The Kitchener Rangers announced today that General Manager and Head Coach Mike McKenzie will be resuming his full-time role exclusively as general manager for the Rangers.
“We want to thank Mike for his support with stepping in as the interim head coach and guiding us through two difficult seasons during the pandemic,” said Kitchener Rangers Chief Operating Officer Joe Birch.
“Mike is a tremendous person, an outstanding General Manager and will continue to provide leadership to our hockey operations department moving forward.”
The Rangers are proud to announce the club’s 24th head coach tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET.
Followed by in-person media availability at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium at 11:30 a.m. ET.
A Letter from Mike McKenzie:
Rangers Nation,
I hope everyone is enjoying their summer but looking forward to getting back to The Aud in the fall.
I have some news to share with you: I have made the decision to step down as head coach. This will allow me to focus strictly on my duties as general manager. We have hired a new head coach and we are looking forward to introducing him to you tomorrow.
This was a decision I did not take lightly. I have really enjoyed working with the players and hockey staff on a daily basis as head coach. It has been fun and rewarding to get a first-hand, ice-level view of our players maturing, both on and off the ice. I will certainly miss that.
I would like to thank the players, hockey staff, business staff and fans for the support during my time as head coach of the Rangers. I would not have been able to take on the dual roles of General Manager and head coach without the support of many great people around me.
I’ll be honest, when I took over on an interim basis in November of 2019 I didn’t know exactly how it would go. Looking back, I am proud our coaching staff was able to lead the team to a 33-6-3 record to finish the 2019-20 season, have an overall mark of 63-37-10 together as a group, and win a playoff series over London in our first playoff opportunity after the pandemic.
The decision to step down as head coach was made in the best interests of the organization as well as me personally. The time has come to have a head coach who can give 100 per cent of his time to coaching, developing our players and taking the team to a new level. Personally, I’m also happy to have a bit more flexibility in my schedule to be the best father I can be to my two young kids.
I am extremely confident we have found the right person as our new head coach. I’m excited to work alongside him and see our growth both as a team and as an organization in the coming years.
I can assure you that even though there will be a new face behind the bench, the Kitchener Rangers’ commitment to inclusivity; a positive culture; top-notch treatment of our players; on and off-ice development; winning; and being a model CHL franchise will all remain unchanged.
Thank you for your continued support, Rangers Nation. We all look forward to seeing everyone in the fall,
Mike McKenzie
General Manager
