On the hands of what has been an extremely active OHL Trade Deadline, the Kitchener Rangers joined the fun on Wednesday, acquiring Serron Noel from the Oshawa Generals. In exchange for the Florida Panthers draft pick, the Oshawa Generals have acquired from Kitchener centreman Ryan Stepien and a pair of draft selections.
Joining Stepien in Southern Ontario is a second round selection in 2021, a second round selection in 2022, a third round selection in 2022 and a third round selection in 2024. The third round selection in 2022 originally comes from the Ottawa 67’s, meanwhile, the 2024 pick originally comes from the Niagara IceDogs.
In a statement from Roger Hunt, vice president and general manager of the Oshawa Generals, he said a short time after putting final details of the trade together, “Serron spent three and half years here, was drafted to the National Hockey League as a General and will always be a big part of successes our team had last year and the years he’s been here. I wish him all the best as he joins the Rangers and continues his hockey career outside the Ontario Hockey League.”
As for Ryan Stepien who joins the Generals on the trade’s other end, the 18-year-old forward leaves the Rangers in Kitchener having played 76 games while putting up 34 points. Now in his third full season as a member of the Ontario Hockey League, Stepien has played 38 games while scoring six goals and adding 10 assists. As such, he has recorded 16 points while also accumulating 18 penalty minutes.
Stepien, a right-handed shooter, joined the Kitchener Rangers in a trade last season which saw him dealt from the Barrie Colts in exchange for 19-year-old defensemen Jack York. A short time prior to this deal, the Saginaw Spirit traded Stepien to Barrie where the Stoney Creek native spent most of the season after having been drafted back in 2017. Speaking of which, Stepien was a third round draft pick (41st overall) in the OHL Priority Selection.
In a statement from Mike McKenzie, general manager of the Kitchener Rangers, he said with regards to Stepien being dealt to Oshawa in exchange for Noel, “We would like to thank Ryan for his contributions to the Rangers on and off the ice. He was a pleasure to be around every day at the rink and will surely be missed by teammates and staff.”
As for the 6’6 forward who joins the Rangers in the trade from Oshawa, Serron Noel adds another winger to Kitchener while also providing production offensively. Noel, who currently weighs in at 216lbs, comes from the Generals where he scored 83 goals and 101 assists in 221 games played. This would see the right-winger make for a total of 184 points.
Noel, 19-years-old, is currently a prospect of the Florida Panthers after having been selected back in 2018 in the draft’s second round (34th overall). Since then, the Ottawa native has only excelled in his overall game as he was named to Team OHL for the yearly annual CIBC Canada Russia Series. With regards to his season thus far, the right-handed shooter has scored 13 goals and 19 assists in 28 games played.
Noel made his OHL debut with the Oshawa Generals back in 2016 after having been drafted 25th overall in the second round of the OHL Priority Selection. In a statement from Mike McKenzie upon adding Noel to the mix on Wednesday, he said, “We’re extremely excited to welcome Serron to the Rangers family. He will fit in well with our already strong group of forward. With his size, speed, and scoring ability, he can be a force and we look forward to seeing him in a Rangers uniform for the rest of the season.”