The 34 year old from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is a veteran forward that has a deep resumé of European league experience, AHL experience and even dressed in the NHL.
He even has a famous uncle, Bill Ranford, who won the Stanley Cup twice with the Edmonton Oilers – a fine heritage indeed.
He was drafted 209th overall in the 7th round, to the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL in 2010 and spent his youth hockey with Kamloops Blazers in the WHL until he first skated with the Texas Stars of the AHL in 2013.
At Kamloops, that organisation was owned by former NHL stars, Jarome Iginla, Mark Recchi and Shane Doan, where Ranford has also stated he modelled his style of play toward the likes of Joe Sakic.
Toward the end of his time at Kamloops, he was on a roster with former Devils Cole Ully and Taran Kozun, as well as former Fife Flyer, Collin Shirley.
He won the AHL Calder Cup in 2014, whilst also collecting the most points for a rookie in their playoffs.
That team also included former Devil, Mike Hedden, as well as former Steeler, Brett Ritchie (who has this season moved to Ranfords’ most recent team).
Another link from the AHL with a former Devil, was at San Antonio rampage with Sam Jardine. That season also saw a brief stint for another former Devil, Jesse Mychan and former Panther the year later, David Noel.
Since then, his career has taken him to Germany, Sweden, Slovakia and currently Finland, accounting for over 600 senior professional games from the USA to the top leagues in Europe.
At 90kg, 5’11”, the left handed shot forward can play both wings and centre, making him versatile across the top 6 and brings the punch along with it.
He has iced for 647GP and put up 495 points (as of writing this article), maintaining a 0.76 point per game average.
He contributes across the scoresheet, for both goals and distribution, something the team needs with injuries mounting and a lack of confidence from the minimal summer recruiting.
He is currently playing at HPK in the Finnish Liiga, a club that current Devil, Thomas Caron played for recently, ranking 2nd overall for points (12) after 20GP.
Caron had 3 points in 20GP, but also had 2 goals during his time there.
Within that stint so far, Ranford has scored just once, quite a down turn compared to his recent 5 seasons in Europe, where he was amongst their top ranked players in each league, according to Athletedom.
It has been noted recently that the line he is currently on at HPK has been ‘quiet for over 120 minutes’, frustrating their coach. This is typically a moving point from clubs within that league.
He also played recently for Vlci Zilina, the team that hosted the Devils during their Continental Cup winning season, whilst there he put up 20 goals and 55 points across 58GP in regular season.
For their playoffs, he also added 5 goals and 17 points in 19GP.
This is a player who can contribute on a top line capacity, with the right line mates.
Something, that despite good efforts from club captain Joey Martin and Kohen Olischefski, is needed to help boost Josh MacDonald over the course of the season, or even provide that level of offensive threat.
If there was a time to make a statement signing, this is now and this is it, even with previously scouted, Carter Ashton still available.
Strengths
His main strength is his ability to provide high end distribution where ever he plays. This is what he has been known for.
If the club were happy to recruit two import forwards this season on the back of very low returns, with the vision that in this league, they would translate to high outcomes, then for a player that is used to being an actual offensive play driver and scoring talent, should make the best case.
Also, the best business and recruitment sense.
The likes of Cole Sanford, simply hasn’t been replaced, although MacDonald is doing fine, he is still making up nearly 50% of his lines’ point share.
That line is also ranked 7th overall across the EIHL – it simply isn’t sustainable.
The bottom six can take of itself, now that the aforementioned players brought in during the offseason, have slotted very comfortably there and are now trending upward in production.
Currently, the talent brought in has been massively underwhelming to say the least, 5 goals gained, compared to 15 lost (without former Devil, Zach O’Brien, who also has 7).
It simply isn’t feasible, nor sustainable.
This is the missing link for the top 6 that provides distribution across the scoresheet.
He clearly has an ability to maintain consistency no matter the league he plays in, providing quality to each team that signs him.
Breakdown
Core Attributes;
1. Offensive Distribution; He is as much a play maker as a goal scorer, especially when settled into a system. In his last four seasons, he has accrued 169 points from 166GP, for 1.02 points per game.
This is something MacDonald desperately needs, to help bolster his own offensive production, but to also rely upon a lineman who can ‘chip in’ as much as he does. It would also level up their prowess in comparison the Giants.
Over 65% of his points do come from assists, but he is also not shy to score goals, however he would elevate chances for MacDonald as well as anyone else who could line up with them, as he is finishing record stacks up to 32.5% of his points also come from goals.
2. Goal Threat; Players have been battling each game to establish a foot hold or even just to survive each night, scraping OT wins, one goal outcomes. It reads well, yet there was always something, missing.
A common take from the stands and viewers neutral to the club, is that there isn’t a player who can establish the authority of the game, as well as a player who can add that extra comfort on the scoresheet.
Ranford has shown consistency across the best leagues in Europe, with a career high last season in Slovakia for 19 goals.
His current form with HPK is considerably quieter but here is some potential context; the league is notoriously difficult to launch off on a scoring run, as it is very defensive.
His coach has publicly lamented how quiet his unit has become. It is the only misnomer across his career and very likely or even highly plausible, an outcome of the system he currently plays within, rather than a total sudden collapse.
3. Positional Versatility; as mentioned before, he can play both wing and centre, which adds extra options across the top deck, especially within the top 6.
The left wing is usually operated by MacDonald, Yaremko or Caron in the top 9. The RW usually slates in Olischefski, Barrow and Harewood.
It is known that Olischefski (53%) is good on the dots, however so is Mieho (58.8% FOW), alongside established options with Martin and Kontos.
Ranford would add another option to help balance not just for sake of points, but for role and structure.
Kontos already provides distribution, with 66.6% of his points from assists already, his goal scoring averages at 26.6% of his own total points so far this season.
Adding Ranford to the mix, would help provide further goal scoring and a player that can help Kontos explore his game, rather than being a sole distributor for his own line.
Ultimately, Ranford’s ability to operate across multiple forward positions gives the coaching staff greater flexibility, while potentially improving the balance between creativity, finishing and positional responsibility.
4. European Experience; as mentioned before, his extensive career has taken him across Europe, playing even in the IIHF Continental Cup against Devils and the Champions Hockey League, with current club of GB player, Liam Kirk at Eisbaren Berlin, scoring twice in 6 games back in the 2018/19 season, going for 6 points in that group stage.
The best of his career spanned from then until last season, with a remarkable P/PG pace to boot.
This demonstrates his ability to adapt to new situations and with the culture in the UK so similar to Canada, for Ranford it should be an easier adjustment. He would also likely feel more at home, as the league and the Devils team itself, is heavily populated by Canadians.
Conclusion
It goes without saying that his pedigree, experience and productivity would be exactly what this club would need. They aren’t the only ones. He would benefit all the top arena teams, even the Flames.
The market is competitive and for this league, ever more so. If Steelers were able to bring in Brett Ritchie, along with Sean Collins for example, then there is no reason that the Cardiff Devils should be ruled out for a player like Brendan Ranford.
He may be under contract with HPK for this season, however, with his line drying up and only one goal in 20GP, foreign players have been terminated from that league for a lot less, so if the opportunity were to present itself, then this is the window to act.
Now is the time to move, especially with lingering injuries and a clear friction from match results and game performances irritating coaches and fans alike, Ranford is one of the best suited available, a calibre of player that would win over their fanbase, who still question off-season acquisitions.
Sources
https://www.athletedom.com/database/hockey/players/brendan-ranford-480
https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/24082/brendan-ranford
https://www.hcslovan.sk/sk/article/navrat-%22strateneho-syna%22
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