Kitchener Rangers 2019-20 Season Thread (Part 2)

[EvenSteven]

I know I'm high on Ingham, but I truly believe this guy has not only game stealing abilities, he also has series stealing abilities. With that on the team and the current win streak I cannot see this team selling at this point.

I really hope it does not send us on a course of extended mediocrity!

There’s more to a long playoff run than a high end goalie. If you don’t have other areas covered, you’ll still get beat in the post season - especially if the stopper at the other end is as good or close to it.

Steve Spott refused to pay the price at the deadline and fill the holes that needed to be filled and as a result, piddled away two seasons of having John Gibson, the best goalie this team has seen since Mike Torchia.

So if we buy at the deadline but fall short because the other contenders have deeper cupboards to out buy us, we could still go out in the second round with a dismal future in store.

It wouldn’t be as bad if we had more than Vukojovic to sell in the off season but we don’t.

If we do buy, I hope we only buy players who will be good bets to be OA’s next year. At least we could move them along with Vukojovic to recoup some assets.

 

[AttackSound]

Wondering if the Rangers are bring a fan bus up to Owen Sound tonight for the game or if any Rangers posters will be in attendance this evening at the Bayshore???

 

[SYWTom]

Wondering if the Rangers are bring a fan bus up to Owen Sound tonight for the game or if any Rangers posters will be in attendance this evening at the Bayshore???

I don’t think there is a bus for this game. And with the weather (at least in my area) I would guess not many KW residents will be making the trek.

 

[GeoBlue]

I don’t think there is a bus for this game. And with the weather (at least in my area) I would guess not many KW residents will be making the trek.

Didn't we get the dreadful weather LAST time we were in the Sound? I recall watching on the tube and the place had about 100 people in it?

 

[HockeyPops]

Didn't we get the dreadful weather LAST time we were in the Sound?

....said everybody that ever had to drive to Owen Sound for a hockey game.

 

[MatthewsMoustache]

Didn't we get the dreadful weather LAST time we were in the Sound? I recall watching on the tube and the place had about 100 people in it?

lol wasn't that the one where the weather was so bad the team got a hotel for a couple hours and then left later on that night

 

[Billyjack]

lol wasn't that the one where the weather was so bad the team got a hotel for a couple hours and then left later on that night

Been there a few times, can be beautiful going in and when u come there could be a huge storm LOL white knuckled it down 6 a few times

 

[GeoBlue]

Serpa!

 

[Tim Wallach]

Man this team is playing so much better right now. Any mistakes they do make, they're covering up instantly with aggressive puck support in the middle of the ice. The team's entire game has moved to the middle of the ice. And the puck movement offensively is dizzying at times.

 

[Jives]

Ingham now has a .927 save%, 2.6 gaa and 13-3-1. Just wow.

MM is going to have a harder time deciding what to do as they streak continues and Ingham is Ingham.

 

[Ward Cornell]

Man this team is playing so much better right now. Any mistakes they do make, they're covering up instantly with aggressive puck support in the middle of the ice. The team's entire game has moved to the middle of the ice. And the puck movement offensively is dizzying at times.

And not by just the elders on the team but some of the best players has been Serpa and Fishman the last few games. Probably due to faith in them from McKenzie, Motew has also been getting more ice now and was getting it before Ville O was injured with Jackeye sitting.
But it all comes down to goalkeeping, without a rock in net, the team doesn't play loose and easy on offence.

 

[MatthewsMoustache]

this team owes it to Ingham to either go for it or let him do it elsewhere. what a beast

remember, this is the kind of goalie we were begging for last year and this kind of talent/performance doesn’t come along all that often. just a thought

 

[Millpond]

....said everybody that ever had to drive to Owen Sound for a hockey game.

Haha, us Attack fans get this between December and March. I've gone to hockey games and arrived from out of town to find them cancelled.

