*OFFICIAL* Kitchener Rangers 2012-13 Season Thread (Part 2)

[Loosie]

I heard that interview and cannot believe that the management is that far out of touch with the fan base.

A bunch of empty seats might wake them up.

The only thing I don't get from the Beinkowski interview is his claim that you can't win a championship every year. Yet Spott said this was a 'Memorial Cup year'. That doesn't seem to bode well for Steve Spott.

 

[CharlieGirl]

So I can't respond to practically the entire rangers fanbase on here talking about how are star player deserved a mugging? I think that's pretty relevant to what I said. It seems Rangers fans want a discussion, but not with Knights fans? Did I get that right?

Not even close.

We've had good discussions about each others' teams long before you joined HF and will likely do so long after you're gone. There's a way to behave and a way not to. You've shown the way that will get people riled up, rather than having a discussion.

By the way, it wasn't only Rangers fans who felt Domi acted like an ass and got what he deserved.

If you want to discuss things rationally and maturely, please continue to post on the Rangers board.

 

[Aela*]

Sorry you feel that way then. I've posted on Rangers board before, had no trouble and I'll continue to post in the OHL boards. I have no problem giving Ranger fans credit where it's due and more importantly (at least for you I imagine) calling them out when I don't agree with them, just like I would any other team.

 

[bobber]

The end of the season means no more hockey at the Aud.

But for some Kitchener Rangers, the game goes on. And the exodus began today.

Defenceman Frank Corrado was called up to the Chicago Wolves, Vancouver's AHL farm team. The Wolves are two points out of a playoff spot.

Expect more players to follow in the coming days.

 

[bobber]

Spott also said on the radio that the mini camp starts Friday,April 26 at Activa.

 

[KnightRanger]

I use the name KnightRanger because I grew up in London for 20 years and now have lived in Kitchener for the past 12 or so. The Knights fan in me couldn't be happier with the last 10 years of Knights hockey. The Rangers fan in me is still saying that Spott has to go!!! He just simply does not get the best out of his players!! No clearer example of this than the 3rd period and OT of game 4 at the Aud. London came out flat in the first and did not play well at all. I would've love to be a fly on the wall in the dressing room for Hunters thoughts on how they played. They came out in the 2nd and took over the game. The Rangers on the other hand, came out flying as they had to. They just got back in the series in game three, were on home ice and had to know a win in game 4 and its anyones series. A loss and you have to play one more game! They came out so flat in the 3rd period it was hard for me to believe! I thought for sure they would come out for the OT like a house on fire and......the OT was worse than the 3rd!!! It wasn't a matter of if London was going to win....it was a matter of when! I've said it before and I'll say it again.....that would have never happened under Pete Deboer.

The Rangers had a ton of talent on their team this year!!! They did not get the best out of their players. Here's my honest opinion. Faksa and Reider were better players last year....Murphy has got worse each year. Marcantuoni looked like he was going to be a special player in this league a couple of years ago....Thompson is Thompson....Pederson has not developed the way he should have. The list goes on and on. My lone two bright spots in the line up this year. Justin Bailey and John Gibson! Good for you boys!

With the year the Devils are having......maybe Pete will be looking for work!

Now lets start the rebuild again!

As for the comments about ticket holders.....I was on the list for additional seats. I cancelled that and I know 4 other families who were on the list for over a year that have since changed their minds! They played Guelph and London in the two rounds they played this year and couldn't sell out???? If they can't sell out against those teams.....Changes have got to be coming!

 

[BenchedGuy]

Sorry you feel that way then. I've posted on Rangers board before, had no trouble and I'll continue to post in the OHL boards. I have no problem giving Ranger fans credit where it's due and more importantly (at least for you I imagine) calling them out when I don't agree with them, just like I would any other team.

Really? When you come in with troll comments like....

Really, Kitchener should have won, after all, they're only playing London, and those games last year were so close too!

Of course you are going to get quality posters like CharlieGirl, Ward coming out. Especially when you are coming across like a sore winner.

Anyways, back to Ranger talk. With mini camp next weekend you usually only see one or two players make a statement and get the invite to the big camp. But with more roster spots available this year, that should motivate some of the kids to come out and make a push. We all think that Davies, Blaisdell, Blasby and Learn will be at the other camp too, is there anyone else that people think may open some eyes?

