A two-time Stanley Cup champion has officially been inducted into the Kitchener Rangers’ Level of Legacy. The team took a moment before their game against the Guelph Storm on Tuesday to honour Michael Richards, a former Kitchener Ranger. He was drafted to the team fourth overall during the 2011 Ontario Hockey League priority selection and hit the ice with following season. According to the team, he posted 58 points in 65 games during his rookie campaign. The next year, he continued to dominate, collecting 87 points in 67 games. He was part of the 2003 team that claimed the Memorial Cup. Later that year, the Philadelphia Flyers chose him 24th overall during the 2003 NHL entry draft. He played for the Rangers for two more seasons before making his NHL debut in 2005. He lit the lamp during his first game with the Flyers on Oct. 5, 2005. At just 23-years-old, he became the Flyers’ captain. From there, he went on to play for Canada’s gold-medal winning team at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. Richards was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 2011. He was part of the Stanley Cup winning teams in 2012 and 2014 and retired in 2015. On Wednesday, he acknowledged the role the Kitchener Rangers and the team’s fans had in his career. ‘Whether it was packing the Aud on Friday nights or Saturday games on the road, the Ranger fans were always there cheering us on and we always appreciated it,” Richards said. “Thanks for everything. Thanks for tonight.” He also took time to thank the billet family that took him in while he played for the Blueshirts. “It’s not easy taking a 16-year-old into your home who didn’t talk much and was as awkward as I was, but you made it work,” he said. Richards is the third person to be honoured with a spot in the Level of Legacy following the inductions of Brian Bellows and Pete DeBoer.