 

[EvenSteven]

this team owes it to Ingham to either go for it or let him do it elsewhere. what a beast

remember, this is the kind of goalie we were begging for last year and this kind of talent/performance doesn’t come along all that often. just a thought

I’m in the sell camp (I know, broken record). But at this point, I have a hard time believing that MM will sell.

So, with that in mind, considering we don’t have the draft cupboard to buy hard, I suggest we try and bring in second or third tier vets who we are pretty sure will return next year as OA’s - if we’re buying.

Can we find a couple LW’s and a D who we can get without using any of our three 2nd rounders? Or any of our 02’s?

Could we bring in wingers like Golod, Whittaker, Yetman, or Popov, or comparable, or a D like Robertson or Wale just using 3rds and 4ths?

It’s players like this that we could bring in on the cheap. They’d make us better and deeper. Then, should we sell off after this year to gear up for a run in 21-22, they could be sold to bring back the assets we used to get them in the first place. Doing that, along with selling off Vukojovic, would replenish the cupboard quite nice I’m thinking.

We were able to pick up an 18 year old MacPherson for two 3rds. Could we bring in a 2000 born comparable talent for the same or a shade more?

 

[GeoBlue]

[QUOTE="EvenSteven, post: 168077099, member: 90411"We were able to pick up an 18 year old MacPherson for two 3rds. Could we bring in a 2000 born comparable talent for the same or a shade more?[/QUOTE]

I don't see why not. When everyone was talking about selling, the thinking was that it was a buyers market and that we would not get the value we were hoping for our assets. So if we are buying?.........

 

[MatthewsMoustache]

my wish list is someone the can take the 3LW spot. Stepien doesn’t cut it for me. he’s been throwing the body however which would be good to have on the 4th line. one guy that stands out is Nathan Dunkley from the Knights. he doesn’t seem to be a fit there to the posters over there. he would be probably a cheap add and would be pretty much a lock for an OA season. maybe playing solidified top 9 minutes can increase his value for next season. Jacob LeGuerrier from the Soo is another guy I’d like to see added hypothetically to bolster the D. he’s probably 50/50 for an OA season. might not be as cheap but you could probably throw in Stepien if need be. that gives us:

Pinelli-Meireles-Hawel
Valade-Damiani-Yantsis
Dunkley-Langdon-McDonnell
Petizian-Serpa-Fishman (or Stepien depending on price for LeGuerrier)

Vuk-Sebrango
Bergkvist-MacPherson
LeGuerrier-Ottavainen
Xhekaj Motew

Ingham
Pfeil

 

[Billyjack]

I've been in the sell camp from the beginning but am starting to go over to the dark side LOL This is a very good team with a lights out goalie. How often do you see that. I hope they tweek it a little without selling the future too much and go for it.

 

[Jives]

.

 

[Jives]

I’m still in the sell camp but if MM doesn’t decide to sell I’m not in the camp for minor tweaks of adding 3rd liners or depth D....this will not get us a chance at a championship. I’m going out and getting Kaliyev and a very solid D...1st pairing type. If we aren’t selling then let’s give ourselves the best chance to win. Adding a big name D will put MacPherson down to 5th in case we have an injury.

Kaliyev-Meireles-Hawel
Valade-Damiani-Yantsis
Pinelli-Langdon-McDonnell
Petizian-Serpa-Stepian / Fishman

Vuk-Legit #1 or 2 D
Bergkvist-Sebrango
MacPherson-Ottavainen
Xhekaj Motew

Ingham and only Ingham

I do realize we would lose some young players which we do have the depth to lose a couple of adding 2 big names.

​

 

[Jives]

I’m still in the sell camp but if MM doesn’t decide to sell I’m not in the camp for minor tweaks of adding 3rd liners or depth D....this will not get us a chance at a championship. I’m going out and getting Kaliyev and a very solid D...1st pairing type. If we aren’t selling then let’s give ourselves the best chance to win. Adding a big name D will put MacPherson down to 5th in case we have an injury.

