It was cutdown day on Thursday for the Kitchener Rangers as the team reassigned 19 players to trim the roster down to 23 active skaters and goaltenders.
The team looks to be anchored by its blueline as Matthew Andonovski, Hunter Brzustewicz, Tomáš Hamara and Simon Motew are regulars who return from last season while Blair Scott also played in 14 games with the club in 2022-23.
They will be joined by first-round pick Cameron Reid and fourth-round pick Andrew MacNiel as well as offseason acquisition Gabriel Runco who came to Kitchener in a trade.
Sop joins forwards Mitchell Martin and Matthew Sop as the team’s current overagers with a number of other veterans also returning on the frontline.
The team’s two top point-getters from last season, Francesco Pinelli and Francesco Arcuri, will be in NHL training camps in September so it remains to be seen where they will play next year.
Carson Rehkopf, who was a second-round draft pick in June, is on the roster though. He was the team’s third-leading point-getter, followed by Brzustewicz who was also selected in the June NHL draft.
Up front, Justin Bottineau, Cameron Mercer, Adrian Misaljevic, Kyle Morey, Antonino Pugliese and Trent Swick are also back with the team.
There are four rookies up front as the team’s other first-round pick Luca Romano, second-rounder Tanner Lam and third-round selection Matheas Stark, are on the roster, as is Lucas Ellinas, a recent acquisition from the Barrie Colts.
Kitchener kicks off the preseason schedule on Sunday afternoon when the club plays host to the Oshawa Generals in a matinee affair.
There are six exhibition games on the schedule before the season opens on Sept. 29 with a visit from the Flint Firebirds.
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