It’s that time of the year for The Win Column’s NHL Draft Rankings and Draft Profiles! The 2024 NHL Draft will be held on June 28 and 29 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
Next, we have Ryder Ritchie, the 26th-ranked prospect in our consolidated rankings. Ritchie is a high-energy, skilled offensive winger. He was selected 14th overall in the 2021 WHL draft and quickly became a top scorer for the lowly Prince Albert Raiders.
Who is Ryder Ritchie?
| PLAYER | POSITION | HANDEDNESS | HEIGHT | WEIGHT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryder Ritchie | F | R | 6’0″ | 174 lbs |
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Ritchie holds both Canadian and Swedish nationality. He’s spent his young career in Canada, playing in the CSSHL from his D-4 year through his D-2. Ritchie joined the Raiders in the WHL last year for his D-1 and—as I already mentioned—was immediately one of their best offensive weapons.
Ritchie’s on-ice production
| YEAR | DRAFT RELATIVE | LEAGUE | TEAM | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | D-4 | CSSHL U15 | Pursuit of Excellence U15 Prep | 29 | 12 | 18 | 30 |
| 2020–21 | D-3 | CSSHL U15 | RINK Hockey Academy K U15 Prep | 5 | 10 | 18 | 28 |
| 2021–22 | D-2 | CSSHL U18 | RINK Hockey Academy Kelowna U18 | 23 | 11 | 20 | 31 |
| 2022–23 | D-1 | WHL | Prince Albert Raiders | 61 | 20 | 35 | 55 |
| WHC-17 | Canada White U17 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2023–24 | D+0 | WHL | Prince Albert Raiders | 47 | 19 | 25 | 44 |
Ritchie played his D-4 season for the Pursuit of Excellence Bantam Prep in the CSSHL U15 Prep. He finished third on the team in points with 30 in 29 games, and his 12 goals were tied for fourth. Overall, a fairly productive season as a 14-year-old.
Ritchie’s D-3 season—the 2020–21 hockey season—was shortened due to the pandemic. He played just five games for Rink Hockey Academy Kelowna U15 Prep of the CSSHL’s BC U15 Prep. However, in those games, he amassed an obscene team-leading 28 points in those five games. Clearly, he was beyond that level of hockey.
For his D-2, Ritchie joined RINK Hockey Academy Kelowna U18 Prep of the CSSHL’s U18 Prep. Playing with the likes of Gavin McKenna—a top prospect eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft—and Tij Iginla, Ritchie recorded 31 points in 23 games. The point totals don’t jump off the page, but his 1.35 points per game was good for third on the team, behind McKenna and Iginla.
Ritchie moved up to the WHL to join the Raiders for his D-1 and did not look out of place, scoring 20 goals and 55 points in 61 games. He finished the season third in scoring on the Raiders. Unfortunately, Ritchie didn’t get a taste of playoff hockey in the WHL, as the Raiders finished second last in the Eastern Conference and missed the playoffs. He did, however, score a team-leading four goals in six games in the 2022 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge for Team White. Ritchie’s D-1 was capped off by being named the WHL’s Rookie of the Year.
Ritchie’s regular season performance as a sophomore this year didn’t exactly help his draft stock. He scored 19 goals and 44 points in 47 games, improving from a 0.90 PPG in his D-1 to a 0.94 PPG in his D+0. The Raiders did manage to sneak into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the East, though, where Ritchie led the team with three goals and seven points in a five-game first-round loss to the Saskatoon Blades.
While Ritchie didn’t have an inspiring regular season in his D+0 this year, his performance in the playoffs should give NHL teams reason to consider him. The Raiders scored a total of 11 goals in their first-round loss, and Ritchie’s seven points mean he factored in on 63% of their goals.
Ritchie’s strengths
Puck skills
Ritchie has really good hands; he handles and protects the puck at a high level. He combines this with very good skating ability to make him a threat in transition, as he’s usually the guy to carry the puck into the offensive zone. In the offensive zone, he puckhandles around opposing players looking to create a passing lane or shot opportunity.
Playmaking ability
Ritchie gets a lot of credit for his playmaking, and rightfully so. He’s good at using deception to hide his intentions, drawing defenders towards himself to open up a passing lane. He always seems to know where his teammates are and makes good, hard, tape-to-tape passes.
