Prospect Info: 2023-24 Prospect Info (CHL, NCAA, Europe)

[henchman21]

From this clip I see good vision. I see him going to the dirty area. I can’t comment on his skating as they’re hanging out at the blue line, in this clip. I’ve read a little bit on him a lot has been said about his playmaking/vison. Open question, what else can I pull from the clip?

Calum Ritchie - 2023 NHL Draft Prospect Profile - The Hockey Writers Latest News, Analysis & More

Calum Ritchie 2022:23 Team: Oshawa Generals (OHL)DOB: January 21, 2005Place of Birth: Brampton, ON, CanadaHt: 6’2″ Wt: 187 poundsShoots: RightPosition: CenterNHL Draft Eligibility: 2023 Draft Eligible Rankings THW – Horn:…

thehockeywriters.com

Ritchie is a skilled, offensive centerman with pro size and top-tier hockey IQ. When he is at his best, he’ll dazzle fans and his opponents with silky-smooth stickwork, allowing him to maneuver through crowds and into the scoring areas of the ice. Once he is in those areas, he often looks to find the perfect way to finish the play, whether it’s a heavy wrist shot or a pass to an open teammate. He is quite adept at surveying his options and executing based on the decisions he makes. He’s the type of player that makes things happen almost every time he’s on the ice, one way or another.

There are very very few kids/prospects that are perfect. If those flaws can be identified and coached up.

IMHO I think you have to have good skating and smarts to make it. I appreciate posting the clips… lowlight clips would be awesome as well. Ty

I mean I’d say his acceleration isn’t the greatest in that clip.

You see the vision, creativity and hands in that clip. A big guy who saw a lane was unavailable, made a nice move to change the angle, found a lane and made a really nice backhand pass. That's the type of plays he can make with his skill set. We can debate the level of defense and other things there, but that's the takeaway from that highlight.

I don't think there are a ton of publicly available on-demand options available for the OHL. They have a very good streaming service, but is a bit pricey for most. Beyond watching those games or waiting for a YouTuber to post a shift by shift, you're probably not going to get a ton of lowlights. Social media teams really don't make it a habit of showing bad things... just the flashes.

 

[S E P H]

It seems all our prospects sort of suck nowadays and one of the reasons why is that teams just get better freshmen classes and players get reduced roles. Will Smith is a perfect example of what I mean, Ambrosio is probably limited in talent at this time, but you mostly see seniors in the top 6 regardless of whether they are good or not. But because Smith is a beast, he automatically gets 2nd line minutes.

- Makar is on 2nd line at UMass. Had a good weekend, but meh season so far.
- Buyalsky has been in and out of the lineup, I think he got injured and hasn't looked right. He's been on the third line from the games I've seen, but no excuse for the lack of product at this stage.
- Ambrosio has been on the third line most times this season, but he found himself on the 4th line last game. Reverting in form compared to junior season.
- Behrens has been pretty solid, but I just want to see a bit more offensively.
- Foudy and Jedlicka both still injured.
- Zhigalov actually becoming worse.
- Ishimnikov also becoming worse.

Some prospects have gotten better like Kovalenko, Gulyayev, Ritchie, but few and far between. Our prospect pool got a bit overrated in the NHL rankings, we definitely not in the middle of the pack at this stage (gotta be bottom 10). Hard to see what prospects coming through actually help this team down the road, because I see maybe 2-3 at tops and that simply is not good enough.

In better news, CC swept #1 Fighting Sioux. Get wrecked.

 

[95snipes]

They are not good offensively that's for sure. They just don't drive the play 5v5 very well at all. There is some talent there, but they score mostly off their top guys grouping together for a 1:30 PP shift.

People may consider it harsh, but just look at the last few years... if you don't average 1.5+ post draft, you typically are not a high end scorer. 1.4 is probably the low end of acceptable. 1.3 and below is just not a promising sign for guys to translate as impact scorers. From the 23 draft alone you have Musty, Rehkopf, and Cowen all rolling. Dvorsky was struggling but has been a monster the last two weeks. Maybe if you're an import you should get some of a break, but not a huge one (I screamed about this on OO too). IE Sale should be getting heat as he's not up to snuff.

