Confirmed with Link: Calum Ritchie signs ELC

[henchman21]

Dark mode users are perverts trying to hide what they're really doing.

Wait... is this why pornhub is always dark mode?

 

[sethro109]

Dark mode users are perverts trying to hide what they're really doing.

 

[the_fan]

Dark mode always!!!!

If any of you light mode users have a problem with that, bring it on!!!!

 

[ABasin]

Wait... is this why pornhub is always dark mode?

Pornhub...what's that?

 

[henchman21]

Pornhub...what's that?

 

[the_fan]

Pornhub...what's that?

It’s a community

 

[henchman21]

It’s a community

https://www.reddit.com/r/PornhubComments/

You're welcome.

 

[the_fan]

Dark mode users are perverts trying to hide what they're really doing.

I think that’s dark web users not dark mode

 

[WarriorOfGandhi]

Pornhub...what's that?

a hub for pornography

 

[AllAboutAvs]

Bednar himself said that Ritchie needs to figure it out pretty quickly so by that comment I would say that Bednar is not going to give him a spot just because they are short up front.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

Dark mode users are perverts trying to hide what they're really doing.

Says the guy with this photo as his avatar...

 

[Richard Doll]

I mean a jump from where he was in the playoffs would be awesome, but I feel like that's a hefty expectation. He was unreal to end the season last year.

I think they would probably be thrilled if he is consistently the producer he was in the playoffs, where he was about a point per game.

 

[Leviathan899]

The Avs are not going to be swayed by media hype or highlight reels. They're going to make a decision they feel is best. Sometimes contracts play into it. Where they know they have to give a guy a run or they won't be able to keep him (or even sign). That won't be the case here, but we see that with Russians and college players.

I do think the Avs' natural tendency is to get prospects into the org as quickly as they can, and from there they sink or swim. They don't have a whole lot of patience for players who can't cut it, but they also don't like their prospects not impacting the NHL club. We've seen it with Byram, Newhook, Jost, Makar, Rantanen, Kaut, Ranta, Landy, Bigras, etc. They get them within the org rather quickly and expect them to make an impact rather quickly. If they don't the Avs tend to sour. They basically give players 2-3 seasons (at most) within the org to make an impact before they are looking elsewhere. Delaying that a year starts the clock later, but also tends to shorten the amount of time they'll give as a buffer.

Sink or swim is really the key... and IMO, that is what matters with Ritchie. If he is showing signs of sinking, the Avs need to send him down ASAP. If he swims, the Avs will keep him up... even if it is a doggie paddle.

Well said, you’re more level headed on this issue than I am, that’s for sure. If you had to place a wager right now, hypothetically, what do you think will be the case with Ritchie? Sent down before season? 9 games and back? I saw Bednar say there are some areas of his game he needs to learn quickly, while other skills which are impressive at the NHL level. Personally it’s his flaws which show he isn’t ready yet. He wasn’t exactly good in oshawa last year at using his frame or playing a more physical game. A lot of fly by’s and stick checks, but not enough physical engagement. Was okay defensively but wasn’t one of oshawa’s top defensive forwards. I think he could definitely develop those areas while continuing to develop confidence as a top line C and playing on a contending team. But I respect your views.

 

[henchman21]

Well said, you’re more level headed on this issue than I am, that’s for sure. If you had to place a wager right now, hypothetically, what do you think will be the case with Ritchie? Sent down before season? 9 games and back? I saw Bednar say there are some areas of his game he needs to learn quickly, while other skills which are impressive at the NHL level. Personally it’s his flaws which show he isn’t ready yet. He wasn’t exactly good in oshawa last year at using his frame or playing a more physical game. A lot of fly by’s and stick checks, but not enough physical engagement. Was okay defensively but wasn’t one of oshawa’s top defensive forwards. I think he could definitely develop those areas while continuing to develop confidence as a top line C and playing on a contending team. But I respect your views.

If I was to guess today… sent down before the season. I do think the Avs will give him every opportunity to have it figured out prior as they know once they send him down, he’s pretty much down until next season. So I expect he’ll be a late cut who they’d like to get regular season games if he can show enough.

You’re touching on where I think he can grow. Last season the production finally came to match his talent. But he isn’t using his size and frame well enough. He’s way too passive defensively and doesn’t really play the body. He’s a big time reacher. Not every bigger player has to play physical to be successful… but almost every coach wants that out of a guy built like Ritchie. His reads aren’t always great either. He takes too many risks with the puck and when he makes mistakes, he doesn’t hustle to atone. I’m nitpicking here, but a lot of details that need ironed out. I’d personally also like to see another step offensively. He’s talented enough to dance around the outside and produce. I want him attacking the middle, taking contact and creating space. He’s missing that in his game and to be a big time NHL scorer, he has to learn that.