Kaliyev-Meireles-Hawel
Valade-Damiani-Yantsis
Pinelli-Langdon-McDonnell
Petizian-Serpa-Stepian / Fishman

Vuk-Legit #1 or 2 D
Bergkvist-Sebrango
MacPherson-Ottavainen
Xhekaj Motew

Ingham and only Ingham

I do realize we would lose some young players which we do have the depth to lose a couple of adding 2 big names.

​

Forgot to add that Kaliyev should return next year which gives us the chance to sell him and Vuks for assets.

 

[EvenSteven]

I’m still in the sell camp but if MM doesn’t decide to sell I’m not in the camp for minor tweaks of adding 3rd liners or depth D....this will not get us a chance at a championship. I’m going out and getting Kaliyev and a very solid D...1st pairing type. If we aren’t selling then let’s give ourselves the best chance to win. Adding a big name D will put MacPherson down to 5th in case we have an injury.

Kaliyev-Meireles-Hawel
Valade-Damiani-Yantsis
Pinelli-Langdon-McDonnell
Petizian-Serpa-Stepian / Fishman

Vuk-Legit #1 or 2 D
Bergkvist-Sebrango
MacPherson-Ottavainen
Xhekaj Motew

Ingham and only Ingham

I do realize we would lose some young players which we do have the depth to lose a couple of adding 2 big names.

​

If Kaliyev (who didn’t impress many in his recent visit to the Aud) is on the market, he’ll command a Rob Thomas type return

McMicheal (16 year old)
2nd
Conditional 2nd 2nd 2nd 3rd.

We don’t have a McMicheal available and only three 2nds that can be moved.

Kaliyev may not be as valuable as Thomas but he wouldn’t be far off. Without a McMicheal, we’ll need more picks to close the deal.

All that before we attempt to bring in a top pairing D.

I’m not confident we can get it done.

 

[EvenSteven]

my wish list is someone the can take the 3LW spot. Stepien doesn’t cut it for me. he’s been throwing the body however which would be good to have on the 4th line. one guy that stands out is Nathan Dunkley from the Knights. he doesn’t seem to be a fit there to the posters over there. he would be probably a cheap add and would be pretty much a lock for an OA season. maybe playing solidified top 9 minutes can increase his value for next season. Jacob LeGuerrier from the Soo is another guy I’d like to see added hypothetically to bolster the D. he’s probably 50/50 for an OA season. might not be as cheap but you could probably throw in Stepien if need be. that gives us:

Pinelli-Meireles-Hawel
Valade-Damiani-Yantsis
Dunkley-Langdon-McDonnell
Petizian-Serpa-Fishman (or Stepien depending on price for LeGuerrier)

Vuk-Sebrango
Bergkvist-MacPherson
LeGuerrier-Ottavainen
Xhekaj Motew

Ingham
Pfeil

I doubt we get either one of those two without giving up a 2nd in each deal. I want to try and add on the cheap without moving any of our 2nds

With this in mind, a possible plan (if we buy), is to do so on the cheap at this deadline, sell off vets as next year would be an off year, and go all in hard for 21-22.

Assume as I’ve suggested earlier that we can bring in lower level vets on the cheap without moving any 2nds. Players who’d return for OA seasons. (These players are examples):

LW-Popov - 33GP 36pts (3rd ‘21, 3rd ‘23, 4th ‘19)
LW-Golod - 32GP 40pts (3rd ‘22, 3rd ‘24, 4th ‘23)
D-Robertson - 33GP 17pts (3rd ‘22, 3rd ‘24, 4th ‘22)

(Someone can advise me if these are fair prices either way)

Here’s how we’d look:

Popov - Meireles - Hawel
Golod - Damiani - Yantsis
Pinelli - McDonnell - Valade
Petizian - Langdon - Stepien

Serpa/Fishman

Vukojovic - Sebrango
MacPherson - Bergqvist
Ottavainen - Robertson

Xhekaj - Motew

Ingham
Pfiel

I advocate that we bring in veteran F’s to allow Pinelli and Valade to play on the third line thereby allowing them to thrive as they wouldn’t see the oppositions top players. Popov and Golod would be good thirds on our top two lines. They are LWers, our biggest need up front. We can’t have too much depth on D. This would give us depth throughout the lineup.

