Kitchener Rangers
The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions in 1981, 1982, 2003 and 2008. They have appeared in six Memorial Cups, advancing to the final game of the tournament each of those six years. They are two-time Memorial Cup champions.
The Rangers are publicly owned, with a board of directors. The team has more than 180 players and coaches going on to serve in the NHL including Gabriel Landeskog, Jeff Skinner, Radek Faksa, John Gibson, Nazem Kadri, Mike Richards, David Clarkson, Steve Mason, Derek Roy and Peter DeBoer. Five of their alumni have gone on to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame: Scott Stevens, Bill Barber, Paul Coffey, Larry Robinson and Al MacInnis.
History
The Kitchener Rangers franchise was inaugurated ahead of the 1947–48 Ontario Hockey Association season as the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters. Based in nearby Guelph, Ontario, the Biltmore Mad Hatters were a farm team for the National Hockey League's New York Rangers. The team enjoyed considerable success in the 1950s, winning three league championships and a Memorial Cup. However, by 1960, the team was struggling financially and was sold to new ownership. The new owners re-branded the team as the Guelph Royals to match Guelph's nickname, the "Royal City". Despite these efforts to reignite the fading brand, the team's financial struggles persisted. At the end of the 1962–63 season, Kitchener entrepreneur Eugene George was approached by the New York Rangers about moving the team to Kitchener in hopes of building a more stable junior environment.In 1963, George and a group of Kitchener businessmen relocated the Guelph Royals to Kitchener and renamed them the Kitchener Rangers Junior "A" Hockey Club. The New York Rangers sponsorship of the team ended in 1967 with the expansion of the NHL's "Original Six’" Era, so George agreed to purchase the team from the New York Rangers for a sum of one dollar, but declined the opportunity for private ownership. He instead turned the team over to the community through the creation of a not-for-profit organization. The Kitchener Rangers Charter declared "no person shall be a member of the Corporation unless he is a season ticket subscriber for the current season of the home hockey games of the club, and all persons who are season ticket subscribers are automatically entitled to membership."
The 1960s
For their debut season in 1963–64 the team moved into the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, which had previously been home to the Kitchener Greenshirts and the Kitchener Canucks. On Tuesday, October 1, 1963, the Rangers' first coach, Steve Brklacich, welcomed a 54-player roster of training camp hopefuls just two weeks prior to the home opener. The first exhibition game took place on Sunday, October 6, 1963 against the Peterborough Petes. The team's first regular season game featured the Rangers and the visiting St. Catharines Black Hawks on Tuesday, October 15, 1963 which dressed the likes of league All-Stars Dennis Hull and Doug Jarrett. The first goal in team history was scored by John Beechey, assisted by Gary Sabourin and Tommy Miller, at 11:36 of the first period. The team's first captain, Alexander 'Sandy' Fitzpatrick, would score the first game-winning goal in team history, breaking open a 3–3 tie in the third period to propel the Blueshirts to a 4–3 win. The Rangers were successful promoting the team in the community, drawing high attendance despite a poor first season in the standings which finished with a record of 9-41-6.The Rangers struggled during their first three seasons in the OHA, finishing under.500 in the following two campaigns. Despite the seventh-place finish in 1965–66, the team finished the year strong and won the first two rounds of playoffs to make it to the OHA Finals, eventually falling 4–1 in a best-of-seven series to the Oshawa Generals and a young Bobby Orr. Kitchener finished in first place the next season, earning their first Hamilton Spectator Trophy in franchise history as regular season champions, but fell to the Toronto Marlboros in the semi-finals. In 1967–68, the Rangers were first again in the OHA and went on to win their second consecutive Hamilton Spectator Trophy. They played in the Finals again, but this time losing a close series 4 games to 3 with a tie, to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Niagara Falls Flyers. In 1968–69, Jim Malleck succeeded Eugene George as the team's president. In November 1968, Kitchener native Dave Weber was appointed coach after Wally Kullman was relieved of his duties. But the Rangers posted just nine wins, finishing in 10th place after seeing 13 players from the previous season graduate to the professional ranks. In 1969, Walter Scherer, a former scout for the Boston Bruins, became the team's general manager. The decade finished on a high note, however, as rookie Bill Barber dressed in his first of three junior seasons in Kitchener and tallied 37 goals and 86 points in just 54 regular season games.
1969 also marked the year that Les Bradley joined the team. Bradley was a mainstay on the bench as the team's trainer from 1969 to 1986, then after retiring as a trainer became an ambassador in the press room for more than 15 years.
The 1970s
Gerry Forler became the Rangers' coach for the 1970–71 season but resigned in December, 1970 and was replaced by Ron Murphy for the remainder of the season. Kitchener struggled through most of the decade, posting only two winning seasons. Barber posted his first of two straight 100+ point seasons in 1970–71, scoring 46 goals and 105 points in 61 regular season games. He was one of two players to hit the 100-point milestone that year, but the Rangers were unable to get out of the first round of the playoffs. In 1973–74, the Rangers finished first in the OHA for their third Hamilton Spectator Trophy in eight years in large part due to the goalkeeping of Don Edwards, who had the league's lowest goals against average. The team lost to the Peterborough Petes in the second round of the playoffs.In the 1974–75 season, the club finished last in the league and 20 points out of a playoff spot with a record of 17-47-6. Despite their last-place finish, the Rangers would host the Memorial Cup that season as no host team was in place. For the following season in 1975–76, there were changes at president, general manager and coach. The team improved by 17 points, rising to a fourth-place finish in the standings. In 1976–77, Foster would set the Rangers franchise record for points in a single season, a mark that still stands today. His total 382 points in 262 regular season games over 1973-77 also remains a club record.
