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

[tigervixxxen]

Byram doesn’t have injury issues, he had his first bodily injury of his career including junior last year when everyone else got a free pass for a short summer. The concussions were from a fight, a high late hit and a board battle chicken wing. I think he’s done a good job avoiding dangerous contact since the concussion issues have subsided.

Anyway, I wrote this about Ritchie so thought I’d share.

Colorado Avalanche Top 25 Under 25: #3 Calum Ritchie

Do the Avalanche finally have an answer at 2C?

www.milehighhockey.com

 

[Foppa2118]

Byram doesn’t have injury issues, he had his first bodily injury of his career including junior last year when everyone else got a free pass for a short summer. The concussions were from a fight, a high late hit and a board battle chicken wing. I think he’s done a good job avoiding dangerous contact since the concussion issues have subsided.

Anyway, I wrote this about Ritchie so thought I’d share.

Colorado Avalanche Top 25 Under 25: #3 Calum Ritchie

Do the Avalanche finally have an answer at 2C?

www.milehighhockey.com

Yeah he changed his style a bit last year. He doesn't take hits to make plays as much anymore, which is a good thing. He has taken a few big hits since his last concussion though, but he seemed to handle them ok.

It was almost not as much about his size, as the way he did it, and how frequently. He'd do it at least once a game, which is probably too much with the speed of the game (making the hits harder) and it always looked like he didn't really brace himself at all.

He'd often just admire his pass too much and look like he thought the guy would just bounce off him, because that's what happened in junior.

I still think he needs to bulk up his upper body and neck/traps a bit more so he can brace for hits better and help stabilize his head better when hit. The stronger upper body will help with his physical style of defending too. Hopefully he worked on that during the summer and also keeps the same approach of not taking as many hits to make plays.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Byram doesn’t have injury issues, he had his first bodily injury of his career including junior last year when everyone else got a free pass for a short summer. The concussions were from a fight, a high late hit and a board battle chicken wing. I think he’s done a good job avoiding dangerous contact since the concussion issues have subsided.

Anyway, I wrote this about Ritchie so thought I’d share.

Colorado Avalanche Top 25 Under 25: #3 Calum Ritchie

Do the Avalanche finally have an answer at 2C?

www.milehighhockey.com

Really appreciate you sharing the article here.

I'm guilty of not visiting your site as often as I'd probably like. I spend too much time posting silly remarks here.

I saw you mentioned McKenzie thinks he's got good potential to be a high end 2C. Do you have an NHL comparable for how you think he'll end up? Would PLD be a complete over-reach?

 

[S E P H]

Byram doesn’t have injury issues, he had his first bodily injury of his career including junior last year when everyone else got a free pass for a short summer. The concussions were from a fight, a high late hit and a board battle chicken wing. I think he’s done a good job avoiding dangerous contact since the concussion issues have subsided.

Anyway, I wrote this about Ritchie so thought I’d share.

Colorado Avalanche Top 25 Under 25: #3 Calum Ritchie

Do the Avalanche finally have an answer at 2C?

www.milehighhockey.com

Which of the loonies on that site put Buyalsky at 24th overall? OMFG, over Miner and Romaine of all players? That has to be an April Fool's joke of a list. Andre had a very good season in a very tough college conference, Romaine didn't even score a goal in the USHL where most players don't even get NCAA college commitments.

Byram absolutely has injury issues in terms of more concussions = lesser of a chance of him reaching his potential.

 

[henchman21]

Which of the loonies on that site put Buyalsky at 24th overall? OMFG, over Miner and Romaine of all players? That has to be an April Fool's joke of a list. Andre had a very good season in a very tough college conference, Romaine didn't even score a goal in the USHL where most players don't even get NCAA college commitments.

Byram absolutely has injury issues in terms of more concussions = lesser of a chance of him reaching his potential.

I'd argue the more egregious is the Taylor Makar ranking... especially with some of the words in there that are just completely false.

It is pretty absurd to say Byram doesn't have injury issue. Dude has missed more NHL games than he has played, due to injury. Concussions impact a major part of the body and are one of the more common injuries in hockey... and the claim by @tigervixxxen that Byram avoids dangerous contact is pretty odd considering his fights, the fact that he's one of the most hit defensemen in the league, and he yaps all the time causing scrums where he participates (where gloves punches to the head are common).

 

[95snipes]

Which of the loonies on that site put Buyalsky at 24th overall? OMFG, over Miner and Romaine of all players? That has to be an April Fool's joke of a list. Andre had a very good season in a very tough college conference, Romaine didn't even score a goal in the USHL where most players don't even get NCAA college commitments.

Byram absolutely has injury issues in terms of more concussions = lesser of a chance of him reaching his potential.

I'm not arguing for Romaine here. He is what he is, a 6th rounder that probably won't make it.

What do you mean by the bolded though? If you played ushl more than a handful of games, you are pretty much guaranteed to go D1 unless you can't pass clearinghouse. You're more likely to get drafted than not play NCAA hockey.

 

[henchman21]

I'm not arguing for Romaine here. He is what he is, a 6th rounder that probably won't make it.