I think Ritchie has another level or two to reach in the OHL if he’s sent down… and I’d expect him to take those steps. At his age/talent… he should be MVP level there.

 

[S E P H]

Both Yager and Barlow were sent down by the Jets to their CHL club. If they can't make it, it is hard to see Ritchie make it. He is too good for juniors, but he doesn't need any more offence in his game, what he needs to really work on is his game away from the puck. Very lacklustre, lost, and invisible. Another in juniors can help him with that.

 

[NOTENOUGHRYJOTHINGS]

Ritchie was pretty bad last night... there shouldn't be much debate about that. Both of his games have been rather poor IMO.

On his staying up or going down, I think too much is made of it on either side. If he's rushed and he isn't ready (which to this point, I don't think he is)... the most important thing is that the Avs recognize it and send him down. You don't want him struggling up here to just keep him in the NHL. I'd probably say try to make that decision prior to 9 games. But at least by the end of November. If he's sent down, there is still a lot he can develop and learn in the OHL. He should dominate offensively because he's skilled and the league should be easy for him. He can still learn to attack the middle of the ice better, be more aggressive, play better defense... and overall learn to utilize his frame. There are things he can work on there, so not the worst thing to send him down.

In either manner, he'll end up roughly where he should be regardless of the decision. If he struggles in the NHL, it might just delay him a bit and hurt his interim value.

You don't think he's not ready?

Check mate doubters. Ritchie is here to stay!

 

[Leviathan899]

If I was to guess today… sent down before the season. I do think the Avs will give him every opportunity to have it figured out prior as they know once they send him down, he’s pretty much down until next season. So I expect he’ll be a late cut who they’d like to get regular season games if he can show enough.

You’re touching on where I think he can grow. Last season the production finally came to match his talent. But he isn’t using his size and frame well enough. He’s way too passive defensively and doesn’t really play the body. He’s a big time reacher. Not every bigger player has to play physical to be successful… but almost every coach wants that out of a guy built like Ritchie. His reads aren’t always great either. He takes too many risks with the puck and when he makes mistakes, he doesn’t hustle to atone. I’m nitpicking here, but a lot of details that need ironed out. I’d personally also like to see another step offensively. He’s talented enough to dance around the outside and produce. I want him attacking the middle, taking contact and creating space. He’s missing that in his game and to be a big time NHL scorer, he has to learn that.

I think Ritchie has another level or two to reach in the OHL if he’s sent down… and I’d expect him to take those steps. At his age/talent… he should be MVP level there.

Thanks for the reply, I agree with plenty of it. I know I’ve come across very negative and even troll like here, but it isn’t my intention. I just really like the kid and the player, and feel like he’s a unique case in that he lost an entire U16 season due to Covid, then lost all of his off-season last year plus training camp and the first two months of the season, and he’s a kid whose steadily grown in height, while never really mastering how to play at that size. To me it would be a big time rush to put him into the league full time this year, and I agree he could learn a lot with one more OHL season. Those details you mentioned were apparent throughout last season and especially the finals against London. The willingness to engage physically was more visible in the second half and playoffs, but it wasn’t consistent enough. It’s true that he can tend to glide too much and doesn’t work hard enough to get pucks back when he turns it over. Not dominant enough in traffic or taking pucks to the middle for a guy with his size and skill level, and developing that at the NHL level isn’t easy. As bednar and others have mentioned, he’s a skilled, confident player with the puck on his stick and is very good on the PP with extra time and space, he sees the ice extremely well. But once the real games begin and you have all your top guys playing, his PP time is going to be rather minimal, and he won’t be playing 19 minutes a night, either. Likely going to be a lot of 5 on 5 minutes. Can Bednar trust him defensively and through the NZ enough, as he probably won’t be able to make up for it with PP points. Some people point to Poitras in Boston last year making it as a 19 year old, but I’d argue it stunted him more than it helped him. Boston did it out of necessity and for salary cap purposes, but he wasn’t ready and hardly played at all after Christmas. Or Korchinski as another example, but it’s a wildly different situation imo. For one he had already won at the WHL level, had played a key role on the WJC team, and was working to make a really bad and rebuilding Chicago team, not a team that is a strong playoff contender with the likes of Mackinnon, Rantanen and Makar in their prime. All in all, nothing I say here has any bearing on what happens and I admit I am slightly biased being an oshawa guy myself, but I truly just want what’s best for CR long term.

