Nick Ritchie
| Birthday: 1995-12-05 | Position: LW |
| Eligible for draft: 2014 | Shoots: Left |
| Drafted: 2014 | Height: 6-2 |
| Acquired: 1st round (10th overall), 2014 | Weight: 227 lbs. |
Probability of Success
- C
History
2010-11: Nick Ritchie appeared in a junior game as a 15-year-old — skating with the OJHL’s Georgetown Raiders — and was one of the top forwards for the Toronto Marlboros minor midget AAA team. Ritchie scored 50 goals with 45 assists and had 119 penalty minutes in 68 games. The Marlboros competed in the OHL Cup and Ritchie scored 5 goals with 4 assists and 10 penalty minutes in seven games. He played for Team Ontario in the Canada Winter Games; scoring 2 goals with 2 assists and 38 penalty minutes in six games. Ritchie was the second player taken in the OHL Priority Draft when he was selected in the first round by Peterborough.
2011-12: Ritchie was one of the youngest players in the OHL; skating in 62 games for the Peterborough Petes in his rookie season. He scored 16 goals with 23 assists and was -22 with 60 penalty minutes. Peterborough finishing fourth in the East Division; missing the playoffs. Ritchie played for third-place Canada Ontario in the 2012 U17 World Hockey Challenge; scoring 1 goal with 2 assists and 2 penalty minutes in three games.
2012-13: Ritchie was the third-leading scorer for Peterborough in his second OHL season and played for Canada’s U18 team in a pair of tournaments. Despite an early season shoulder injury that forced him to miss most of the first two months, he scored 18 goals, one behind co-leaders Brett Findlay and Stephen Pierog, and had 17 assists in 41 games and was -10 with 50 penalty minutes. Peterborough had the OHL’s third-worst record and missed the playoffs after finishing fourth in the East Division. Ritchie won a pair of gold medals with Canada, scoring 1 goal with 1 assist and finishing +2 with 31 penalty minutes in five games at the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and scoring 1 goal with 3 assists in four games at the 2013 U18 World Junior Championship.
2013-14: Ritchie attended Canada’ U18 team summer camp before returning to Peterborough for his third season and was named an assistant captain for the Petes.Ritchie led Peterborough in points and penalty minutes — scoring 39 goals with 35 assists in 61 games while finishing +4 with 136 penalty minutes. The Petes finished third in the East Division and reached the second round in the playoffs. Ritchie scored 5 goals with 5 assists and was -5 with 24 penalty minutes in 11 playoff games. Ritchie was ranked seventh in the Central Scouting final rankings and was selected by Anaheim in the first round (10th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft. He signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Ducks in August 2014.
2014-15: Ritchie attended his first training camp with Anaheim before being returned to Peterborough for his fourth OHL season. He was also a part of Canada’s gold medal winning U20 team at the 2014 World Junior Championship. Ritchie was the leading scorer for Peterborough before leaving for the WJC, scoring 14 goals with 18 assists in 25 games. He was traded to Sault Ste. Marie during the World Juniors, finishing the year with the Greyhounds. Limited to 23 regular season games with the Greyhounds due to concussion issues, he finished the year with 29 goals and 33 assists and was +1 (+11 with Sault Ste. Marie) with 113 penalty minutes in 48 games. The Greyhounds finished first in the West Division and reached the Western Conference finals. Ritchie scored 13 goals with 13 assists and was +7 with 28 penalty minutes in 14 playoff games.
Talent Analysis
Ritchie has all the makings of a prototypical, Eric Lindros-type power forward. A big bodied winger with smooth hands and a shooting touch, he is not overly aggressive to make the big hit, but when he does make contact he’s probably one of the smoothest hitters in the game. As with any player his size, his agility and flexibility are two areas that could improve. But he dominated at the junior level and should be effective as he continues to develop.
Future
Ritchie made his NHL debut with the Ducks in a November 16th game against Carolina and has shuffled between Anaheim and AHL affiliate San Diego in 2015-16. Seeing limited ice time at the NHL level as a 20-year-old, he has scored at a nearly point-per-game pace in the AHL while providing crunch in the Gulls' lineup. Ritchie projects as an effective power forward who is tough to move off the puck and in the corners. He has the shot and offensive instincts to be a consistent scorer, too.