What do you mean by the bolded though? If you played ushl more than a handful of games, you are pretty much guaranteed to go D1 unless you can't pass clearinghouse. You're more likely to get drafted than not play NCAA hockey.

The USHL hasn’t publicized it in a bit, but they used to claim 95% of players get D1 opportunities. That was pumped up by not saying scholarships… but my last recollection was 75-80% of the league get scholarships. It is probably roughly in that area today.

Romaine specifically will be at Providence. Too many connections there.

 

[S E P H]

I'm not arguing for Romaine here. He is what he is, a 6th rounder that probably won't make it.

What do you mean by the bolded though? If you played ushl more than a handful of games, you are pretty much guaranteed to go D1 unless you can't pass clearinghouse. You're more likely to get drafted than not play NCAA hockey.

There are at least 6-10 college commitments on every single USHL team, but BCHL (lesser by Ontario and Alberta junior A hockey) has definitely taken some of their thunder. Now BCHL isn't getting the top-tier college prospects like Celebrini or Power, but is filling the depth of these college clubs by taking commitments from other USHLers.

Also, some colleges throw a lot of USHL guys' bones with scholarships at the last second and are considered depth fodder, but their school is wealthy enough to do it. I am thinking of DU, BC, BU, Michigan, and Minnesota here and others fit that bill like Duluth, North Dakota, or Notre Dame to name a few. Don't forget that the NCAA has gained a lot of teams in the past ten years and lost maybe 1-3 (Alabama-Huntsville permanent until they find a conference, Alaskas' for like a season, and Robert Morris for a second). More DI teams = more chance for USHLers to get a commitment, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are good.

 

[henchman21]

I think when we are talking impactful college players from USHL teams, your average one will end up having ~8 impactful college players. By that I mean a 2+ year top 6 guy, 2+ year top 4 guy, or starting goalies... or a legit 1 and done guy like a Celebrini. The best teams like Chicago and Youngstown have 12-15+. On the flip, last year I'm not sure the Lancers had more than 3 guys who fit that bill (Romaine didn't look like one).

All that said, I think there is a real argument to be made that the USHL is the best junior league in the world right now. They produce the most NHLers. They have for years provided some of the best depth for the NHL. That creeped into providing some impact guys about a decade ago. Now they are producing legit stars. OHL still produces a bit more in the middle (the 2nd line/middle pairing sorts), but the USHL is pretty much better everywhere else now.

 

[95snipes]

There are at least 6-10 college commitments on every single USHL team, but BCHL (lesser by Ontario and Alberta junior A hockey) has definitely taken some of their thunder. Now BCHL isn't getting the top-tier college prospects like Celebrini or Power, but is filling the depth of these college clubs by taking commitments from other USHLers.

Also, some colleges throw a lot of USHL guys' bones with scholarships at the last second and are considered depth fodder, but their school is wealthy enough to do it. I am thinking of DU, BC, BU, Michigan, and Minnesota here and others fit that bill like Duluth, North Dakota, or Notre Dame to name a few. Don't forget that the NCAA has gained a lot of teams in the past ten years and lost maybe 1-3 (Alabama-Huntsville permanent until they find a conference, Alaskas' for like a season, and Robert Morris for a second). More DI teams = more chance for USHLers to get a commitment, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are good.

The number is much higher than 6-10. The Madison Capitols finished last in the USHL last year and take a look at their elite prospects page. Virtually every player is committed D1 or will be. If you look at Youngstown who won it all, they had 11 picks let alone commits. Look here at the numbers per team- College Commitments - USHL

More schools means more commits from everywhere, not just the USHL. The Minnesota's and the Michigan's aren't getting recruits from the BCHL. A few here and there, but it's really the exception like a Kent Johnson. It's almost exclusively the star USHL talent for them. Some minnesota high school kids for the Gophers, but it's more and more common those guys leave and play USHL these days. BU is a little different since they get a lot of kids from prep, but most of their impact players over the past decade are almost always the NTDP kids.

If you argument is the BCHL is closing the gap on the USHL then I disagree. I'd say if anything the USHL is closing the gap on the CHL. Recent top Canadian kids like the Powers/Fantillis/Celebrinis/Perrons/Boisverts/Hages are playing in the league which wasn't the case 10 years ago. The BCHL is similar to the NAHL in terms of league quality. More high end talent in the BCHL where NAHL is more of a grinder league. USHL is a solid step above both. You see often kids who couldn't cut it in the ushl go be impact players in the bchl. I'm dating myself 10ish years here, but anecdotally there was definitely a separation between the players I played with and against that played in the u-show vs bchl/nahl/oj/whatever.

 

[S E P H]

The number is much higher than 6-10. The Madison Capitols finished last in the USHL last year and take a look at their elite prospects page. Virtually every player is committed D1 or will be. If you look at Youngstown who won it all, they had 11 picks let alone commits. Look here at the numbers per team- College Commitments - USHL

More schools means more commits from everywhere, not just the USHL. The Minnesota's and the Michigan's aren't getting recruits from the BCHL. A few here and there, but it's really the exception like a Kent Johnson. It's almost exclusively the star USHL talent for them. Some minnesota high school kids for the Gophers, but it's more and more common those guys leave and play USHL these days. BU is a little different since they get a lot of kids from prep, but most of their impact players over the past decade are almost always the NTDP kids.