The Rangers' record during the 1979–80 season dropped to 17-51-0, but Paul Coffey, a young acquired defenceman from the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, collected 71 points in 52 regular season games before being drafted sixth overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft.
The 1980s
1981 Memorial Cup
The Rangers were looking to rebound from a 17-51-0 season in 1979–80, but the first half of the 1980-81 campaign left them in last place at Christmas. But a strong second half - culminating with eight wins in nine games to finish the season - propelled the Rangers to a first-place finish and an Emms Division title. They would see a 35-point improvement from the previous season, finishing with a mark of 34-33-1. Coached by Orval Tessier, the Rangers were led offensively by 49 goals and 116 points from right winger Brian Bellows, along with 54 goals and 108 points from left winger Jeff Larmer. Centreman Grant Martin was just two points shy of joining them in the century club, notching 41 goals and 98 points. Other standouts on the squad included Al MacInnis, Mike Eagles, Larry Carroll and goalie Wendell Young.Kitchener's playoffs began against the Niagara Falls Flyers, and they defeated them with a 4–2 series win, including one tie. The Rangers scored five or more goals in every game of the series, with the exception of the 3–3 tie in Game 4. Next up was a meeting with the Windsor Spitfires in Round 3, which the Rangers won 4–0 with one tie. Again the Blueshirts offense proved formidable, scoring no fewer than four goals in each contest and twice scoring seven. This set the stage for an OHL Final vs. the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. The Hounds were favoured to win the league title, having averaged the highest goals per game average in the league and finishing 27 points ahead of Kitchener in the regular season standings. The Rangers, however, held the Greyhounds to 16 goals in the series six games and were undefeated in the league final. They skated to a 3–0 series win with three ties to earn their first J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions in franchise history.
The 1981 Memorial Cup was played at the Windsor Arena in Windsor, Ontario. Kitchener represented the Ontario Hockey League while centre Barry Pederson, right winger Rich Chernomaz and goaltender Grant Fuhr were key pieces of the Western Hockey League's Victoria Cougars. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League squad - and defending Memorial Cup Champions - were the Cornwall Royals which featured the likes of centre Dale Hawerchuk, left winger Marc Crawford and centre Doug Gilmour.
Kitchener lost its first two games; 6–3 to Cornwall and 7–4 to Victoria. The Rangers then posted consecutive victories; 6–4 over the Royals in which Bellows scored a hat trick, and 4-2 vs. the Cougars. The Rangers went on to face Cornwall in the tournament final but dropped a 5-2 decision to the Royals, who would win their second consecutive Memorial Cup.
1982 Memorial Cup
took over the coaching duties after the 1980–81 season after coach/general manager Orval Tessier left the team to become head coach of the American Hockey League's New Brunswick Hawks, who he would lead to a Calder Cup championship. Kitchener picked up where it left off from the previous season, finding success while being led by top players Larry Carroll, Brian Bellows and Jeff Larmer, as well as added future NHL players Scott Stevens and Mike Hough. The Rangers won the Emms Division for the second year in a row with a much improved record.Kitchener earned a first round bye in the playoffs, then skated to a 4–0 series win over the Windsor Spitfires in Round 2. They once again clashed with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, this time in Round 3, and again earned a series win this time in five games. The Rangers faced off against the Ottawa 67's, coached by Brian Kilrea, in the league final and claimed their second straight J. Ross Robertson Cup with a 4–0 series victory, including one tie.
The 1982 Memorial Cup was played at Robert Guertin Arena in Hull, Quebec. Kitchener represented the Ontario Hockey League, while left winger Gerard Gallant and centre John Chabot were members of the QMJHL's Sherbrooke Castors. Centre Ken Yaremchuk and right winger Brian Shaw were members of the Western Hockey League champion Portland Winter Hawks.
Kitchener lost 10-4 to Sherbrooke in their opener before rebounding with a 9–2 win over Portland in game two. Brian Bellows scored 11 seconds into the game against Portland, setting a Memorial Cup record. In their third game, the Rangers shut out the Castors 4–0. The game was very physical, and included a bench-clearing brawl in the second period. Kitchener seemed to be a bit worn out the next night, losing 4–2 to Portland.
The Rangers and the Castors made it to the finals on a better goals for and against total, after all three teams won and lost two games each in the round-robin. The final game drew 4,091 spectators who saw Bellows score a hat trick and add two assists, propelling the Rangers to a 7–4 victory and their first Memorial Cup championship.
In 1982–83, the Rangers finished with a 45-23-2 record and a second-place finish in the Emms Division. After a first round bye they faced the North Bay Centennials in Round 2 and won the series, 4–1. They would meet the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for the third consecutive year in the playoffs but this time the Hounds won the series, 4–2 with one tie, eliminating the Blueshirts from post-season play.