Prospect Info: Avs draft F Calum Ritchie (2023 #27 overall)

[Tommy Shelby]

Roy is the only reason MacK is here… so I wouldn’t say wasn’t productive.

There's no doubt in my mind that Pracey had a hard-on for Drouin

 

[JLo217]

There's no doubt in my mind that Pracey had a hard-on for Drouin

Well his vision came true! Just in time to destroy the Oilers depth for decades to come.

 

[henchman21]

There's no doubt in my mind that Pracey had a hard-on for Drouin

The scouts were hot after Barkov.

 

[SaltySkywalker]

That’s a good column on Calum

Do you feel good about yourself??

 

[Perratrooper]

The scouts were hot after Barkov.

Hard to say if MacK and Barkov aren’t very different players put in the opposite position. Landy-Barkov-Rantanen would be a damn good line in its own right. Obviously we have the cup now so I wouldn’t change the pick, but there were some years it was very unclear.

 

[JLo217]

Hard to say if MacK and Barkov aren’t very different players put in the opposite position. Landy-Barkov-Rantanen would be a damn good line in its own right. Obviously we have the cup now so I wouldn’t change the pick, but there were some years it was very unclear.

I think Barkov would've certainly been more consistent. But Mack at 6M was something special.

 

[henchman21]

Hard to say if MacK and Barkov aren’t very different players put in the opposite position. Landy-Barkov-Rantanen would be a damn good line in its own right. Obviously we have the cup now so I wouldn’t change the pick, but there were some years it was very unclear.

IMO both are amazing players and franchise centers you can build around. It would be a different type of team, but Barkov would have been great here too.

I wouldn't change that pick at all though. MacK was the right pick. Just kinda funny how Roy had to demand it... which probably started the whole Pracey/Roy fiasco.

 

[Perratrooper]

IMO both are amazing players and franchise centers you can build around. It would be a different type of team, but Barkov would have been great here too.

I wouldn't change that pick at all though. MacK was the right pick. Just kinda funny how Roy had to demand it... which probably started the whole Pracey/Roy fiasco.

Based on the released information oy was spot on for his first round picks Chychrun was also who he wanted over Jost. There was also the speculated trade of Duchene for Zib and Chabot, mix in Radulov and our window may have opened earlier (although we likely miss out of Makar).

 

[henchman21]

Based on the released information oy was spot on for his first round picks Chychrun was also who he wanted over Jost. There was also the speculated trade of Duchene for Zib and Chabot, mix in Radulov and our window may have opened earlier (although we likely miss out of Makar).

Ehh a bunch of woulda coulda shouldas... that we only can speculate on at this point. Avs ended up building a winning team and grabbed a Cup, hard to wish anything different upon things as a result.

 

[JLo217]

Precisely. I'll enjoy this one til whenever the next one happens while being wayyyy to over critical of the trading of random humans who push a vulcanized rubber disc around.

 

[Alienblood]

Gotta add Kaut to that as well.



For many years, the Nordiques/Avs were one of the best drafting teams in the league. From 87 to 2000 you'd be hard pressed to find a better drafting organization. It started falling off after that then it died around 2010.

I remember having high hopes for Kip Miller and Dwayne Norris ( Josh's dad)

both college stars and watched Kip a lot in Halifax with the Citadels , great player

The conventional wisdom that if the Avs had a goon Mccarthy wouldn't have happened, which led to mistakes like Grimes.

They had good like finding guys late like Hinote and Vrbata.

and Davey Jones and Svatos

 

[the_fan]

Do you feel good about yourself??

Never

 

[lionsDen]

Ritchie isn’t signed correct? Does that mean we’ll see him in training camp?

 

[Perratrooper]

Ehh a bunch of woulda coulda shouldas... that we only can speculate on at this point. Avs ended up building a winning team and grabbed a Cup, hard to wish anything different upon things as a result.

Not wishing, just wild to think about the other side of the coin. Again wouldn’t change anything cause we won a cup, a lot of great teams never do.

 

[Gruyeriev]

IMO both are amazing players and franchise centers you can build around. It would be a different type of team, but Barkov would have been great here too.

I wouldn't change that pick at all though. MacK was the right pick. Just kinda funny how Roy had to demand it... which probably started the whole Pracey/Roy fiasco.

I thought there was tension over the Bigras pick. Roy wanted someone else (maybe Erne?) but Pracey was like I wouldn’t over Bigras. I think it was footage of them on the draft floor discussing the pick but I might be wrong on that.

