This year’s Rangers are bigger, tougher
KITCHENER — It wasn’t by design.
Kitchener Rangers general manager Mike McKenzie didn’t go out with a mandate to add muscle during the off-season.
It kind of just worked out that way.
“It’s not something we really looked at doing,” he said. “But it’s nice to have.”
The Blueshirts will be bigger when they kick off the season against the Flint Firebirds Friday night at the Aud. They’ll be harder to knock off the puck, tougher in the corners and own an edge that was missing at times last season.
The size is up and down the roster.
Veteran forwards Jake Henderson and Connor Bunnaman beefed up over the summer while newcomer Adam Liska has a fearsome frame.
But the most noticeable change is in the back end.
That’s where Logan Stanley — at six-foot-seven and 240 pounds — will be patrolling the blue line, should he return from his audition with the Winnipeg Jets. He’ll be joined by fellow six-footers Connor Hall and Doug Blaisdell, both of whom missed most of last season with injuries.
“Those are three guys that all have some bite to their game,” said Rangers head coach Jay McKee. “They are big and strong and can clear the front of the net. They can really impose their will. The opposition should have a little more fear coming down the walls this year.”
Be warned, the Rangers are not turning into a good squad. The team is still built around speed and skill, especially up front.
But the gain in grit has its advantages.
“It can keep other teams a little bit quieter,” said McKee. “It changes the dynamic of the game a little bit.”
McKenzie says the revamped blue line means rookies won’t have to play 25 minutes a night against the league’s top players. It also helps gives forwards more time with the puck and reduces quality scoring chances for the goalies.
“They eliminate so many chances being so big with their long sticks and being veteran guys,” the GM said.
The team started out hot last season before trading most of its veterans and was uneven down the stretch, ultimately finishing sixth in the western conference before being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
The benefit to shedding experienced players was that youngsters were thrust into bigger roles and minutes. Mistakes were tolerated as the greenhorns learned on the job but expectations are different this time around.
“Our forward group should be competitive,” said McKee. “They’re not coming in trying to get their feet wet.”
The Rangers will rely on the usual suspects to score with 100-point man Adam Mascherin, Bunnaman and crafty Joseph Garreffa leading the charge. But they’ll need some help.
McKee pointed to forwards Greg Meireles, Riley Damiani, Eric Guest, Nick McHugh and Dylan Seitz as players he’d like to see step up offensively.
Goalie Luke Richardson has seen spot duty for two years, but will get every chance to win the starting job in net while overage tender Anthony Dumont-Bouchard was brought in from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to add some experience in the crease.
“I think we’re a deeper team this year,” said McKee. “London is always good and Owen Sound is going to have one of the best offences in the league. We’d like to find ourselves in that mix.”
McKenzie believes the Rangers can play with any team in their conference. And, if all breaks right, the club has the resources and support to make a trade to enhance their chances.
That prospect has the players buzzing.
“I feel like we can do something,” said Garreffa. “We have the talent in this room. We should have a really good year.”