Rangers hope Lipanov fills need for import scorer
KITCHENER — In the end, the Kitchener Rangers got their NHL prospect, only he’ll speak Russian instead of Swedish.
The club swung a deal with the Sudbury Wolves Thursday afternoon to acquire Moscow centre Alexey Lipanov for a pair of third round draft picks.
The move comes a day after the team learned that Swedish defenceman Axel Andersson, whom it selected in this year’s Canadian Hockey League import draft, had opted to play back home after being cut by the Boston Bruins.
Lipanov was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the third round of the 2017 NHL draft and was hoping to latch on with the Bolts or their American Hockey League affiliate the Syracuse Crunch.
But Tampa Bay wants the 19year-old to spend another year at the junior level, according to Rangers general manager Mike McKenzie.
“There is obviously some disappointment on his part (on not playing pro),” he said. “But I think he’s excited to be in Kitchener and to have a real good season.”
Lipanov was operating near a point per game clip with the Barrie Colts but the pace slowed down after a mid-season trade to the Wolves. He finished with 14 goals and 25 assists in 55 games during his first year in the league.
“He’s a very skilled player,” said McKenzie. “It’s not a guy that we had to mortgage the future of the team to acquire. It just made sense and we thought it was a great fit.”
Sudbury’s hand was forced since it had three imports and, under OHL rules, teams are only allowed to carry two.
The Wolves opted to keep 19year-old Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Buffalo Sabres) and 18-year-old defenceman Zack Malik.
“They’re never easy decisions,” said Sudbury GM Rob Papineau. “In the overall scheme of things we felt those two were better fits for not just this season but as we move forward.”
It’s unclear when Lipanov will make his Rangers debut as he’s waiting on his International Ice Hockey Federation transfer to go through.
But the move is a clear sign to fans that the undefeated Rangers — who were slotted 10th in this week’s CHL top 10 poll — are not dialing it back despite losing the bulk of its roster from last season.
“I know people like to talk about junior hockey in cycles and there is some truth to that but my goal is to be a good hockey club every year,” said McKenzie. “That’s our primary goal, to be as good as we can no matter what the year is or no matter where people are pegging us in the standings.”
The Ranger host the Saginaw Spirit on Friday at the Aud at 7:30 p.m.