I thought Xhekaj was the best Ranger on the ice today. When our top players kept dishing the puck off rather than shooting in the first two periods, Xhekaj fired the puck any chance he got. He finished with 9 shots on goal. Should have been a star today.
Kitchener Rangers 2019-20 Season Thread (Part 3)
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bobber
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I have like Xman since the Ranger brought him in. He has really improved his game. Skating has improved also.
robertmac43
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Langdon with a great boost today. Even at 3-0 I didnt think we were going to lose. Just felt as though we were one away from getting the flood gates open....the team took a little longer than I thought they would!
I understand that the 3 in 3s are supposed to cater to the players schedules, but they really don’t benefit the teams at all.
to start, 3 in 3 in most cases means 3 in 2.5 because of early Sunday games. this is also the 3rd Sunday in a row where the team has come out flat.
maybe try to limit the 3 in 3s when making the schedule. or maybe not 3 of them in 3 weeks. it’s seems absurd that they have played 9 games over the past 3 weeks and will now play 3 for the remainder of the month
to start, 3 in 3 in most cases means 3 in 2.5 because of early Sunday games. this is also the 3rd Sunday in a row where the team has come out flat.
maybe try to limit the 3 in 3s when making the schedule. or maybe not 3 of them in 3 weeks. it’s seems absurd that they have played 9 games over the past 3 weeks and will now play 3 for the remainder of the month
Fortunately, that first "one" bounced off the glass and off the Guelph goalies back. ;-)
All the Answers
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Tim Wallach
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I said the same thing earlier. Xhekaj was the best Ranger today for my money. And the surprising part - that includes offensively amongst the D. His quick, low, hard and accurate shots are such a bonus from the points. I'm telling you, this looks like a kid who has worked very hard on his game and he may just work his way to a pro career at this rate. So impressed with him.
On a negative side, I thought Damiani and Hawel were lousy today. I don't know what game Josh Brown was watching but Damiani was between 50 and 100% responsible for three goals against. Not to mention his wild high and wide firing that kills PPs. It is mostly positive for the team right now, but Dammer has to up his game significantly for this team to win in the playoffs. He's been sloppy and lazy in his own end lately.
EvenSteven
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The number one reason we have to do 3 in 3’s over the course of the season is money. Period. The league sells it as a weekend league. Therefore, we have to endure 3 in 3’s because they are student athletes. But make no mistake, if teams could draw during the week, you’d see more weekday games.
The Rangers started Tuesday night games a few years ago because they could afford to once attendance went through the roof. That reduced the amount of 3 in 3’s the Rangers play. This year, four Tuesday night games = four less 3 in 3’s - a good thing. You won’t hear complaints from players or management on having to play on school nights because it allows the players the extra rest.
I’m old enough to remember when the only time the Rangers would dare a weekday game would be on a holiday (Thanksgiving Monday) and through the Christmas holidays. Otherwise, Ranger home schedule we’re strictly Friday - Sunday home dates except for the one time a year they’d host a Saturday afternoon Global game of the week.
bobber
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I have not been impressed with Hawel considering what we gave up for him. Hoping all along that he brings his playoff experience when needed. As for Damiani, I like the guy but have said all along that in my eyes, he is coming back as an OA. He still has a lot to learn in the OHL and I just don't see him playing pro at this point.
Ward Cornell
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Was about to say the same about Hawel. The fact of the matter is that even with this 20+ game hot streak the team play has been outstanding but individually there is still a lot of room for growth.
EvenSteven
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Without looking, I believe Hawel was the most expensive OA dealt for in the OHL this season. With that in mind, he should be at or among the top of performing OA’s who changed teams this year.
He and Noel have left me wanting this season. I hope their post seasons ramp up considerably in the same way Givani Smith’s did here a couple years ago. Many thought we overpaid for him based on his regular season play. His playoff performance ended that notion.
He and Noel have left me wanting this season. I hope their post seasons ramp up considerably in the same way Givani Smith’s did here a couple years ago. Many thought we overpaid for him based on his regular season play. His playoff performance ended that notion.
Ward Cornell
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Agree....while Garreffa may be a regular season upgrade there's no denying that with the grind of the playoffs that size does matter .
One part of the Ranger team that does need improvement between now and the playoffs is their special team play, right now they are a mid-pack team in both power play (11th) and penalty kill (9th).