Here are our picks for the 2020 entry draft:

1st 3rd 3rd 3rd 4th 6th 6th

Because we have no 2nd in 2020, I made my above trades making sure that we kept our three 2020 3rds.


For sale going into next off season through to deadline 2020:

Vukojovic -(2 x 2nds, 3 x 3rds)
Popov - (2 x 3rds)
Golod - (2 x 3rds)
MacPherson - (2 x 3rds)
Robertson - (2 x 3rds)

I think we can get Lalonde return for Vukojovic give or take. I’ll assume we get comparable return to what we paid for them, give or take, for the three vets we acquired at the 2020 deadline, along with MacPherson, minus a 4th each as they are now OA’s and therefore, may have a little less trade value.

20-21 being an off year, we go with three very inexpensive OA’s:

G Pfiel to backup a high end rookie
Cole Cameron type D
Kyle Gentles type D

20-21 roster:
Pinelli - McDonnell - Valade
Petizian - Langdon - Stepien
O3 Import - Serpa - Fishman
Martin - 04 1st -

Sebrango - Ottavainen
Motew - “Cameron”
Xhekaj - “Gentles”

Pfiel
03 Rookie


21-22 roster:
Pinelli - McDonnell - Valade
Petizian - Langdon - Stepien
03 Import -Serpa - Fishman
Martin - 04 1st - 05 1st

Sebrango - Ottavainen
Motew - Xhekaj
04 3rd - 04 3rd

2nd year starter
Rookie

Tradable picks going into 21-22 (we’d now have access to picks in the 2025 draft):
2nds x 8
3rds x 12

That’s a deep bank of picks to allow us to add high end to elite pieces.

 

[Coaches Coroner]

If Kaliyev (who didn’t impress many in his recent visit to the Aud) is on the market, he’ll command a Rob Thomas type return

McMicheal (16 year old)
2nd
Conditional 2nd 2nd 2nd 3rd.

We don’t have a McMicheal available and only three 2nds that can be moved.

Kaliyev may not be as valuable as Thomas but he wouldn’t be far off. Without a McMicheal, we’ll need more picks to close the deal.

All that before we attempt to bring in a top pairing D.

I’m not confident we can get it done.

Mcmichael wasn't the Mcmichael he is now when he was traded. 10 points in 32 games and 6 in 28 with London. Important to remember and not view that trade through the lens of what he has become today. Pinelli would 100% have at least the value he had at the time, and perhaps more (whether Pinelli turns into what Mcmichael did is another story).

 

[EvenSteven]

Mcmichael wasn't the Mcmichael he is now when he was traded. 10 points in 32 games and 6 in 28 with London. Important to remember and not view that trade through the lens of what he has become today. Pinelli would 100% have at least the value he had at the time, and perhaps more (whether Pinelli turns into what Mcmichael did is another story).

All true. But the consensus is we aren’t trading Pinelli so we’d have a harder time closing the deal with our thin draft cupboard.

That’s where I was coming from

 

[Lokalhockeyfan]

So I think it is safe to say MM is not selling!!

Mentioned on previous posts is that long playoff runs need a stud goalie which the Rangers clearly have. Another factor that can lead to long run is a deadly powerplay. The rangers had a great one last year during the regular season but this year the powerplay looks dull and they haven’t made any adjustments...

gareffa out - Bergqvist in
Hugg out - Hawel in

would like to see some changes made to this weather it’s personnel or overall structure of the pp. any thoughts here ?

Trade thought ..


Jan Jenik is an import 19 yo from Hamilton who is top 5 in scoring. Definitely not returning next year. We have a 17 year old import in Ville O another 2 years left. That would be a good swap option (plus a pick or two from the rangers) for both teams. Rangers would still have to add on the backend and I would say another 19 in the bottom six.

Go Rangers