It is early and it can turn around quick... but I'd be very disappointed if Ritchie ended the season around 1.3ppg. Production isn't the end all be all, but odds are very high if you don't produce as a +1 in junior... you can't produce in the NHL.

Sale seems like he's going to be a huge waste of talent.

What do you make of Danielson's modest production? I haven't been watching the CHL this year.

Going to hurt if Ritchie busts and we see all these other prospects hit right around him.

The 2023 D+1 season has been pretty damn impressive.

The 2023 is a disappointment for me. ~15 months ago it was tracking to be another 2015 caliber draft with the possibility of 10ish franchise caliber talents. Now it looks like it'll be similar to 2006 or 2013. Strong at the top, good talent throughout, but not special.

I just really hope they don't "Kaut" him, and ship him out before he turns out to be a nothing in the NHL.

I bet Pracey would love to get his hands on him, maybe swing a sneaky deal with the Oilers for Beau Akey who would fit the system like a glove

God no to Ritchie for Akey.

 

[henchman21]

Sale seems like he's going to be a huge waste of talent.

What do you make of Danielson's modest production? I haven't been watching the CHL this year.

Yeah the flashes with Sale are there, but he's just so disinterested or stupid... can't tell which.

Danielson's production is certainly a concern. In the Dub, you really need to be a bit higher even than the OHL. There were offensive level questions coming into his draft year that were pushed down the simply because he really ticked up his production in his draft year. Which if you dive into the why it happened... it was mostly power play and he was showing some translatable ability there (namely his shot). Something like 37 of his 78 points in his draft season were on the powerplay and 20+ of them were due to his shot either as goals or rebounds. I think he had less 5v5 points than he did PP points. This season, his scoring on the PP is just completely gone. I think it is less than 5 points so far. His 5v5 scoring is up significantly. Along with that, he's showing signs of his offense taking off (he had a really bad start). It does raise questions of his ultimate offensive upside though. He's not a great playmaker, so when his shot goes dry... the offense just isn't a high level. If he's not used heavily on the PP as a trigger man, his points there dry up. Which probably points to him being a streaky offense, but very good defensive center. I'd really like to see him push 2ppg down the stretch and for the power play goals to come back. That would go a long ways to ease the offensive concerns in his game.

 

[BobRossColton]

How about hanzel?

 

[UncleRisto]

How about hanzel?

He and his sister burned an old woman to death. They're going away for a while.

 

[henchman21]

How about hanzel?

Seattle is terrible and Hanzel is an old. Hard to really glean anything from his play.

 

[LTCPain75]

Seattle is terrible and Hanzel is an old. Hard to really glean anything from his play.

Hanzel is an old what???

 

[Foppa2118]

It seems all our prospects sort of suck nowadays....

Last pick in the top 24, let alone the top 10, was 5 drafts ago in 2019 with Byram. Further illustrates their problems in this area.

 

[dmac7719]

Hanzel is an old what???

He's an overager in the CHL. He's old for the league.

 

[95snipes]

Yeah the flashes with Sale are there, but he's just so disinterested or stupid... can't tell which.

Danielson's production is certainly a concern. In the Dub, you really need to be a bit higher even than the OHL. There were offensive level questions coming into his draft year that were pushed down the simply because he really ticked up his production in his draft year. Which if you dive into the why it happened... it was mostly power play and he was showing some translatable ability there (namely his shot). Something like 37 of his 78 points in his draft season were on the powerplay and 20+ of them were due to his shot either as goals or rebounds. I think he had less 5v5 points than he did PP points. This season, his scoring on the PP is just completely gone. I think it is less than 5 points so far. His 5v5 scoring is up significantly. Along with that, he's showing signs of his offense taking off (he had a really bad start). It does raise questions of his ultimate offensive upside though. He's not a great playmaker, so when his shot goes dry... the offense just isn't a high level. If he's not used heavily on the PP as a trigger man, his points there dry up. Which probably points to him being a streaky offense, but very good defensive center. I'd really like to see him push 2ppg down the stretch and for the power play goals to come back. That would go a long ways to ease the offensive concerns in his game.

Seems to me Sale hasn't progressed much at all from what he showed at the '22 U18s. 21 points in 25 games as a +1 in the OHL is quite bad for a player like that.