EvenSteven
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True. And considering that MM has seemingly slackened the reins on physical play, size should matter that much more this post season!!
Coaches Coroner
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Hawel has started to produce more of late, if he continues that and can get a little more consistent away from the puck, I'd be happy. He went from producing at a lower ppg rate than last season, but over the last little while has produced at a rate that he now exceeds last seasons ppg rate. Hopeful a trend that continues.
That said, if that trend doesn't continue, I'd probably move him to the second PP where he can be the go to vet with some younger players and put Bergkqvist back on the 1st PP (unless he already has been, I just noticed him off of it once Noel came). Bergkvist was really clicking with that unit lately and it looked to me like they need that lone left hand player on the 1st unit. So far they haven't really adjusted to playing with all right hand shots on it.
I've seen borderline dominant play from Damianin at times, and then other times on the PP he looks like he's going through the motions in a practice drill with soft, sloppy and inaccurate passes (when we know he's a great passer when the effort is fully there).
That said, if that trend doesn't continue, I'd probably move him to the second PP where he can be the go to vet with some younger players and put Bergkqvist back on the 1st PP (unless he already has been, I just noticed him off of it once Noel came). Bergkvist was really clicking with that unit lately and it looked to me like they need that lone left hand player on the 1st unit. So far they haven't really adjusted to playing with all right hand shots on it.
I've seen borderline dominant play from Damianin at times, and then other times on the PP he looks like he's going through the motions in a practice drill with soft, sloppy and inaccurate passes (when we know he's a great passer when the effort is fully there).
WCSSAA Fund - KR - Contact
saw this on instagram today, thought I’d share here if anyone is interested
saw this on instagram today, thought I’d share here if anyone is interested
Rangers True Blue
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Let's not forget the two gift goals given to Guelph by Rangers.....one of them by Damiani.
Bergqvist was back on the 1st PP unit the last couple of games. I agree that the 5 forward setup wasn't working.
Ward Cornell
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General random observations of the standings.
How tough is the Mid-West Division?...well the bottom two teams OS and Erie would be in first place in the Central.
Only two teams in the Western conference has losing records with Soo being one of the team's at -1 game below 500.
In the Overall Standings, out of the bottom 7 teams only Sarnia is the only Western Conference team.
Maybe time to do away with the Divisions or maybe since there's an imbalance schedule, when the playoffs gets to the semi's, go by total points which may involve a cross-over of teams. This may have some quite intense series from longtime rivals. We could get a Öshawa vs Pete's, Windsor/Kitchener vs London or maybe Guelph vs Kitchener Finals
How tough is the Mid-West Division?...well the bottom two teams OS and Erie would be in first place in the Central.
Only two teams in the Western conference has losing records with Soo being one of the team's at -1 game below 500.
In the Overall Standings, out of the bottom 7 teams only Sarnia is the only Western Conference team.
Maybe time to do away with the Divisions or maybe since there's an imbalance schedule, when the playoffs gets to the semi's, go by total points which may involve a cross-over of teams. This may have some quite intense series from longtime rivals. We could get a Öshawa vs Pete's, Windsor/Kitchener vs London or maybe Guelph vs Kitchener Finals
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I think the biggest obstacle to eliminating divisions or conferences and changing the playoff format is just the amount of additional travel that teams would have to do, because you'd want the schedule to be more balanced to make that kind of format fair. It's probably too much extra cost and time commitment for the players.
Draft position by standing ignoring non-playoff teams could eventually help balance out conferences. Often enough, it happens that a non-playoff team in the west (SSM) will pick before some teams (Nia, KGN, Bar, Ham) that may finish with lower point totals
HockeyPops
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Typically you would want to rob from the rich to give to the poor to balance out wealth, not rob from the slightly-less-worse-off to give to the poor.
simply a suggestion to allow the bottom of the east to catch up with the bottom of the west where the year to year difference in the conferences lies. I don’t see a reason to suppress London, Oshawa, Kitchener, and Ottawa, Windsor, Niagara if you want to consider them near-elite.
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The East has been worse than the West in every year of this millennium but one. I think that the problems run deeper than draft position.
Rangers fans:
How is Holden Wale doing? I haven't been able to catch a game yet, but I hope he is adding a good defensive element to the team. He's got a few assists too, which is a nice bonus.
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