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The Kitchener Rangers are preparing for the Memorial Cup in Kelowna, B.C., next weekend but first they have a lot of videos to watch.
The team won the Ontario Hockey League championship last week, sweeping the Barrie Colts in four games to bring home the J. Ross Robertson Cup.
The win came after the Rangers won 16 games over the course of the playoffs and lost only two.
A week after their sweep of Barrie, they’re set to board planes and face teams they haven’t necessarily seen before on the ice.
Before the team leaves, there will be a community pep rally held in front of Kitchener’s city hall on Tuesday starting at 5 p.m.
“This is an exciting and proud moment for our city,” Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said in a press release.
“The Kitchener Rangers have brought our community together with their incredible championship run, and we look forward to celebrating their achievements and sending them off to the Memorial Cup with the full support of their fans from Kitchener and beyond firmly behind them,” Vrbanovic said.
Kitchener Rangers chief operating officer Joe Birch said in the same release that the fan support “has meant everything to us.”
“We’re thrilled to celebrate this moment together and carry that energy with us as we represent Kitchener on the national stage,” Birch said.
The long road ahead
But it can’t all be community celebrations and parties.
CBC K-W’s Joe Pavia spoke with Rangers head coach Jussi Ahokas a day after their win against Barrie. He described what the Rangers players will do in their down time before they fly out to B.C. on Wednesday.
The Morning Edition – K-W4:33Kitchener Rangers head to the Memorial Cup
After 18 long years, the Kitchener Rangers hockey team is heading to the Memorial Cup.They swept the Barrie Colts 4-0, winning the OHL Championship on Tuesday night. CBC K-W’s Joe Pavia caught up with Kitchener Rangers’ head coach Jussi Ahokas.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Joe Pavia: How does it feel to win?
Jussi Ahokas: It’s unbelievable feeling for our staff. Three years of hard work and we got the job done and the players, they were so committed the whole time for how we wanted to play and for each other.
The biggest thing is they wanted to play for each other and it was good. We got the job done. So we actually have 10 days. So that’s, really good. The boys will have a couple days off and get to rest, but after that we will practice and then we’ll have again, a couple rest days.
Joe Pavia: How do you prepare for that? For going into a tournament for teams you’ve never played?
Jussi Ahokas: Of course, it’s a lot of video work and just scouting from video. I would say that’s the biggest thing and that doesn’t really change.
You always do your pre-scouts from video and you kind of look at that and see their style of play and what are their tendencies about what they want to do.
It’s for sure exciting. It’ll be a little different. It’s small adjustments, but you want to know about how you want to play your game and what is our system and how we play.
We just want to know what they try to do so we can make small adjustments.
Joe Pavia: What were some other highlights for you that stick out? Events, players, goals, that kind of thing?
Jussi Ahokas: I would say the whole playoffs, like we went 16-2, we lost only two games. That’s a big thing. I can’t really say anything singular. It’s the whole season.
You build up to it and you do the work, that’s how I feel and us getting better and better and just having such a great group. Just spending time and getting to work with these players and with the staff. That’s been great.
Joe Pavia: You’re leaving on Wednesday. So you have all your itinerary and everyone’s packed and ready to go? That’s got to be exciting.
Jussi Ahokas: Oh yeah. We still have plenty of time. So now we have kind of a little rest and then we move on after that.
Joe Pavia: Were any of the current players born the last time the Kitchener Rangers were in the championships or in the Memorial Cup?
Jussi Ahokas: Yeah. The last was in 2008, so there’s quite many [players]. The oldest guys are 2005.
Joe Pavia: Anything else that you wanted to say to the fans?
Jussi Ahokas: All in all, Kitchener fans are unbelievable. The support from the community and we’re community team, like it’s unbelievable and we have an unbelievable organization with the Kitchener Rangers.
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