HFBoards - View Single Post - Kitchener Rangers Off-Season Thread

EvenSteven · 08-10-2011, 08:05 PM

As far as Hicks goes, I was always of the belief that he was using his position as Rangers beat writer as a stepping stone - a way to graduate, if you will, to one of the major Toronto newspapers, or the equivalent in another major city.

Had all he ever wanted to do was write on the Rangers for the Record, he would have written those articles that the anti-Hicks people wanted written. You know, sunshine and lollipops, all is well on and off the ice no matter what, etc. etc.

Instead, Hicks wrote articles such as:
- the anti-Ranger 2002 Kit/Gue fracas I mentioned earlier
- bringing to light, and questioning the post season team trip down south
- the interview with D'Amigo's father that had Jerry being mad about being sent here
- being criticle of the DiRienzo/Heshmatpour for Turple trade
- Roy and Halkidis being suspended for having a beer

I'm sure others could add to the list.

These are the types of articles that columists like Steve Simmons, Damian Cox, Al Strachan and others write in their publications. Hicks was just covering the Rangers in a comparable way.

I know, I know. Not everyone likes the above mentioned columnists. However, most that don't are the same kind of fans that don't like Hicks - fans that don't want anything negative written about their team. A lot of Leaf fans I know don't like the above columnists for the same reason some Ranger fans didn't like Hicks.

But Hicks saw those guys earning a good living in the manner that they did and Hicks probably just wanted to one day get a comparable gig. No harm in that.

If you want to read a good book, by the way, Al Strachan's "Why the Leafs suck..." is a good one. He goes into some detail on how the manner in which columnists cover their respective teams has changed over the years. One time, nothing bad was written about the teams and that was that. The writers were almost like employees of the team. These days, it's completely different.

On the overage situation:

Spott has said that Catenacci, Melchiori, and Jasper would be the OA's. However, I have to believe that if either Randell or Sol was ever sent back to Kitchener, they'd bump Jasper out of a job.

Sol because he is just better on the back end and Randell because we could use the toughness - and we have a lot of d-men signed already.

Randell is that type of player who could be this season's Mike Angelidis or Brandon Mashinter.

To be honest, depending on how the young defense looks, Jasper may be bumped out of a job.

Right now on the roster we have:
Melchiori - 91
Jasper - 91
Murphy - 93
Fanelli - 93
McEneny - 94
Young - 94
Genovese - 94
Gilbert - 95

What if Fanelli returns? What if Spott chooses to bring in a physical OA forward? Maybe one of Kaib or Mayfield reports (longshots). It's a long season and I'm thinking the odds of Jasper finishing the season as a Ranger may not be that good.

08-10-2011, 08:05 PM	#128
EvenSteven Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 736 vCash: 500	As far as Hicks goes, I was always of the belief that he was using his position as Rangers beat writer as a stepping stone - a way to graduate, if you will, to one of the major Toronto newspapers, or the equivalent in another major city. Had all he ever wanted to do was write on the Rangers for the Record, he would have written those articles that the anti-Hicks people wanted written. You know, sunshine and lollipops, all is well on and off the ice no matter what, etc. etc. Instead, Hicks wrote articles such as: - the anti-Ranger 2002 Kit/Gue fracas I mentioned earlier - bringing to light, and questioning the post season team trip down south - the interview with D'Amigo's father that had Jerry being mad about being sent here - being criticle of the DiRienzo/Heshmatpour for Turple trade - Roy and Halkidis being suspended for having a beer I'm sure others could add to the list. These are the types of articles that columists like Steve Simmons, Damian Cox, Al Strachan and others write in their publications. Hicks was just covering the Rangers in a comparable way. I know, I know. Not everyone likes the above mentioned columnists. However, most that don't are the same kind of fans that don't like Hicks - fans that don't want anything negative written about their team. A lot of Leaf fans I know don't like the above columnists for the same reason some Ranger fans didn't like Hicks. But Hicks saw those guys earning a good living in the manner that they did and Hicks probably just wanted to one day get a comparable gig. No harm in that. If you want to read a good book, by the way, Al Strachan's "Why the Leafs suck..." is a good one. He goes into some detail on how the manner in which columnists cover their respective teams has changed over the years. One time, nothing bad was written about the teams and that was that. The writers were almost like employees of the team. These days, it's completely different. On the overage situation: Spott has said that Catenacci, Melchiori, and Jasper would be the OA's. However, I have to believe that if either Randell or Sol was ever sent back to Kitchener, they'd bump Jasper out of a job. Sol because he is just better on the back end and Randell because we could use the toughness - and we have a lot of d-men signed already. Randell is that type of player who could be this season's Mike Angelidis or Brandon Mashinter. To be honest, depending on how the young defense looks, Jasper may be bumped out of a job. Right now on the roster we have: Melchiori - 91 Jasper - 91 Murphy - 93 Fanelli - 93 McEneny - 94 Young - 94 Genovese - 94 Gilbert - 95 What if Fanelli returns? What if Spott chooses to bring in a physical OA forward? Maybe one of Kaib or Mayfield reports (longshots). It's a long season and I'm thinking the odds of Jasper finishing the season as a Ranger may not be that good.