Rangers Report

Odds and ends

Caught up with Brandon Francisco yesterday. Read more from the recently departed winger here.

I remember interviewing him before last season started and he was pretty pumped to be with the Rangers. Hard to believe he went from playing alongside Nail Yakupov to out of the league.

Kitchener GM/coach Steve Spott said there is always the chance that the club calls up him to play at the Aud. I'd say it's a long shot, but with last season's injuries, you never know.

The team was pretty clear that it is operating under the assumption that centre Andrew Crescenzi will not return. That leaves three OA spots open. I'd expect the Rangers to wait as long as possible to fill them up.

For starters, the club is already stacked with bodies. And if there is an NHL work stoppage, there could be a bounty of players heading back to the OHL and Kitchener could be in a great position to pluck some gems.

Imagine if London had to choose three of Austin Watson, Greg McKegg, Jared Knight, Mike Houser and Vlad Namestnikov? That'd leave a few beauties. A lot of the big names will play AHL hockey work stoppage or not but there is bound to be some trickle down effect.

Either way, if you're looking for teams that have an excess of OAs heading into the season, turn your attention to Barrie (9 OAs), London (9), Niagara (9), Oshawa (9),  Sarnia (7) and Sudbury (5) as potential dance partners.

On the up and comers front, newly signed Kegan Blasby is coming to town with a bit of Rangers' knowledge. The Markham native is friends with Andrew Crescenzi, Franky Palazzese and Stephen Midensky.

Blasby brings a mix of size and skill and calls fellow Markham lad Steve Stamkos his favourite player.

"I'm really excited to meet all the guys and see how the tempo is in the OHL," he said.

Francisco leaves Rangers

Winger Brandon Francisco won't be back with the Kitchener Rangers next season.

The Bradford native has asked the team for permission to join the Newmarket Hurricanes on the Tier II loop.

The Rangers obtained the 18-year-old forward from the Sarnia Sting for goalie Brandon Maxwell last year.

Francisco was an offensive minded player but never found his groove in Kitchener. He had 15 points in 62 games this past season and was a healthy scratch at times in the post-season.

Francisco said he hopes to rediscover his scoring touch in Newmarket and perhaps return to the OHL in a year. If not, he'll play Tier II and concentrate on school.

He added that he is open to the idea of being traded, but said there isn't much demand due to his output this past season.

Don't expect to see centre Andrew Crescenzi either.

The potential overager isn't expected to return to the Rangers. The team is being told he'll have every shot at cracking the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

Bailey bound for Kitchener

In the midst of three weeks off, but thought I'd check in for a visit.

July is typically slow in Rangers land, but, alas, some news came out yesterday with the inking of forward Justin Bailey.

Glad to see the deal done. I had heard that the Trouba hoopla (scroll down) may have thrown a wrench into the team's plans, but it looks like the power forward wasn't buying news about the alleged payoff.

Bailey is an interesting player.

His dad Carlton played for the Buffalo Bills. He spent the past season playing for the Long Island Royals under coach, and former NHLer Pat LaFontaine. And he's friends with a bunch of ex-Sabres including Matt Barnaby and Mike Peca.

Bailey was drafted by the Indiana Ice of the USHL and had verbally committed to Michigan State for 2013.

He brings size, grit and a scoring touch.

Could we see a youngin' line of Bailey, Josh Sterk and Brent Pedersen? Sounds like an intriguing trio. We'll have to wait and see.

One thing is certain, there is a surplus of forwards. I suspect GM/head coach Steve Spott -- who isn't going to the New Jersey Devils as an assistant coach -- will be making a few more deals before the season begins to help clear the log jam up front.

Season highlight # 1

 

No. 1 - Ben Fanelli back in uniform

Ben Fanelli capped a remarkable comeback and proved that it's important to never give up on a dream by returning to the Rangers nearly two years after he suffered a life threatening head injury.

Doctors told Fanelli his hockey days were likely over after he was hit into the boards at the Aud by then Erie Otters forward Mike Liambas in 2009.

But Fanelli, who had just seven OHL games under his belt, defied the odds, trained hard and got himself back into game shape to resume his hockey career.

And fans welcomed him back with a roaring ovation. It certainly was a feel good moment at the Aud this past September when No. 4 was announced during the lead up to the game.

Rangers seek $1M in damages

The Kitchener Rangers are seeking $1 million in damages over a story published in a Michigan student newspaper that claimed the club offered to pay a player to suit up for the team.

The defamation suit against The Michigan Daily seeks $500,000 in general damages and $500,000 in punitive damages and was expected to be filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Kitchener Tuesday, according to a team lawyer.

The story, which was published last week by the University of Michigan student newspaper, alleges, through an unnamed source, that the Rangers offered defenceman Jacob Trouba $200,000 in place of an education package to play in Kitchener. The team and Trouba family both denied the claim.

Trouba’s OHL rights are owned by the Rangers, but the blueliner has committed to the University of Michigan on an athletic scholarship for next season. The 18-year-old was selected ninth overall by the Winnipeg Jets in last month’s NHL draft and is considered one of the top defensive prospects in his age group.

The Rangers formally requested that The Daily retract the story or issue an apology and set a Monday deadline before moving ahead with a lawsuit. As of Tuesday, the story was still on the paper’s website. Staff from the Daily said they could not comment when reached earlier this week.

Trouba has never wavered from his desire to play for the Wolverines and expressed his position to prospective NHL teams before the draft. However, if the blueliner inks a deal with the Jets he will forfeit his right to play in the NCAA as the league does not allow pro players.

