Paul Ranger Excited For ‘New Beginning’ With Toronto Marlies 
In 2007-08, Ranger had scored 10 goals and 31 points for the Lightning, averaging more than 25 minutes per game — the second-most on the team — as an all-purpose defender. Nearly three years after walking away from a National Hockey League career, Paul Ranger walked up to every reporter and every person holding a camera at the MasterCard centre, the training facility for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Marlies, and shook their hands.
It was the first day of the Marlies’ training camp, and the first day of the rest of Rangers’ hockey careeer. There has been plenty of speculation as to why Ranger, then a 25-year-old defenceman with the Tampa Bay Lightning, left the game in the first place. Personal reasons, we have been told. Ranger did not speak about it then, nor did he speak about it Thursday.
But after introducing himself, he talked about how good it was to be back after what seemed like an eternity away from the game he loved. And as spoke, his eyes went red and started to water.
Ranger managed to hold it together, but you could tell this was difficult for him. Something is buried back there in his past, and whatever it was nearly cost him his career. So this second chance is something special.
“It is a new beginning for me, in a way,” Ranger said, smiling. “It’s going to be a good road. I’m excited.”
The last time Paul Ranger laced up his skates in the NHL was on Oct. 22, 2009 when he played 17 minutes and seven seconds in a 5-2 win against the San Jose Sharks. Two days later, he left the team for personal reasons and did not return.
It was a shocking exit for a player who seemed poised for success. In 2007-08, Ranger had scored 10 goals and 31 points for the Lightning, averaging more than 25 minutes per game — the second-most on the team — as an all-purpose defender. But the following season, he played only 42 games because of a shoulder problem that eventually required surgery.
Then, after playing in eight games in 2009-10, Ranger walked away.
For a time, he studied at the University of Ottawa. But he eventually found his way back to the rink and Ontario Hockey League commissioner David Branch, who coached Ranger when he played for the Whitby Wildcats, asked if he wanted to help out with his old Major Bantam Triple-A team.
“It was a situation where it really was a win-win,” Branch said. “Paul’s a bright person. He has an ability to teach and pass along ideas and he brought instant credibility with the young guys.
“The other part was that the kids on the team kind of helped him get back the love of the game. Paul plays the game for all the right reasons. He plays it because he loves it. He plays it because it’s a game and for no other reason.”
As the season wore on, Branch said that he started to see a change in Ranger. The two never really talked about why he left or whether he would ever return, but Branch sensed that a fire had been lit.
“The defining moment was a tournament that we played in Port Huron, Mich., where we played a team from Shattuck-St. Mary’s,” Branch said. “It was a fabulous, back-and-forth game, but they scored an empty-net goal and we lost 7-5. On the way back, Paul says, ‘That’s the most fun I’ve had in years.’
“That was the moment. You could just feel it. You could tell a lot of things were going through his mind.”
After the team went all the way and won the Ontario Minor Hockey Association championship, Ranger was fully convinced that he needed to get back to playing. He missed the game. More than that, he missed being part of a team and working towards a common goal.
“We won the OMHA championships,” Ranger said. “I remember as a kid playing for that team, and we had the team to do it but never did. To go back and win it in a really exciting game against our rival, even as a coach, was the best feeling. It was the best I’ve felt in a long time.”
When the season ended, Ranger went into the gym and started working towards a comeback. He had simple goals at first: get back into game shape and hope some team would take a chance on him.
The Leafs were the first to call, offering a one-year American Hockey League contract.
“He never left our radar,” said Dave Poulin, the team’s vice-president of hockey operations. “But it had to be totally on the player’s time.”
“I didn’t really think about playing anywhere else, to be honest,” Ranger said. “This was a little bit of a blessing in disguise, you could say. I wanted to play here. I’ve thought about it actually for a year. It’s great to be home. I love my family and friends. It’s been a bit of a tough road, but it feels great to be here.”
Where this road will lead is entirely up to Ranger. He said he wants “to get back to where he was,” but is not thinking about a leap to the NHL just yet. Right now, he simply wants to feel what those 14- and 15-year-old kids he coached felt every time they stepped on the ice. He wants to play because it is fun.
“I love the game, pure and simple,” said Ranger. “There’s a lot of things I think that surround professional sports in general that a lot of people don’t see or choose to ignore, plain and simple. But for me, I love playing the game.”
