After being one of the oldest teams in the OJHL last season, the North York Rangers are now the youngest team in the league.
They hold onto the 8th and final playoff spot in the South/East Conference with a record of 16-28-3-5 for 40 points.
After starting the season with just six returning players from the 2021-22 team that finished second in the South Division, that number is now down to two – Jack Rimmer and Anthony Piccininno. That’s due to a number of trades that have been made during the season.
The chips began to fall with the departure of veteran defenceman Wilson Farrow (‘04) to Pickering for a Player Development Fee (PDF) on Nov. 11. Wilson played in 10 games with the Rangers this season, racking up two goals and seven assists for nine points. In all, Farrow suited up in 63 games as a Ranger, with a total of 12 goals and 20 assists for 32 points. Hayden Simpson (‘04) was also involved in the deal; a first-year Ranger, he played in eight games, with two goals and two assists for four points.
Then, on Nov. 23, the Rangers added defenceman Jack Seney (‘05) from the Aurora Tigers for a PDF. Seney has played in 18 games with the Rangers since his acquisition and has scored two goals while adding nine assists for a total of 11 points. The next day, the Rangers acquired defenceman Cian Noble (‘04) from the Brantford 99ers in exchange for a PDF. Noble has skated in 25 games since coming to NYR and has put up six assists.
On Dec. 1, the Rangers acquired forward Noah Tyrrell (‘03) from the Markham Royals, with a PDF going the other way. Tyrrell scored in his Ranger debut on Dec. 4 vs. Caledon, and, in 22 games since the deal, has put up five goals and 10 assists for 15 points.
Then on Dec. 15, the biggest trade of the season was made by the Rangers. Defencemen Aydin Parekh (‘02) and Isa Parekh (‘03) were shipped to the Georgetown Raiders for a PDF. The Parekh brothers were the two anchors of the Ranger blueline. In two full season and parts of two others from 2018-22, Aydin played in a total of 133 games with the Rangers, scoring 16 goals and adding 45 assists for 61 points.
Isa Parekh played in one full season as a Ranger, while playing in two other partial seasons from 2019-22, appearing in 89 games. He scored 12 goals and added 36 assists for 58 points. Aydin and Isa will return to Herbert H. Carnegie Centre for the first time since the trade on Sun., Feb. 26 at 2:30 pm when the Raiders make their lone visit to North York this season.
On Jan. 9, the Rangers sent forward Alex Dimitriadis (‘04) to Pickering in exchange for defenceman Bensen Moore (‘04). Dimitriadis played in 89 games as a Ranger from 2021-23, scoring 24 goals and 29 assists for 53 points. Since coming to North York, Moore has played in nine games and put up one assist.
On Jan. 10, OJHL trade deadline day, the Rangers made one move. They acquired goaltender Nicolas Morvan (‘05) off waivers from the Stouffville Spirit. Morvan has been a solid addition to the Rangers crease splitting duties with Sebastian Monaco (‘06). Morvan has made appearances in eight games (7 starts) with a 3.21 goals against average and a .918 save percentage.
The Rangers have two games remaining in the regular season beginning Saturday night when they hit the road to battle the Haliburton Huskies at 4:00 pm.