 

[Ward Cornell]

Rumours are rampant that Sudbury is cleaning house of the coaches. One of them is David Bell who IMHO is one of the best assistant coaches in the league and would be leaps and bounds improvement on Paul Fixter!
Spott...I hope you're not standing pat with Fixter AGAIN!

 

[BenchedGuy]

I think Fixter was only signed to a 1 year contract last year IIRC. Like the way you think Ward!

 

[EvenSteven]

Rumours are rampant that Sudbury is cleaning house of the coaches. One of them is David Bell who IMHO is one of the best assistant coaches in the league and would be leaps and bounds improvement on Paul Fixter!
Spott...I hope you're not standing pat with Fixter AGAIN!

Whether Fixter is here next year or not, why not grab David Bell anyway? You can never have too much talent. The Red Wings have proved that for years.

If Spott wants to keep Fixter around, perhaps he should let McKenzie go. At least Fixter has a resume. McKenzie does not. I don't understand why he was hired in the first place. Outside of being Bob McKenzie' son, he was just another player who's hockey career was done after the 2011-12 season, and had nothing to do.

It did get The TSN Insider out to a lot of Ranger games!!

 

[CharlieGirl]

As far as I know, McKenzie is a video coach and helps with the off ice coaching. I also think he may be an asset when talking to prospective players about NCAA vs OHL, since he played NCAA.

He's also young enough that he may helpful to the players as a liaison between them and the coaching staff.

 

[BenchedGuy]

Whether Fixter is here next year or not, why not grab David Bell anyway? You can never have too much talent. The Red Wings have proved that for years.

If Spott wants to keep Fixter around, perhaps he should let McKenzie go. At least Fixter has a resume. McKenzie does not. I don't understand why he was hired in the first place. Outside of being Bob McKenzie' son, he was just another player who's hockey career was done after the 2011-12 season, and had nothing to do.

It did get The TSN Insider out to a lot of Ranger games!!

Correct me if I am wrong but wasnt it Fixter running the offense this year when we had trouble scoring. And the year before he ran the D when we had defensive problems? That is what I heard. To me there is your common element that should be gone.

 

[Ward Cornell]

Correct me if I am wrong but wasnt it Fixter running the offense this year when we had trouble scoring. And the year before he ran the D when we had defensive problems? That is what I heard. To me there is your common element that should be gone.

That's correct.....and last summer the Rangers only signed him to a 1 year contract!
So they won't be on the hook for any money still owed him if he was let go!
He was probably signed for only one year because they suspected he wasn't up to snuff as a coach. Not
sure why Spott would gamble on Fixter in a "go for it" year while he's benching players for a very minor mistake.
Maybe Spott should've started calling out Fixter on the post game shows??

 

[Crottenham]

Whether Fixter is here next year or not, why not grab David Bell anyway? You can never have too much talent. The Red Wings have proved that for years.

If Spott wants to keep Fixter around, perhaps he should let McKenzie go. At least Fixter has a resume. McKenzie does not. I don't understand why he was hired in the first place. Outside of being Bob McKenzie' son, he was just another player who's hockey career was done after the 2011-12 season, and had nothing to do.

It did get The TSN Insider out to a lot of Ranger games!!

Everyone has to start somewhere, don't they? He played NCAA, ECHL and some AHL. Sounds alot like many good, quality coaches on both sides of the border....

 

[BenchedGuy]

Everyone has to start somewhere, don't they? He played NCAA, ECHL and some AHL. Sounds alot like many good, quality coaches on both sides of the border....

I know you were not addressing me but some of the fans I talk to have no problems with Mike and him starting out with the Rangers. He filled in for the coaches when they were away during Christmas but for the most part I thought he was the video coach.

 

[EvenSteven]

That's correct.....and last summer the Rangers only signed him to a 1 year contract!
So they won't be on the hook for any money still owed him if he was let go!
He was probably signed for only one year because they suspected he wasn't up to snuff as a coach. Not
sure why Spott would gamble on Fixter in a "go for it" year while he's benching players for a very minor mistake.
Maybe Spott should've started calling out Fixter on the post game shows??

I don't have any reason to question McKenzie as a coach except for the fact he had no coaching experience prior to coming to the Rangers and, as I stated above, he is Bob's son. Yes, you have to start somewhere. But you would have thought in a "go for it" year, Spott would have at least had experienced people in important roles with he team. Geez! Fixter was an NHL video coach. Maybe he should have been given that role and then Spott could have hired an experienced replacement for Fixter behind the bench.

