Rangers on the World Stage: A Recap
By Adriann Kennedy
Last Friday night, before the Rangers hosted the Oshawa Generals, the team took a moment at centre ice to recognize the players who spent the holiday break representing their countries at the World Junior Hockey Championships and World U17 Hockey Challenge.
The ceremony recognized not only Kitchener’s players, but members of the Generals who participated in international competition as well, in what has become a tradition at The Aud.
“It’s becoming almost an annual event,” noted Chief Operating Officer Steve Bienkowski. “We’re happy to recognize the players and we do make a big deal of it with the presentation. We had to add another banner to the rafters this year, which is a good thing. If you look up there, there are some pretty impressive names.”
Rangers fans warmly applauded the return of rookie forward Radek Faksa, netminder John Gibson, team-scoring leader Tobias Rieder, freshman winger Brent Pedersen and Assistant Coach Troy Smith from their impressive performances on the world stage.
Faksa was named to the Czech roster for the World Junior Hockey Championship on Christmas Day, making him the youngest member of the team at just 17 years old. The high-flying Rangers freshman lit the lamp in his debut appearance in Alberta, recording a second period goal in a 7-0 shut-out of Denmark. He added a second goal for the Czechs in the final game of the tournament, a 5-2 win over Slovakia that cemented a fifth place finish. It was a successful week for the Rangers centre, who got to showcase his talent on the world stage.
John Gibson joined the US World Junior team camp invitees in Alberta all-but-guaranteed a roster spot, as the Americans invited just two netminders to camp.
The Rangers standout started for the USA on December 28, when the team took on Finland, but was tagged with a loss after allowing four goals on 27 shots. The Americans avoided relegation, finishing in seventh place and will have a spot at next year’s tournament in Ufa, Russia.
The World Junior Hockey Championship was not the only international tournament with a Rangers’ connection. Tobias Rieder made a trip back to Germany to compete alongside his countrymen at the U20 Division I Tournament. An undefeated week put his team back in the top tier for next year and the Rangers winger led the way, just as he has all season here in Kitchener. Rieder recorded 13 points in just five games, leaving Garmisch-Partenkirchen as the tournament’s top scorer.
Fans were also treated to exciting action at the U17 World Hockey Challenge in Windsor, Ontario. Since the tournament began in 1986, at least one Canadian team has taken home a medal every year. That streak continued Wednesday when Team Ontario scored four goals in the final period to earn a 5-2 win over Sweden in the bronze medal game.
Smith took over as Head Coach of Team Ontario this year after three turns behind the bench as an assistant. With much coaching experience under his belt, Smith was well prepared for the challenges inherent in bringing together his players in a very short period of time. When the tournament kicked off on December 29th, he led the squad to an impressive 5-0 win over Germany.
Pedersen, the Rangers’ first round pick in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection joined the team after standing out in selection camp with his big physical presence and scoring touch. He joined a talented group of young players and together they went undefeated in the preliminary round, outscoring their opponents 21-4 through four games. They were the only team to finish the round robin without a loss and surrendered five fewer goals than any of their competitors. Pedersen was a strong contributor to the team, with two goals in Ontario’s 7-2 win over Sweden and a pair of assists against Quebec.
A 4-3 overtime loss to the Russians in the semifinals kept the team from a consecutive gold medal bid, but they bounced back to ensure their spot on the podium for a sixth straight year. Team Ontario is the most decorated team in the tournament’s history with a total of 13 medals. Coach Smith complimented his team on its resiliency and called their final win a “gold medal effort.”
Congratulations to all of the Rangers who made their mark on the international hockey scene this year!