 

[Leviathan899]

Both Yager and Barlow were sent down by the Jets to their CHL club. If they can't make it, it is hard to see Ritchie make it. He is too good for juniors, but he doesn't need any more offence in his game, what he needs to really work on is his game away from the puck. Very lacklustre, lost, and invisible. Another in juniors can help him with that.

I don’t think he’s necessarily too good for juniors. He’s very good at this level, but he doesn’t dominate shift in shift out or even every game like you’d expect. He still has a lot of areas of his game to work on and just get stronger, more used to his frame. Plus in my eyes, development in hockey isn’t like checking certain boxes and saying it’s been accomplished, now time to graduate. All young players need a lot of puck touches, quality ice time and special teams opportunities, the confidence which comes with it all as well. It’s the same with Cowan in Toronto. Leafs fans all say he’s too good for junior and has nothing left to learn, but if you watched London last year, he had a lot of talent around him and while he was often their best player, he still had moments and stretches where he was rather quiet and average. Plus the year before he was a depth piece on a very good London team. One season as a dominant player isn’t enough for me to say he’s too good for the league. My motto is it’s always better to over develop a player than rush them and stagnate their development, but that’s just me. I think Colorado is better than Winnipeg, and I think Yager at least is more NHL ready than Ritchie, and didn’t make their team this year. Plus the strong rumours Colby Barlow is going to be traded to oshawa, Ritchie getting to play with him along with Sennecke, Ben Danford, Dylan Roobroeck and Luca Marrelli is going to help him a lot. He’d be more than ready to grab a spot on Colorado next season with with another year of strength training under his belt, plus hopefully a strong world junior showing.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

Where would Ritchie slot on a 2025 Team Canada WJC roster? A go-to guy on a top line or a role player?

 

[henchman21]

Where would Ritchie slot on a 2025 Team Canada WJC roster? A go-to guy on a top line or a role player?

Depends on a few guys, but most likely 2nd liner who they need to play a big role to win. Not quite the go to guy.

 

[S E P H]

One season as a dominant player isn’t enough for me to say he’s too good for the league. My motto is it’s always better to over develop a player than rush them and stagnate their development, but that’s just me.

He would have been drafted around 15th overall if he had a healthy season. Nobody is doubting his offensive weaponry, but in terms of accomplishment, having 80+ points is quite successful for OHLers to eventually become top 6ers in the NHL as youth players and not overagers.

 

[henchman21]

He would have been drafted around 15th overall if he had a healthy season. Nobody is doubting his offensive weaponry, but in terms of accomplishment, having 80+ points is quite successful for OHLers to eventually become top 6ers in the NHL as youth players and not overagers.

You'll find exceptions to the rule... but typically for guys to end up as top 6 sorts of talents the OHL production should be these as a minimum:

D-1: .75+
DY: 1+
D+1: 1.5+
D+2: 1.75+

Again there are exceptions, but guys who produce below that tend to not have the offensive talent to produce as they progress levels.

Ritchie's progression:

D-1: .69
DY: 1
D+1: 1.6

So he's right in the production range that you'd expect from a top 6 guy. Now that is also not a guarantee. Marco Rossi was an absurdly good OHL scorer and he's having issues translating up (mostly because he's small and a weak skater). McMichael, Frost, Kaliyev are other guys who have struggled despite having production. Suzuki didn't have the high D+2 production, but ended up fine.

Now if you are talking high end scorers... those guys, if they stay in the OHL for +1 or +2... they almost always end up around 2 (or at least closer to 1.9). Kyrou, Marner, DeBrincat, Jason Robertson, etc. That's not a guarantee as a number of guys have hit that and faltered (McMichael and Nick Robertson are examples)... but over the last decade or so, high end NHL scorers typically produce that level or near it after their draft year. That's the level of domination we want to see from Ritchie if he goes back to the OHL.

 

[Leviathan899]

You'll find exceptions to the rule... but typically for guys to end up as top 6 sorts of talents the OHL production should be these as a minimum:

D-1: .75+
DY: 1+
D+1: 1.5+
D+2: 1.75+

Again there are exceptions, but guys who produce below that tend to not have the offensive talent to produce as they progress levels.

Ritchie's progression:

D-1: .69
DY: 1
D+1: 1.6

So he's right in the production range that you'd expect from a top 6 guy. Now that is also not a guarantee. Marco Rossi was an absurdly good OHL scorer and he's having issues translating up (mostly because he's small and a weak skater). McMichael, Frost, Kaliyev are other guys who have struggled despite having production. Suzuki didn't have the high D+2 production, but ended up fine.