Shot
While his playmaking gets a lot of credit, one very well-refined area of Ritchie’s game that might be flying under the radar a bit is his shot. He’s good at changing angles to open up the goaltender, and he can pick a corner with apparent ease. He’s also not afraid to battle in front of the net and is often rewarded with a goal for his efforts. Ritchie can score in a variety of ways, which—combined with his playmaking ability—makes him a very dangerous player in the offensive zone.
Ritchie’s areas of improvement
Defence
There’s so much to like about Ritchie’s game, but the one thing that sticks out like a sore thumb is any kind of defensive presence. He’s far less visible in his own zone than he is in the offensive zone, where he buzzes around. He’ll make an effort to backcheck, but when he fails to recover the puck, he kind of just fades away.
In the offensive zone, he’s also guilty of trying to do too much. While he is usually rewarded for his efforts, I’ve also seen him lose the puck quite a bit because he’s trying to do too much on his own. Overall, Ritchie’s defensive game isn’t bad, but it could use some work if he’s to take the next step.
Ritchie’s comparables
A good comparison for Ritchie is the Ottawa Senators’ Ridly Greig. Greig was selected 28th overall in the 2020 draft, which is right around where Ritchie should go. Both are strong skaters with a good top-end speed. Both play a hard game but have the skill to supplement it and are dangerous in the offensive zone.
Greig finished up his rookie season this year with the Sens, scoring 13 goals and 26 points in 72 games while averaging 14:45 time on ice. Not a bad rookie season. Greig is becoming an invaluable middle-six forward for the Senators, which is great value for a late first. If Ritchie can follow a similar path, he’ll provide great value late in the first round.
A more established comparison might be Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane. Kane is a great skater with good speed and excellent puck-handling skills who plays the game with an edge. While Kane may be a disappointment because he didn’t live up to the expectations of being a fourth overall pick, he would have been an excellent pick late in the first round.
Fit with the Flames
While Ritchie can play all forward positions, it’s more likely he’ll become a winger at the NHL level. The Calgary Flames currently have a lot of depth on the wings, with young players like Martin Pospisil and Connor Zary—who can also play centre—already established in the NHL. Waiting in the wings (pun intended) are the likes of Matt Coronato, Jakob Pelletier, Samuel Honzek, Cole Schwindt, Aydar Suniev, and William Stromgren, who had an excellent second half for the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers this year.
It doesn’t hurt to have more depth because there’s no guarantee that all of these players pan out. However, if the Flames are picking late in the first round and a player like Michael Hage is still on the board, he’d be a much better fit for the team, given their lack of depth at centre. So, while there is a fit for Ritchie and the Flames, I think there will be players available still who are just as good but who may be a better fit.
Summary
Ritchie is very skilled with the puck, skates well, has great speed, can make plays, and can shoot the puck, too. He has a tantalizing skill set that should translate to the NHL, but he doesn’t do any of these things at a high enough level to become a top-line forward. That said, it took Brad Marchand until his late 20s to finally blossom into the elite talent we know him to be today.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Ritchie is a great choice late in the first round. I don’t think he has an incredibly high ceiling, though, and there are other players ranked in the same range who I prefer for various reasons. Make no mistake, I think spending a pick on him late in the first round is great value, but I want to see the Flames taking a swing on players with a higher ceiling.
Risk: 2.5/5
Reward: 3.5/5
Projection: Middle-six energy forward
Check out all of The Win Column’s individual player profiles of selected 2024 NHL Draft prospects:
Macklin Celebrini | Ivan Demidov | Artyom Levshunov | Sam Dickinson | Cayden Lindstrom | Berkly Catton | Cole Eiserman | Zeev Buium | Konsta Helenius | Zayne Parekh | Carter Yakemchuk | Anton Silayev | Tij Iginla | Adam Jiricek | Michael Brandsegg-Nygard | Liam Greentree | Igor Chernyshov | Trevor Connelly | Aron Kiviharju | Michael Hage | Ryder Ritchie | Sacha Boisvert | Nikita Artamonov | Maxim Masse | Cole Hutson | Beckett Sennecke
