Kitchener Rangers' kids a year older; are they a year wiser? OHL Burning Questions

Starting from the top of last season's standings, it is time for OHL Burning Questions. For your consideration, the Kitchener Rangers.

Last season went like — The Rangers were showing modest progress, in the midst of a 5-0-1-0 streak in February, when Justin Bailey suffered an upper body injury. Without Bailey and with D Max Iafrate also ailing, they lost their last 11 games and fell into the OHL's second slot for the priority selection and import drafts. So say hello to Adam Mascherin and Gustaf Franzen.

2013-14, by the numbers — 22-41-2-3, .360 point pct., 195 GF/277 GA. Ninth, Western Conference. .

Drafted — C Ryan MacInnis (Arizona Coyotes, second round), RW Justin Bailey (Buffalo Sabres, second), LW Nick Magyar (Colorado Avalanche, third).

2015 NHL Draft watch — Franzen and former 10th-round selection Mason Kohn should elicit attention; D Doug Blaisdell was the lone Ranger on NHL Central Scouting's Futures List, while LW Darby Llewellyn is a re-entry possibility.

1.  What will it take to get back into the 'first division' of the Western Conference?

The good news for one of the league's most faithfully followed franchises is it essentially lost only one regular, with captain Ben Fanelli aging out. (Fanelli, by the way, is pursing a second hockey life as an official.) Generally, a year older means a year wiser, especially when there's a lot of continuity. Kitchener, which did not have a 30-goal or 50-point scorer last season, likely lacks a seasoned pure scorer who is at his peak in the league.

That would suggest a lot of players will have to translate promise into production simultaneously. The odds are stacked against this, but the Rangers have several candidates to become leaders up front. MacInnis and Magyar have had a year to get settled into the OHL and should come back strongly after becoming second-round NHL picks. A full season from Bailey, along with Franzen getting up to speed, would also seem to be essential.

Iafrate and new captain Liam Maaskant furnish Kitchener with two overage defenceman who do not mind being mean.

2. How much pressure is there to demonstrate improvement?

With privately held OHL teams, Year 2 of a new regime would be too soon to contemplate the change. It usually takes three seasons to evaluate a hiring and gauge whether it is working — i.e., sufficient time for picks to mature into veterans.

The subscriber-owned Rangers are a different animal. As Josh Brown points out, coach Troy Smith and GM Murray Hiebert are each in their contract years. Each worked under Steve Spott, who moved up to the Toronto Maple Leafs organization in 2013.

The 61 wins over 2012-13 and '13-14 represents the club's fewest in successive seasons since 1999-2001, which was immediately prior to future Memorial Cup-winning coach Peter DeBoer's arrival.

The Rangers have a five-game stretch of games against teams coming off 90-point (or more) seasons in the first two weeks of October. That could tinge how their season is perceived.

3. What about the goaltending?

Good thing: the Rangers have two 19-year-old goalies with Jordan DeKort and Matthew Greenfield. The not as good thing: among tendies who played enough minutes to qualify, DeKort (3.71, .881 in 41 games) and Greenfield (3.88, .885) were last and next-to-last in save percentage. (The Rangers had an edge in shots on goal in 33-of-68 games, so it's not like they were that zone-time deficient.)

The two are still "battling" for the No. 1 job.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.