Season highlight # 2

No. 2 -Randell returns in a big way

Tyler Randell was devastated when he was slapped with a 10-game suspension in the first game of the post-season for a hit on Owen Sound's Artur Gavrus.

The overager watched the playoffs unfold from the stands and needed the Rangers to extend its western conference semifinal to seven games or win the series in order to see post-season play.

It didn't look good against Plymouth in the semis. Kitchener trailed 3-2 in the best-of-seven series but won Game 6 to force a clincher.

Randell returned for Game 7, with his 10-gamer in the books, and erupted for four goals to lead the team to a 6-3 victory and a berth in the western conference finals.

"I knew I wanted to come in and give the boys all I could," said Randell, after the game. "They did a lot for me in the last 10 games and I owe everything to them."

Rangers file papers

They Kitchener Rangers said they would take action against a Michigan student newspaper and the team followed through.

The club filed papers demanding a retraction hours after the Michigan Daily, the campus paper at the University of Michigan, published a story alleging the team had offered to pay defenceman Jacob Trouba $200,000 in lieu of an education package to come to Kitchener.

The team gave the paper a deadline of Monday to respond but did not hear back. COO Steve Bienkowski says the club will now seek compensation for damages. A claim was expected to be filed today or tomorrow, according to team lawyers.

As noted in the story, it's not the first time this has happened. Three years ago Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson accused the Rangers of trying to pay off blueliner Cam Fowler, who was slated to play for Jackson's squad.

The family denied the allegations. But reports of offers to Fowler had an impact as the family cancelled meetings with the Rangers and the club was forced to put him back into the OHL draft. He ended up playing one season for the Windsor Spitfires.

Trouba is at Winnipeg Jets camp this week, a time when top draft picks often get signed. If he inks a deal, the entire debate will be moot since he will burn his NCAA eligibility and likely be Kitchener bound anyway.

For balance, in today's story, I gave the Michigan Daily a chance to comment on the suit and demands from the Rangers but the editor-in-chief said he could not comment and then hung up the phone when pressed with additional questions.

University of Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson is away for a week and could not be reached. But I interviewed him last summer regarding Trouba and asked him if he thought OHL players ever received under the table deals and he said:

"I don't think Kitchener goes out of their way to bribe these kids or over-influence them. I think they're one of the teams that run their program the way they run it and it's a good operation."

Season highlight # 3

No. 3 - Total team effort

And it literally was in Kitchener's 9-1 win over the Kingston Frontenacs back on Jan. 20.

All 18 skaters  in the lineup collected a point in the road rout. It was the only time all season that the entire roster, save goalie John Gibson, hit the score sheet.

Even more impressive was the fact that three of the goals were unassisted.

Only Tobias Rieder and Radek Faksa had more than one point, each had a goal and an assist. Jesse Young grabbed an assist, one of only two points he had all season. Ryan Murphy was plus-four.

Tough game to pick three stars, that's for sure.

Season highlight # 4

No. 4 - Murphy finds his stride

It was Jan. 15 and the Kitchener Rangers had just defeated the visiting Kingston Frontenacs 5-2.

More importantly, defenceman Ryan Murphy snapped out of his season long funk and scored a goal and collected three assists.

Murphy had been labouring up until that point. He was away at NHL camp, then dealt with a concussion and returned early to Kitchener after being snubbed by Team Canada's world junior squad.

The off-ice issues had an impact as Murphy had just 14 points in his first 23 games.

But the four-point game against the Fronts changed everything. Something switched in Murphy and he got back to his old offensive ways the rest of the way potting 40 points over his final 26 games.

He then added 22 points in 16 playoff games and was one of the most dangerous Rangers on the ice during that span.

Credit the Rangers for having faith and not trading a struggling Murphy at the trade deadline about a week earlier.

Trouba rumours abound

Oh those rumours. They're swirling again.

Can't a guy enjoy his holidays? Apparently not. So here I am, dropping in for a blog, holiday edition.

The Michigan Daily, a student newspaper, is reporting that the Kitchener Rangers have offered Jacob Trouba $200,000 to come to the OHL.

You know Trouba, he of Rangers property but University of Michigan committed. The source leaking the news is unnamed.

I hear a lot of rumours covering the Rangers. I get emails all the time insisting trades are going to happen, or in some cases, have actually occurred. It doesn't sound sexy to say, but the reality is, most of the time the rumours are not true.

As for Trouba? Who knows? The fact that the reporter is a student is meaningless. Back in the day, I can remember the Toronto Star coming to my student paper at Ryerson and asking for a photo of a shooting victim that we got and they didn't. My point being that students can scoop the pros.

I can tell you this. I have interviewed Trouba three times and his story has never changed. He wants, and plans to go, to Michigan. I have interviewed some of his good friends and none of them have ever felt that he has wavered on that decision.

I have interviewed various Rangers' staff about this -- and they're probably sick of me asking -- and their message has been the same: they would love to have him in Kitchener, but that decision is in the hands of the Winnipeg Jets.

If the Jets sign Trouba to a pro deal, he'll be at the Aud. If not, maybe they nudge him this way, or maybe they let him go to Michigan. NHL teams are made up of guys who have ties to the CHL, so it wouldn't be far fetched to believe they might want one of their top prospects to develop there.

My rule of thumb - unless you're hearing it from the player, coach or GM/president, don't put much stock into it.

Now, back to the holidays (though I will pop back now and again to update the blog).