If you argument is the BCHL is closing the gap on the USHL then I disagree. I'd say if anything the USHL is closing the gap on the CHL. Recent top Canadian kids like the Powers/Fantillis/Celebrinis/Perrons/Boisverts/Hages are playing in the league which wasn't the case 10 years ago. The BCHL is similar to the NAHL in terms of league quality. More high end talent in the BCHL where NAHL is more of a grinder league. USHL is a solid step above both. You see often kids who couldn't cut it in the ushl go be impact players in the bchl. I'm dating myself 10ish years here, but anecdotally there was definitely a separation between the players I played with and against that played in the u-show vs bchl/nahl/oj/whatever.

I am not disagreeing and there are always exceptions like the Capitols, but look at how many more Canadians are going the college route than ever before. Almost every other player on a college team is now Canadian.

 

[Bender]

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


and Davey Jones and Svatos

Yeah for me it was obviously Bryan Fogarty (RIP) having watched him play junior for the Niagara Falls Thunder - he was so dominant, I couldn't frikkin' wait for him to crush the NHL.

The other guy I was really hoping would be good was Landon Wilson...

 

[Alienblood]

Yeah for me it was obviously Bryan Fogarty (RIP) having watched him play junior for the Niagara Falls Thunder - he was so dominant, I couldn't frikkin' wait for him to crush the NHL.

The other guy I was really hoping would be good was Landon Wilson...

yes me too.on.both.

 

[Perratrooper]

Man I’m actually excited to see how Ritchie performs this season. I wasn’t a huge fan of the pick at the time as I wanted Edstrom as a player who could skate and played hard, however after reading up on Ritchie he definitely appears to have the higher ceiling. If he was playing a bit more passive or as a perimeter player due to his shoulder injury he could be a huge get for us (for hype sake I’ll ignore that he is likely not a physical player regardless of injury).

What are the hopes to see out of him this year?

 

[Alienblood]

Man I’m actually excited to see how Ritchie performs this season. I wasn’t a huge fan of the pick at the time as I wanted Edstrom as a player who could skate and played hard, however after reading up on Ritchie he definitely appears to have the higher ceiling. If he was playing a bit more passive or as a perimeter player due to his shoulder injury he could be a huge get for us (for hype sake I’ll ignore that he is likely not a physical player regardless of injury).

What are the hopes to see out of him this year?

World.Junior.star.for.Canada

 

[ReddestRum]

Craziness. I met Calum at Denver airport on Thursday. He was headed to Vegas. Didn't know who he was at first, but he had a draft shirt on and was with some Avs reps. My bro in law asked what league he played in and Cal said, "Some league up in Canada." HAHAHA. Straight up looks like he's 12 and great to chat with.

 

[Balthazar]

 

[Mighty Makar]

What are the chances he plays for Canada at the World Juniors next month?

 

[Pokecheque]

Call him up to the Avs NOW

 

[Balthazar]

 

[amigo]

Avalanche Prospect Calum Ritchie Talks Draft, OHL & Future - The Hockey Writers Colorado Avalanche Latest News, Analysis & More

Colorado Avalanche prospect Calum Ritchie was able to sit down and discuss his thoughts on the Draft, his time in the OHL, and more.

thehockeywriters.com

 

[niwotsblessing]

Avalanche Prospect Calum Ritchie Talks Draft, OHL & Future - The Hockey Writers Colorado Avalanche Latest News, Analysis & More

Colorado Avalanche prospect Calum Ritchie was able to sit down and discuss his thoughts on the Draft, his time in the OHL, and more.

thehockeywriters.com

“Yeah, (Nathan) MacKinnon texted me, asking me to call him, so next morning I was able to give him a call, which is obviously really cool, It was unreal, and then Landeskog texted me, Makar, Devon Toews and then also Cogliano.”

I like knowing our boys are paying attention to the draft and welcoming a kid like Ritchie to the team. He also said Cogs gave him advice regarding surgery and tips regarding recovery. Class.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

“Yeah, (Nathan) MacKinnon texted me, asking me to call him, so next morning I was able to give him a call, which is obviously really cool, It was unreal, and then Landeskog texted me, Makar, Devon Toews and then also Cogliano.”

I like knowing our boys are paying attention to the draft and welcoming a kid like Ritchie to the team. He also said Cogs gave him advice regarding surgery and tips regarding recovery. Class.

If somebody knows about recovery it is Cogs. One shift he is dead....the next he is alive and going full tilt.

 

[McMetal]

It's awesome to me that Cogliano of all people is taking the time to do that. In all likelihood, he and Ritchie will never actually be teammates. Even if Ritchie hits his ceiling as a player, Cogs will probably be retired before Ritchie makes his NHL debut.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

It's awesome to me that Cogliano of all people is taking the time to do that. In all likelihood, he and Ritchie will never actually be teammates. Even if Ritchie hits his ceiling as a player, Cogs will probably be retired before Ritchie makes his NHL debut.

Cogs is just class act.