Rangers Select Three European Players in CHL Import Draft Wednesday

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OHL Kitchener Rangers

Rangers Select Three European Players in CHL Import Draft Wednesday

July 2, 2025 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Kitchener Rangers News Release


Kitchener, Ont. - The Kitchener Rangers announced today that the club has selected goaltender Christian Kirsch (Switzerland), forward Oscar Alexander Hemming (Finland), and forward Heikki Ruohonen (Finland). Phonetic spelling and pronunciation to be updated shortly.

CHL Import Draft Results

Rangers Draft History

Kirsch is a left-catching goaltender who stands at six-foot-four and 201 pounds who spent last season mainly with the Janesville Jets in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) and appeared in three games with the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL. In 24 games with the Jets, Kirsch posted a 8-15-0 record with a 3.16 goals against average and 0.912 save percentage. He earned a call-up to represent Switzerland at the 2024-25 World Junior Championships in Ottawa in which he made four appearances. Christian has now represented his country at the U16, U17, U18, and U20 levels.

The Basel, Switzerland native was a fourth round draft choice of the San Jose Sharks (116th overall) in 2024 and has a commitment to play at the University of Massachusetts for the 2026-27 season.

Hemming stands at six-foot-three and 187 pounds and is a left shot forward that spent last season playing for Kiekko-Espoo U18 in the U18 SM-sarja in his native country of Finland. Oscar tore up the league producing at an impressive 2.03 points-per-game pace recording 35 goals and 28 assists in just 31 games as a 16 year old. He appeared in 18 games at the U20 SM-sarja level producing ten points (2G, 8A).

Oscar represented Finland at the U17 level recording a point-per-game with four goals and five assists in nine games. He is eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft.

Ruohonen stands in at six-foot-two and 205 pounds and is a left shot centerman out of Helsinki, Finland. Heikki spent last season in the USHL with the Dubuque Fighting Saints where he produced 39 points (16G, 23A) in 49 games and added four points (1G, 3A) in seven playoff games. He was a member of the silver medal winning Finnish side that competed in the 2024-25 World Junior Championships in Ottawa. He recorded seven points (4G, 3A) in eleven games during the tournament.

Heikki was selected in the fourth round (107th overall) of the NHL 2024 Entry Level Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers and has a commitment to Harvard University in the NCAA.

Notable players selected in the CHL Import Draft that have played for the Rangers are 2022 Stanley Cup Champion Gabriel Landeskog, Radek Faksa, Petr Kanko, Jakub Kindl, Tobias Rieder and Boris Valábik.

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