Kitchener Rangers Who Ruled

Originally published in Prospects Hockey in 2008

By Lucas Aykroyd

The Kitchener Rangers, the host team for the 2008 Memorial Cup, have produced too many notable NHLers to name. Here are 15 of the best.

Bill Barber: He scored 20-plus goals in each of his 11 NHL seasons and earned two Stanley Cups with the Philadelphia Flyers (1974, 1975).

Brian Bellows: The skillful right wing set a Rangers rookie record with 116 points in 1980-81, led the club to the Memorial Cup the next year, and won the Stanley Cup with Montreal in 1993.

Paul Coffey: Perhaps the finest skater in hockey history, this three-time Norris Trophy winner captured three Cups with Edmonton and one with Pittsburgh.

Don Edwards: In a 10-year NHL career, this steady netminder’s biggest achievement was sharing the 1980 Vezina Trophy with Bob Sauve in Buffalo.

Dale Hunter: He only spent one season with Kitchener as a rookie, but the gritty pivot’s 19-year NHL career earned him the reputation of a guy who’d do anything to win.

Al MacInnis: After stepping up in Kitchener’s 1982 Memorial Cup triumph, the Nova Scotia-born defenceman owned the NHL’s hardest slapshot for over two decades, and claimed the Conn Smythe and Norris.

Don Maloney: The current GM of the Phoenix Coyotes spent three full seasons with Kitchener before making it big with the New York Rangers.

Paul Reinhart: One of the NHL’s most talented offensive blueliners of the 1980’s, and a native Kitchener son.

Mike Richards: After signing a $69-million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers, the former Memorial Cup All-Star is seen as future NHL captain material.

Doug Risebrough: Another Kitchener native, “Riser” won four Cups with Montreal (1976-79) as a forward, years before becoming the Minnesota Wild’s GM.

Larry Robinson: Nicknamed “Big Bird,” this legendary defenceman contributed to six Stanley Cups with the Habs, won two Norris Trophies and a Conn Smythe, and coached New Jersey to the title in 2000.

Derek Roy: The Ottawa-born centre captained Kitchener to the 2003 Memorial Cup, and signed a $24-million deal with Buffalo last year.

Scott Stevens: A 1982 Memorial Cup champion, Stevens was hockey’s most feared hitter with Washington, St. Louis, and New Jersey, captaining the Devils to three Cups.

Walt Tkaczuk: In 945 career games with the New York Rangers, the savvy centre racked up a creditable 645 points.

Wendell Young: Young remains the only netminder in history to win the Memorial Cup (1982), the AHL’s Calder Cup (1988), Stanley Cup (1991, 1992), and the IHL’s Turner Cup (1998, 2000).

Honourable Mentions

Shawn Burr
Rick Chartraw
Boyd Devereaux
Don Luce
John Tucker