Interesting thoughts on Danielson. Last year when I watched Brandon, Danielson looked like a near NHL ready player on an island without much of a supporting cast. Brandon seems like a fairly decent team this year though. I don't think Danielson will be playing the halfwall on an NHL teams PP1. Maybe bumper on PP1 or PP2.

 

[henchman21]

Seems to me Sale hasn't progressed much at all from what he showed at the '22 U18s. 21 points in 25 games as a +1 in the OHL is quite bad for a player like that.

Interesting thoughts on Danielson. Last year when I watched Brandon, Danielson looked like a near NHL ready player on an island without much of a supporting cast. Brandon seems like a fairly decent team this year though. I don't think Danielson will be playing the halfwall on an NHL teams PP1. Maybe bumper on PP1 or PP2.

I think Sale has all the talent in the world.. drive and IQ are just two huge questions. He scared me off last year to where he likely wouldn't have been on a draft list to me... maybe as a late 2nd or later sort of guy, but he was never falling that far.

In the preseason Danielson looked NHL ready. I think he is from a defensive, size, strength, and mental aspect... offensive upside is the real question. Is he a streaky 3C? Does he have enough to be a 2C? Does he take a jump and get to that low end 1C level? I think Danielson can be a trigger man, but not much more on the PP. In the bumper he'd have to develop tip skills. If he does that I think he can be a PP1 guy. If he doesn't, he's a 2nd unit trigger guy. I don't think his shot is elite to make it as a top unit guy in the NHL, but it is very good.

 

[Bender]

He and his sister burned an old woman to death. They're going away for a while.

She had it coming...

 

[AvsFan2123]

I haven’t been here in a while. I usually come and go when there’s things I want to say or ask. But this first one. Owen Allard. The guy invited to our prospect camp that we shit on. Is the guy still currently on Canada’s WJC team after a round of cuts? That’s him lol? Former skills coach son actually playing fairly well in OHL?

 

[tigervixxxen]

I haven’t been here in a while. I usually come and go when there’s things I want to say or ask. But this first one. Owen Allard. The guy invited to our prospect camp that we shit on. Is the guy still currently on Canada’s WJC team after a round of cuts? That’s him lol? Former skills coach son actually playing fairly well in OHL?

They just take a random grinder every year. Maybe he’ll get a ELC out of it somewhere.

Full access to the CHL is only $100 USD for the rest of the year, so get your prospects watching on.

 

[The Merchant]

 

[Tommy Shelby]

Honestly, 27th might be too high

 

[Metallo]

I'm happy we are even ranked. I wasn't sure we would appear on the radar.

 

[Hasbro]

Ha Ha! Suck it Pittsburgh!

 

[UncleRisto]

What the hell, Ottawa?

 

[Pokecheque]

I think those rankings are pretty bunk. No way is Ottawa’s prospect bin worse than Colorado’s.

 

[S E P H]

I think those rankings are pretty bunk. No way is Ottawa’s prospect bin worse than Colorado’s.

Scouch is huge in analytics and I guess that is why some of his rankings seem iffy. He's hit or miss with me, he has some really good takes, but he also has undervalued some great prospects in the past. I don't remember clearly who it was, but I think he was really low on Perfetti or someone similar citing numbers as the reason why and that take backfired on him. Nonetheless, he has highlighted some really good hidden gems, that could honestly be his best attribute.

 

[McMetal]

https://x.com/HockeyNewsHub/status/1739299681509793867?s=20

This could end up being a pretty big deal if they do implement this. I don't know if it would impact Kovalenko, but it would definitely cover Gulyayev, to say nothing of potential stars like Michkov.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

https://x.com/HockeyNewsHub/status/1739299681509793867?s=20

This could end up being a pretty big deal if they do implement this. I don't know if it would impact Kovalenko, but it would definitely cover Gulyayev, to say nothing of potential stars like Michkov.

Feel like the iron curtain is being drawn closed again.

 

[Caser]

https://x.com/HockeyNewsHub/status/1739299681509793867?s=20

This could end up being a pretty big deal if they do implement this. I don't know if it would impact Kovalenko, but it would definitely cover Gulyayev, to say nothing of potential stars like Michkov.

I'd suggest to googletranslate the article that this guy uses as a source and find out that there's nothing in there of what he is posting in this tweet.