30. New Jersey Devils : Kasperi Kapanen 29. Los Angeles Kings : Brendan Lemieux 28. Tampa Bay Lightning : Julius Honka 27. Chicago Blackhawks : Conner Bleackley 26. Montreal Canadiens : Nick Schmaltz 25. Boston Bruins : Alex Tuch 24. Anaheim Ducks : Jack Dougherty 23. Colorado Avalanche : Travis Sanheim 22. Pittsburgh Penguins : Nikolay Goldobin 21. St. Louis Blues : Joshua Ho-Sang 20. San Jose Sharks : Brendan Perlini 19. Tampa Bay Lightning : Ivan Barbashev 18. Minnesota Wild : Roland McKeown 17. Philadelphia Flyers : Sonny Milano 16. Columbus Blue Jackets : Jakub Vrà¡na 15. Detroit Red Wings : Adrian Kempe 14. Dallas Stars : Robby Fabbri 13. Washington Capitals : Dylan Larkin 12. Arizona Coyotes : Jake Virtanen 11. The Nashville Predators : William Nylander 10. Anaheim Ducks : Jared McCann 9. Winnipeg Jets : Nikolaj Ehlers
8. The Toronto Maple Leafs select Right Wing Nick Ritchie of the Peterborough Petes in the OHL
6’3, 236lbs, 1995-12-05 : 18 years old
61 – 39g – 35a – 74p
I personally wouldn’t take Ritchie at 8, but this seems like a Leafs pick. A team wanting their identity to change, to be truculent, to be difficult to play against, to be bigger and meaner and so on. In fact, Dave Nonis emphasized that he wanted to draft “Size and Intangibles,… which seems like writing on the wall to me…or that Alex Tuch is going to ruin everybody’s draft predictions. Despite some issues with his skating and consistency, Ritchie is probably the closest thing to a “true power forward… in the top part of the draft. Physically intimidating and strong on the puck, Ritchie is the kind of player that teams hope will grow into a top-6 player, but has the versatility to slide into various roles. Just look at his size, it’s nuts for an 18 year old, even scarier he was listed at 6’1 214lbs when he first entered the OHL, so not only is he big now, he is getting bigger systematically. He is a handful, when he is on his game he can basically dominate the game and control it. When on his game he is impossible to take off the puck and a monster to handle in the corners and in front of the net. When he isn’t, he’s a useless floater who will hit somebody really hard! Thus is the duality that is Ritchie. Gaining consistency will be the biggest factor in whether or not Ritchie becomes a top-6 power forward or a bottom-6 grinder who can’t defend particularly well but will light somebody up every now and then or score a pretty goal you wouldn’t expect.
He is one of the biggest players in the draft, let go of height, Ritchie is an NHL bodied player, and he is massive for his age. It gives him a maturity that goes with his three seasons in the OHL. Like Alex Tuch, his size allows him to manhandle most of his competition, something that is slightly concerning about whether he will be able to do so in the NHL. He has a big shot that is evidenced primarily on the PP (fourth of draft eligibles from the OHL in PPG); he can be a lethal triggerman especially at the top right circle.
The Petes were a team starved for offensive production and he gave it to them, despite being in the box for seemingly hours at a time. He has the ability to do it himself if he has to. He has the potential to be a force in the NHL, the size, the above average skating, the great hands, the great shot; everything is there, except consistency. There are many examples of bigger players dominating everybody around them in junior, only to falter at the next level. Kyle Beach, Zack Kassian, Colton Gillies, Dylan McIlrath and Colten Teubert come to mind.
A team looking for a player who can/will step into the NHL quicker than the majority of prospects in the 6-15 range would do well to select Ritchie. Not only does he have an NHL body already and is basically a man against boys in the OHL, he also only has one more season of eligibility before he can be sent to the AHL. Basically his trajectory towards the NHL is two seasons rather than the usual three or four. In fact, he could probably step into the NHL as a fourth liner right now, though that would probably hurt his development (See Kyle Clifford).
Comparison : Wayne Simmonds
Thanks for reading.