Rangers’ Riley ready for Kyrou and company

Forget the math test, the Kitchener Rangers’ Riley Damiani is set for his biggest test of the year.

The Rangers see the Sarnia Sting in the second round, who boast arguably the Ontario Hockey League’s best player, Jordan Kyrou. For his part, the St. Louis Blues’ second-rounder is set to see a lot of Damiani.

The sophomore centreman has been the main clog on Kitchener’s shutdown line this season.

“It’s amazing watching him, especially at World Juniors, he’s a great player,” said Damiani of Kyrou. “You have that nervous energy going into it. Being able to play against him, having that role, is huge for me.”

Feb 28, 2018 – Rangers’ Damiani trusted to control Kyrou

You can rest assured, every time Kyrou hops the boards at the Aud, when the Rangers have last change, Damiani and his linemates Greg Meireles and Nick McHugh will be following, trying to keep Kyrou off the scoresheet.

[They bring] a lot of energy,” Damiani said of his Ottawa area linemates. “Two really hard-working guys, really smart players. They make the game easy. When I’m out there with them, I feel comfortable.”

The comfort level might also come from repetition. His two-way game is something he’s relished for years, and not something he takes lightly.

“My minor-midget coach [Geoff Schomogyi] said it’s going to the biggest thing at the next level. Knowing that, I had to develop my defensive game,” said the Mississauga native. “I’ve always been known as a 200-foot centreman. I like the roll, and I’m going to stick with it.”

“Being relied on by my teammates and my coaches, it’s a huge honour to be recognized as that guy.”

Damiani was also recognized by the team, winning the Jim McGeachie Memorial Trophy for the player that exhibits outstanding effort, spirit and commitment, and the Les Bradley Award for the most improved player.

Despite often – if not always – playing against the other team’s top line, Damiani put up 19 points and 18 assists for 37 points this season; all career highs.

Oddly enough he’s taken an even bigger jump offensively in the post-season, averaging over a point a game.

“Points are obviously just a bonus,” said Damiani. “Some of the guys that don’t get noticed are the guys that shut down top lines, and they’re not really on the score sheet or their names don’t get called, or they’re not a star. But every team needs role guys and I embrace mine.”

For a 17-year-old trying to make it to the next level, not getting noticed could be frustrating. He was ranked 119^th among North American skaters for the upcoming NHL draft by Central Scouting.

He was also ranked as a C prospect, which is labelled as a 4^th, 5^th, or 6^th round candidate. The 5-foot-10, 165-pound forward was also passed over for the CHL’s Top Prospect game.

“You see the guys that were picked, they’re very highly skilled, they’re very smart players, they all deserve to be there,” said Damiani. “Sometimes you don’t get that opportunity. I kind of take it as they want to put me down like that, I’ll just prove them wrong.”

There’s a saying, ‘Sport doesn’t build character, it reveals it.’ By shutting down Kyrou, Kitchener’s character guy hopes to prove people wrong, again.