Now if you are talking high end scorers... those guys, if they stay in the OHL for +1 or +2... they almost always end up around 2 (or at least closer to 1.9). Kyrou, Marner, DeBrincat, Jason Robertson, etc. That's not a guarantee as a number of guys have hit that and faltered (McMichael and Nick Robertson are examples)... but over the last decade or so, high end NHL scorers typically produce that level or near it after their draft year. That's the level of domination we want to see from Ritchie if he goes back to the OHL.

Yeah for sure. He took a big step forward last season and should build on it. Plus there are strong rumours oshawa is trading for Colby Barlow, and with Sennecke there, Owen Griffin (very good 07 and in his DY) as well as others, he should be able to score 90-100 points in 50 games this season. I say 50 because he likely misses games for the WJC plus still being up, he’s likely going to miss 7-10 games to start the year too. I hope he’s sent back after Saturdays pre season game.

 

[S E P H]

You'll find exceptions to the rule... but typically for guys to end up as top 6 sorts of talents the OHL production should be these as a minimum:

D-1: .75+
DY: 1+
D+1: 1.5+
D+2: 1.75+

Again there are exceptions, but guys who produce below that tend to not have the offensive talent to produce as they progress levels.

Ritchie's progression:

D-1: .69
DY: 1
D+1: 1.6

So he's right in the production range that you'd expect from a top 6 guy. Now that is also not a guarantee. Marco Rossi was an absurdly good OHL scorer and he's having issues translating up (mostly because he's small and a weak skater). McMichael, Frost, Kaliyev are other guys who have struggled despite having production. Suzuki didn't have the high D+2 production, but ended up fine.

Now if you are talking high end scorers... those guys, if they stay in the OHL for +1 or +2... they almost always end up around 2 (or at least closer to 1.9). Kyrou, Marner, DeBrincat, Jason Robertson, etc. That's not a guarantee as a number of guys have hit that and faltered (McMichael and Nick Robertson are examples)... but over the last decade or so, high end NHL scorers typically produce that level or near it after their draft year. That's the level of domination we want to see from Ritchie if he goes back to the OHL.

Thanks for putting in the work here! Personally, I see Richtie becoming an average second-line centre version of Dylan Larkin. Still, there is also a chance he becomes an elite 3rd liner if his offence doesn't reach the threshold of a top 6 NHL producer. I think what we're seeing with prospects who make it, versus those who don't is simply a numbers game. A player is going from loads of spots available in the 20 different junior and NCAA leagues to much more limited positions the higher they go, and lower-round picks never really are able to beat players who get drafted in the top 10. Amplify that if you're a team that has had multiple top 10 picks in back-to-back-to-back seasons. That is potentially an entire line you are picking due to how supremely talented those players are to the rest of the pack.

 

[henchman21]

Thanks for putting in the work here! Personally, I see Richtie becoming an average second-line centre version of Dylan Larkin. Still, there is also a chance he becomes an elite 3rd liner if his offence doesn't reach the threshold of a top 6 NHL producer. I think what we're seeing with prospects who make it, versus those who don't is simply a numbers game. A player is going from loads of spots available in the 20 different junior and NCAA leagues to much more limited positions the higher they go, and lower-round picks never really are able to beat players who get drafted in the top 10. Amplify that if you're a team that has had multiple top 10 picks in back-to-back-to-back seasons. That is potentially an entire line you are picking due to how supremely talented those players are to the rest of the pack.

My pure guess is that if Ritchie doesn't pan out as at least a 2nd liner, the Avs will move on from him. I catch hell for a number of comparables, but diet Dylan Strome is what I've seen with Ritchie. I actually don't think Dylan Strome is a bad player, but he's the exact type of player that if they don't pan out as expected, teams lose patience and move on from. Kirby Dach is another recent example. Teams don't like big centers that don't play a physical game or good defense unless they produce offense. If the impact level offense doesn't translate with Ritchie, I'd be very surprised if the Avs held onto him to develop into 3rd line center. It wouldn't fit what most NHL teams do, and certainly wouldn't fit with what the Avs do. He would catch on and have a career with a 2nd or 3rd team though.

Yeah for sure. He took a big step forward last season and should build on it. Plus there are strong rumours oshawa is trading for Colby Barlow, and with Sennecke there, Owen Griffin (very good 07 and in his DY) as well as others, he should be able to score 90-100 points in 50 games this season. I say 50 because he likely misses games for the WJC plus still being up, he’s likely going to miss 7-10 games to start the year too. I hope he’s sent back after Saturdays pre season game.

If Oshawa ends up with Barlow, the expectation here should be ~1.8 for Ritchie and hype on a ~1.9 season should be tempered given how stacked that offense would be.