NHL Draft Profile- Ryder Ritchie

The 2024 NHL Draft will be here before you know it, and Draft 412 will preview some of the prospects who will be probable first round picks. Draft 412 will review the strengths and weaknesses of each prospect, and where they should land in the NHL Draft.

Name- Ryder Ritchie

Pos- RW

Team- Prince Albert (WHL)

HT/WT- 6’0” 173 lbs

Born- 8/3/2006

Home – Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Ryder Ritchie was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and played for Team Canada White in the U17 Hockey Challenge in 2022. They finished 6th in the tournament but Ritchie did score 4 goals in 6 games.

Ritchie was selected 14th overall in the 2021 Western Hockey League Prospects Draft by the Prince Albert Raiders. During the 2022-2023 season, he scored 20 goals and added 35 assists in 61 games. In the summer of 2023, he joined the national under-18 team for the first time at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he scored 3 goals and 9 points en route to a gold medal.

For Prince Albert in 2023-2024, Ritchie suffered a lower body injury and missed several games as a result. He finished the regular season with 44 points in 47 games. This past spring, he played for Canada in the 2024 IIHF World U18 Championships and helped lead them to another gold after scoring 4 goals and 4 assists in 7 games.

Ritchie is the son of former NHL player Bryon Ritchie, who played for the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames, and Vancouver Canucks in his 8-year career.

Ryder Ritchie is a smooth skater who has quick acceleration and can change the pace at a drop of the hat. He is elusive with his footwork, edges and can be very shifty when it is needed. He is also strong at puck handling and does an exceptional job of moving the puck from the defensive zone through the neutral zone. He easily changes pace with the puck and can go from east to west to north to south in a blink of an eye.

Ritchie has a solid wrist shot, which he likes to curl-and-drag to add deceptiveness. He excels at give and go's and he is elusive enough to get free and find space in the slot to get off his shot. Just like his father, Ritchie plays at all times with a a high effort and never takes a shift off. Although, the young Ritchie is much more talented than his dad was, he still plays with a bottom-6 mentality.

Strengths

• Smooth Skater
• Puck Handling
• Wrist Shot

On the downside, Ritchie is not a pure goal scorer and lacks the "sniper" ability of other top prospects. He has done a great job of scoring by deception in the WHL, something that won't be as easy in the NHL.

Ritchie's play is considered selfish by a lot of hockey scouts. He looks to shoot first and does not hesitate to try and dangle and beat defenders, instead of using his teammates. Prince William was terrible the past 2 seasons, and this could be a reason for it. 

Ritchie has had several injuries over the past several seasons, raising some red flags. His draft stock has fallen some, since being considered one of the top prospects at age 16 his play has become inconsistent.

Weaknesses

• Finisher
• Selfish Play
• Injuries
• Inconsistent

Though Ryder Ritchie is a couple of inches taller than Conor Garland there style of play are very similar. Especially early in Garland's career when he tried doing too much with the puck. Garland has since learned how to use his teammates and his numbers have improved across the board. Ritchie has a higher ceiling overall than Garland and has a better shot at sticking as a top-6 forward. Ritchie's floor should be a suitable bottom-6 forward.

Ryder Ritchie's inconsistent and injury filled season last year has him falling on most draft boards. There is still a chance he gets selected between 20-32 in round 1, but Draft Nation believes he could fall into round 2, and could be considered a steal down the line.

Draft Nation Draft Projection- Late 1st round