Last season was a building year for the Kitchener Rangers.
“One of the things we were looking for was the development of the kids whether they were older or younger,” says head coach Jay McKee.
Jonathon Yantsis improving his goal total from 5 goals in 2017-18 to 50 goals in 2018-19 seems to help prove this point.
The Rangers only lost two over-age players in the offseason and heading into the home opener McKee hopes this means his team is poised for a quick start.
“We want to get off on the right foot right away and be firing on all cylinders within the first couple weeks of the season,” he says.
Bringing in centreman Liam Hawel from the Guelph Storm will likely contribute to a quick start. He racked up 78 points in 66 games last year and won the OHL Championship with the Rangers’ Highway 7 rivals.
“There’s a lot of experience he comes with; a lot of leadership. He will be a welcome addition, especially with his size and the things he can do on the ice,” says McKee.
Also being added to the roster and boasting a lot of experience is fourth year goaltender Jacob Ingham. He comes to Kitchener from the Mississauga Steelheads with a 0.89 save percentage.
“Ingham has proven that he can put up a heavy workload. I think we’re going to have a strong team in front of him as the number one goaltender,” says McKee.
On Friday the Rangers announced their co-captains for the season. Both Riley Damiani and Greg Meireles will share the leadership role.
Meanwhile the Kitchener Rangers head coach says he’s excited to see which young players step up this season.
Fans will get that chance on Friday night when the season kicks off at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