 

[henchman21]

I thought there was tension over the Bigras pick. Roy wanted someone else (maybe Erne?) but Pracey was like I wouldn’t over Bigras. I think it was footage of them on the draft floor discussing the pick but I might be wrong on that.

I don't know about the Bigras selection. Enough has come out after that it certainly wouldn't have been Erne though.

 

[Foppa2118]

I thought there was tension over the Bigras pick. Roy wanted someone else (maybe Erne?) but Pracey was like I wouldn’t over Bigras. I think it was footage of them on the draft floor discussing the pick but I might be wrong on that.

Roy was actually enamored with Bigras his first camp. He loved the way he played at first.

I would be surprised if he didn't like the pick. He can be stubborn and probably wouldn't have liked him that much so soon after.

I also remember the consensus being that since they didn't take Erne, that meant Roy wasn't particularly high on him, but that might have just been our speculation.

 

[Tommy Shelby]

I thought there was tension over the Bigras pick. Roy wanted someone else (maybe Erne?) but Pracey was like I wouldn’t over Bigras. I think it was footage of them on the draft floor discussing the pick but I might be wrong on that.

We know that the Jost pick had Roy fuming. My best guess is that he really wanted Chychrun, and at a time when our D was atrocious, a big, mobile, NHL-ready LD would have been absolutely perfect.

 

[Gruyeriev]

I don't know about the Bigras selection. Enough has come out after that it certainly wouldn't have been Erne though.

Maybe. Erne was just a guess since he played for him. It would have been a bit of a stretch at that pick.

 

[Gruyeriev]

Roy was actually enamored with Bigras his first camp. He loved the way he played at first.

I would be surprised if he didn't like the pick. He can be stubborn and probably wouldn't have liked him that much so soon after.

I also remember the consensus being that since they didn't take Erne, that meant Roy wasn't particularly high on him, but that might have just been our speculation.

I thought Bigras was going to be Toews type player. Boy was I wrong. I do remember him coming around to him. This was one of those nhl network draft specials and I just remember them arguing about the pick. Adam Erne was just an assumption on my part because he played for the Remparts and was taken later obviously but Roy strikes me as the type to take who he wants regardless of who is on the board.

 

[Foppa2118]

I thought Bigras was going to be Toews type player. Boy was I wrong. I do remember him coming around to him. This was one of those nhl network draft specials and I just remember them arguing about the pick. Adam Erne was just an assumption on my part because he played for the Remparts and was taken later obviously but Roy strikes me as the type to take who he wants regardless of who is on the board.

Yeah it's still a bit surprising to me that Bigras never made it. He was a very complete defenseman.

I think maybe he just didn't have the right mentality to battle through the ups and downs and the concussions early in his career didn't help.

I believe Pronger came up to the Avs at the draft and told them they made a great pick with Bigras too. He was highly thought of for a while.

 

[Hasbro]

Yeah it's still a bit surprising to me that Bigras never made it. He was a very complete defenseman.

I think maybe he just didn't have the right mentality to battle through the ups and downs and the concussions early in his career didn't help.

I believe Pronger came up to the Avs at the draft and told them they made a great pick with Bigras too. He was highly thought of for a while.

Still managed to be useful for this team.

 

[Tommy Shelby]

Yeah it's still a bit surprising to me that Bigras never made it. He was a very complete defenseman.

I think maybe he just didn't have the right mentality to battle through the ups and downs and the concussions early in his career didn't help.

I believe Pronger came up to the Avs at the draft and told them they made a great pick with Bigras too. He was highly thought of for a while.

Yeah, unfortunately the concussions ruined what could have otherwise been a pretty decent career.

 

[henchman21]

One of the keys to Bigras' game was his patience with the puck and being very willing to take contact to make plays. I once thought of this as a great thing (and to this day I still kinda think it is), but once he started facing competition that could close that space earlier... he started getting blown up a lot and at his size, he couldn't take the beating. If he was 6'3" 215... he might have had a better shot at withstanding it. At 6'1" 195... it is just hard to take that beating over and over in the NHL. Once he adjusted his play to not get blown up all the time, he was just a far less effective player.

Byram is a much more talented player and I expect will adjust his game over time, but his penchant for taking hits to make plays is a major reason he has injury issues.

 

[Alienblood]

Yeah it's still a bit surprising to me that Bigras never made it. He was a very complete defenseman.

I think maybe he just didn't have the right mentality to battle through the ups and downs and the concussions early in his career didn't help.

I believe Pronger came up to the Avs at the draft and told them they made a great pick with Bigras too. He was highly thought of for a while.

being mysteriously cut from.Team Canada after playing the year before on 1 ankle was strange but might have been foresight to something else