also in a rebuild. Rebuild doesn't mean a complete mulligan. Young players that are future blocks of the next contending team should be emerging and I sure would like to see them. Can anyone honestly say this is happening besides with Sbrango?

Maybe it's still too early for evaluation, but we're 8 games away from the half way mark of the season. If you go back to the 2008-9 team that was in a rebuild, it did not have great results by any stretch. But they fought hard almost every game and you could see the foundation of the future being built. Shouldn't we be seeing that starting to happen by now with this team?

Blue your right. When a team rebuilds you have to see some spark in the second year guys and at the very least have a couple of rookies put up some numbers. It gives the fans some hope going forward. It comes down to drafting the right type of players and the coach being able to develop them. When a team falters and doesn't seem to feel confident at the home rink some of the blame goes to coaching IMO.