Avalanche draft Calum Ritchie 27th overall
The Colorado Avalanche selected forward Calum Ritchie with the 27th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft on Wednesday.
Calum Ritchie
Position: Center
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 185 lbs
Shoots: Right
Age: 18
Club: Oshawa (OHL)
Nationality: 🇨🇦
NHL Central Scouting final ranking: 13th among North American skaters
2022-23 Stats
| GP | G | A | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oshawa | 59 | 24 | 35 |
| U18 Worlds | 7 | 3 | 6 |
Ritchie has all the tools you could ask for in a top-six center. He's a strong skater with good size, soft hands, and slick playmaking ability. What's holding him back is his inconsistency. If Ritchie can ever put it all together, as he did at the U18s, the sky is the limit. But his lack of compete could frustrate coaches at the next level.
After all, Ritchie entered the season ranked sixth on TSN's Bob McKenzie's draft rankings. The flashes were there throughout the 2022-23 campaign, but given his skill set, a point-per-game season was viewed as rather disappointing. But if his full potential could ever be unlocked, he could turn out to be a gem.
What They're Saying
"He looks like a top prospect, but he's quite inconsistent," wrote The Athletic's Corey Pronman, who had Ritchie No. 27 on his board. "Ritchie has long stretches where he doesn't make much of an impact and plays too much on the perimeter. The toolkit screams 'good NHL player,' and I think eventually he will be that, but he may frustrate you along the way."
"His game lacked a little consistency this year, and there were enough times you'd lose sight of him in games that it raised some level of concern," wrote FloHockey's Chris Peters, who ranked Ritchie 18th. "He's got the skating ability and the skill to beat defenders, but he needs more drive and a bit more power to generate more in the middle of the ice. You don't want to have to coax that out of a player at this stage of their career, but he has the athletic tools to make an impact."
Click here to watch Ritchie's highlights.