As far as the Fxter bashing goes, whether he is any good or not behind the bench, the bottom line is the buck stops at the boss. That's Spott. (Mike Milbury was a disaster as GM of the NYI. But the blame for him being in place for as long as he was goes to Charles Wang. Any other boss would have canned Milbury years earlier.)
Nobody is forcing Spott to keep him around. So if Fixter is as bad a coach as we keep hearing on these boards, then Spott should have done something about it before now - not sign him to a one year deal and switch him from running the D to running the forwards because the D underachieved last year. Hiding a problem makes no sense. Especially going into the "go for it" season.

Perhap Spott will not renew Fixter's contract this off season. If the reason is because of the performance of the D last year, and the offense this year, then Spott will have made that move a year too late.

Personnally, I am of the belief that no matter who is covering the defense or forwards, the head coach runs the whole show. To lay blame on Fixter because our PP sucks or we can't score 5 on 5 doesn't make sense. Spott has to get involved if the offense isn't up to snuff. If the offense continues to fatler, then I blame Spott. Period.

 

[bobber]

If anyone attends a Ranger practice its Spott that runs it. Not Fixter, Smith or Mckenzie. Deboer ran them when he was coach. This is where they are instructed on how they are expected to play during games. Opening and closing doors can be done by a chimp. Spott makes the decisions on the bench also. The other coaches follow them. What ever direction Spott takes is the direction the team has to follow. Spott is totally responsible for how this team performed this season.

 

[BenchedGuy]

I see what people are saying but to be fair with these arguments, you have to have faith in the people you put in place to run the show and be able to operate on their own. Meaning, I would imagine Spott would give Fixter a direction in which he wants to go and its up to Fixter to get the job done (ie. style of play, breakout, forecheck) and execute. As a leader you have to have faith that your people are going to get the job done in their manner of doing it. If you dont, then you are micro-managing every little detail and you might as well have inexperienced people just acting like puppets.

And if everyone starts to think that the blame goes to the top and works its way down, why hasn't Steve B's name been mentioned? For the record, I dont think it should be because he is one of the main reason this organization turned around I just think people need to be consistant with their points.

 

[bobber]

Benched the point I am trying to make is no matter how much blame is put on the assistants Spott is the one responsible for what goes happens on the ice. When Deboer was here he ran everything at practice and Spott did what his assistants do now and that is gather pucks for the next drill. Once in a while they may give advice but its Spott that runs things despite what anyone thinks. I look at Smith's stats and see he had quite a few penalty minutes on D but I haven't seen that edge parlayed into the Ranger's system. There has to be a reason for the non aggressive approach the Rangers seem to play. Maybe the team just has that type of player? I would like to ask what you think attributed to that approach?

 

[BenchedGuy]

Benched the point I am trying to make is no matter how much blame is put on the assistants Spott is the one responsible for what goes happens on the ice. When Deboer was here he ran everything at practice and Spott did what his assistants do now and that is gather pucks for the next drill. Once in a while they may give advice but its Spott that runs things despite what anyone thinks. I look at Smith's stats and see he had quite a few penalty minutes on D but I haven't seen that edge parlayed into the Ranger's system. There has to be a reason for the non aggressive approach the Rangers seem to play. Maybe the team just has that type of player? I would like to ask what you think attributed to that approach?

To me, I think the passive approach was an attempt to use the PP as a tool. Dont retaliate, and outnumber the opponent on the PP chances. I personally like to see a team be able to play with the same grit if not more than the opponent and outwork them. Not what we saw this year.

As for comparing Deboer and Spott, they have 2 different coaching styles. IMO Deboer was hands on managing every aspect he could. Spott deligates and filters through channels. I could be wrong but thats what it looks like to me, cant really compare the two when the styles are different.

As for the trickle down from the top effect.....look, ultimately its Steve B that is in control of the on ice product. If you want to say that he hired Spott to run that aspect, well Spott hired Fixter to run an aspect of the on ice product as well. So if you want to bypass Fixter and go to Spott, then you have to bypass Spott and go to Bienkowski by that logic. Now I dont want Bienkowski to leave or Spott as much in that matter too. I think that those two are one of the reasons why players report here and make our organization what it is. I don't want us to go back to the late 80's-90's organization we once were (see Erie and Peterborough as examples). Look at what the issues were for us not accomplishing our goals this year and take it from there to fix. I think this organization needs tweeks, not overhauls.

