Colorado Avalanche Prospect Calum Ritchie Needs Strong Rookie Showing – Hockey Writers –

The Colorado Avalanche will soon descend on El Segundo, California to participate in the NHL’s Rookie Faceoff Tournament, hosted this season by the Los Angeles Kings from September 13-16. In addition to the Avalanche and the Kings, five other franchises will send their top prospects to the annual show: Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken, Utah Hockey Club, and Vegas Golden Knights.

Top prospect Calum Ritchie will benefit from an impressive Avalanche lineup that includes the likes of Oskar Olausson, Sean Behrens, and Ivan Ivan, all of whom will be hoping to earn an NHL interview this season.

Related: 3 Bold Colorado Avalanche Predictions for the 2024-25 Season

Due to the terms of the NHL-CHL Transfer Agreement, Ritchie is ineligible to play in the American Hockey League (AHL) this season and must play for the Avalanche or the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). For that reason, a strong performance is needed at this center if we hope to stay with the big club in 2024-25, or face another year in charge of the junior circuit.

Ritchie has a little more to prove in the OHL

Ritchie is coming off a strong 2023-24 season in which he led the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in scoring after tallying 28 goals and 80 points in 50 games. On a per-game basis, Ritchie ranks sixth among all OHL skaters in both assists (1.04) and points (1.6). He followed up his regular season performance with eight more goals and 30 points in 21 playoff games as the Generals were swept by the London Knights in the OHL Championship Series.

Ritchie’s 2023-24 season was interrupted by a shoulder injury that began in 2022 with the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, an injury that later required surgery and kept him out until November 2023. Barring another injury, Ritchie should fight for a full NHL roster spot . in training camp and failing that, lead the Generals’ and Team Canada’s competitive efforts at the 2025 World Junior Championship.

It is unlikely that Ritchie will make the Avalanche Roster in 2024-25

While Ritchie has little to prove in the minors, the Avalanche’s enviable center depth will prevent him from making the program out of camp or exceeding the nine-game limit.

Nathan MacKinnon scored 140 points last season and won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP for the first time in his career. Casey Mittelstadt looks to have finally filled the same hole that Colorado’s Nazem Kadri had with nine points in 11 playoff games last season, while Ross Colton scored 17 goals and 40 points on the third line in his first season with the Avalanche.

Without a trade, that leaves Ritchie battling a handful of hopefuls for the fourth-line spot, a role that doesn’t suit his current set. Despite the nine-game test, Ritchie will be better served in OHL management and play a leading role in all situations at the World Juniors while combining his defensive game and penalty-killing skills. He wouldn’t have that luxury in Colorado.

NHL-CHL Deal Major Roadblock

Under the terms of the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, a player on an entry-level contract (ELC) is eligible to play nine NHL games in one season without burning out the first year of his contract and starting to count down to the free limit. organization.

The NHL-CHL-or-nothing nature means there is no margin for error for Ritchie. Either the 19-year-old is too good in the OHL which — for all his potential — he’s not, or he’s getting a ton of repetitions with the puck in high situations at a low level of competition.

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The Avalanche could give Ritchie a taste of NHL life without compromising his ELC status to reward his play in the OHL and send him down to challenge for the Memorial Cup and World Junior crown. It’s a developmental pattern that’s played out around the league for years, and Ritchie may be the latest example of the league’s frustrating balance sheet.

Considering the 2022 situation, the fourth pick Shane Wright found himself in last season should encourage caution in the sense of letting Ritchie sink or swim alone without the raft of AHL life looming behind him. Unless they’re a Connor McDavid-level prodigy, even highly touted prospects need time to mature and won’t be frustrated for long in the OHL.

Staying in the OHL Best of Ritchie’s Development

If Ritchie hopes to make the Avalanche straight out of training camp, he must first show that he is jumpy and bound ahead of his peers at the upcoming Futures Show. If he can’t show that he needs a bigger challenge by clearly surpassing weaker competition, the demands of a full-time gig in the NHL may be out of his sights. History has shown that it’s not the worst of expectations, and Ritchie could do a lot worse than play the role of champion for a major championship contender.