Kitchener Rangers Weekend Preview: Roster Update, Erie Otters & Owen Sound Attack – Hockey Writer – Oh
Kitchener Rangers are beginning in a hot spot. They scored 2-0-0-0 after defeating the Brantford Bulldogs in overtime to open the season and game two of the season after the first week of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
Cameron Arquette, Matheas Stark, Haeden Ellis and Tanner Lam lead the offense. Jason Schaubel is the brick wall in the net, stopping 61 in 65 shots, with a saving percentage of 0.938.
Throughout the first weekend, the Rangers missed several NHL drafted players who attended the training camp. However, in the second week of the game, the Rangers will be able to inject a bunch of talent into their roster.
This weekend, the Rangers will face Ott again at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on Friday night before playing again on Saturday in a voice attack with Irving on Saturday. First, let’s check out who the rangers will regain from the NHL training camp, and then we’ll preview each game this weekend.
Ranger Roster Announcement
On Tuesday, the Rangers announced that four players will return to their junior, junior or under-16 AAA team. Alex Forrest, Tommy Kut and Evan Nicholson skated in both games last weekend. All three of them were selected in the first five rounds of the 2025 OHL priority and could have a greater impact in the coming season. Still, along with goalkeeper Mason Hriczov, the four were sent to make room for seven veterans returning from NHL training camp.
Related: NHL draft picks watch at Kitchener Rangers Training Camp
Matthew Hlacar, from Toronto Maple Leafs, Christian Humphreys of Colorado Avalanche, Luca Romano of New York Islander, Christian Kirsch of San Jose Sharks, Jack Pridham and Max Dirracolo, they conducted amateur experiments with Detroit’s red wings.
While the Rangers may still be missing Cameron Reid and Luke Ellinas this weekend, it’s a great injection of the main offensive players on the roster.
Erie Otter and Kitchener Rangers
This will be the second week when both teams will match. Last weekend, the Rangers won the game on the road with a 3-1 victory. From my point of view, the title story of this game will be whether head coach Jussi Ahokas decides to make the otter look different and joins the network with Kirsch to get his first Rangers to start on the home ice. Or is Ahokas riding Schaubel’s hot hand?
The Rangers’ victory over the Otters last weekend was their sixth time from head to head back to last season, when the Rangers had a 5-1-0-0 season. Last season, Otters ended with a record of 34-28-4-2. They are expected to be a middle team again this season, with OHL’s strong rankings ranking them at No. 15 in the pre-season edition and No. 16 after the first weekend.
The Otters’ consistent theme, including their five preseason games, are working hard to launch an offense, scoring only 10 goals in seven games. However, despite their efforts to find the back of the net, Otters were 12 more than Rangers in the first game of the season.
While the Wanderers didn’t struggle to find the back of the net in Week 1, it’s interesting to see how many of the best offensive players they can get into the lineup with a few of the best offensive players.
Kitchener Rangers and Irving’s Voice Attack
The next day, the Rangers will balance the offense, who began their season by defeating the dominant Memorial Cup London Cavaliers in overtime.
Just like the Wanderer, the attack will get some help back from the NHL training camp. Harry Nansi returns from the Maple Leafs, Matthew Koprowski returns from the St. Louis Blues free agent invitation, and Canadian Canada World Youth Championship goalkeeper Carter George will return from the Los Angeles Kings.
In the OHL’s preseason rankings, the offense ranked 16th and they rose to 14th after defeating the Cavaliers. Not only are the Rangers expected to be a better team, they also succeeded in this head-on matchup last season, with a record of 5-0-1-1 against the attack.
Despite medium expectations, offense can be a tough team. They have sneaky offensive talent and the best goalkeeper depth in the OHL. This would be another good test for the Wanderer.
The key to the weekend
Hockey control – Even though the Rangers started the season 2-0-0-0, they performed well in both games. Getting Pridham, Romano and Humphreys would be a huge benefit not only in terms of scoring, but also controlling the offensive hockey. The Rangers have no team this weekend, all offensive motivation, and with the Rangers’ talent, they hope they have more control over the hockey this weekend.
Continue to maintain discipline – Through their first two games, the Rangers only need to kill three fines. This is compared to nine strong opportunities. With the complete addition of players, the ranger should have two excellent powerful playback units. With their speed, size and skill, they can be subject to many fines. The Rangers are one of the best teams in the league from top to bottom, and if they get out of the box and force them to beat them with even strength, it looks like they won’t lose a lot of games.
With all joining the return Rangers lineup, it will be fun to see how everyone’s slots come in, and it will be fun to see when Kirsch first starts in Net. The most interesting thing is to see if rangers can expand their winning streak to three and then extend it four.
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