 

[bobber]

Spott and Deboer were hired at the same time because of the success they had with the Whalers. Spott learned what he knows of coaching under Deboer who has a more aggressive style and fans here liked that approach and expected it to continue with Spotter at the helm as did Bienkowski. It hasn't shown to be that way in the last couple of seasons and that is why fans are frustrated. I have not advocated letting anyone go as that is up to the hockey executive. Not the directors as some think. I agree with you that things do need tweaking and am sure that Spott and his staff realize this. There are a number of factors that lead to this team not accomplishing their goals like injuries , players underachieving , non aggressive play etc. Spott's thinking was to stay out of the box and work the PP to your advantage but when you don't score its a huge problem. We are now in rebuild mode and have some new faces coming in that will add something to look forward to.

 

[BenchedGuy]

Spott and Deboer were hired at the same time because of the success they had with the Whalers. Spott learned what he knows of coaching under Deboer who has a more aggressive style and fans here liked that approach and expected it to continue with Spotter at the helm as did Bienkowski. It hasn't shown to be that way in the last couple of seasons and that is why fans are frustrated. I have not advocated letting anyone go as that is up to the hockey executive. Not the directors as some think. I agree with you that things do need tweaking and am sure that Spott and his staff realize this. There are a number of factors that lead to this team not accomplishing their goals like injuries , players underachieving , non aggressive play etc. Spott's thinking was to stay out of the box and work the PP to your advantage but when you don't score its a huge problem. We are now in rebuild mode and have some new faces coming in that will add something to look forward to.

Just because they were hired at the same time and one mentored the other doesnt mean the styles will be the same. The Rangers are a prime example of this, Spotts style has never reflected that of Deboer to be honest. You only have to look at the Leafs as another example. Nonis was under Burke a number of times and they have different approaches as well. I think some Ranger fans expected it to be the same style with a different regime, which is not the case.

 

[Crottenham]

Just because they were hired at the same time and one mentored the other doesnt mean the styles will be the same. The Rangers are a prime example of this, Spotts style has never reflected that of Deboer to be honest. You only have to look at the Leafs as another example. Nonis was under Burke a number of times and they have different approaches as well. I think some Ranger fans expected it to be the same style with a different regime, which is not the case.

Not the greatest example to be honest. Although both Burke and Nonis have very different public persona, both readily admit they see the game pretty well the same way....makes sense, otherwise how would they have worked together in Vancouver, Anaheim and Toronto?

 

[BenchedGuy]

Not the greatest example to be honest. Although both Burke and Nonis have very different public persona, both readily admit they see the game pretty well the same way....makes sense, otherwise how would they have worked together in Vancouver, Anaheim and Toronto?

Sorry, should have expanded a bit. That reference was to the way they approach getting things done. Yes the both believe in top 6/bottom 6, truculence....etc. But Nonis has no issues with playing the young kids while Burke wanted them to develop in the AHL. Nonis has a softer approach with media, Burke was abrupt to say the least. Meaning they might have the same goals but different approaches to get to the end result.

Maybe not the best of examples...

 

[Crottenham]

Sorry, should have expanded a bit. That reference was to the way they approach getting things done. Yes the both believe in top 6/bottom 6, truculence....etc. But Nonis has no issues with playing the young kids while Burke wanted them to develop in the AHL. Nonis has a softer approach with media, Burke was abrupt to say the least. Meaning they might have the same goals but different approaches to get to the end result.

Actually, I still think you would have seen a bunch of the Marlies graduate to the Leafs even if Burker were still in charge. The one thing I expect Burke would not have done was exile Connoly and Komisarek to the AHL, in spite of their big contracts.

I suspect Burke's ego, given he was the public face of those signings (I do believe under Burke Nonis had a big part in all Leaf signings so he can't totally escape the blame) would not have allowed those important couple of moves to happen. The single biggest difference in the two is Burke's incessant bluster and hogging of the spotlight, vs. Nonis' quiet demeanour where he simply goes about his business much more professionally.

Sorry to go on about the Leafs on this thread, but you gave me the opening!