The Colorado Avalanche are soon set to descend on El Segundo, California to participate in the NHL’s Rookie Faceoff Tournament, hosted this season by the Los Angeles Kings from Sept. 13-16. In addition to the Avalanche and the Kings, five other franchises will send their top prospects to the annual showcase: the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken, Utah Hockey Club, and the Vegas Golden Knights.
Top prospect Calum Ritchie is set to headline an intriguing Avalanche roster which also features the likes of Oskar Olausson, Sean Behrens, and Ivan Ivan, all of whom will be hoping to earn an NHL audition this season.
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Due to the stipulations set out in the NHL-CHL Transfer Agreement, Ritchie is ineligible to play in the American Hockey League (AHL) this season and must either play for the Avalanche or in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). For that reason, a strong performance is a must for the center if he hopes to stick with the big club in 2024-25, or else face another year dominating the junior circuit.
Ritchie Has Little Left to Prove in the OHL
Ritchie is coming off of a very strong 2023-24 season in which he led the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in scoring after he tallied 28 goals and 80 points in 50 games. On a per-game basis, Ritchie ranked sixth among all OHL skaters in both assists (1.04) and points (1.6). He followed up his regular-season performance with an additional eight goals and 30 points in 21 playoff games as the Generals were swept by the London Knights in the OHL Championship Series.
Ritchie’s 2023-24 season was hampered by a shoulder injury initially sustained during the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, an injury which later required surgery and kept him out until November 2023. Barring another injury setback, Ritchie should battle for a full-time NHL roster spot in training camp and failing that, steer the championship efforts of both the Generals and Team Canada at the 2025 World Junior Championship.
Ritchie Unlikely to Make Avalanche Roster in 2024-25
Though there is little for Ritchie to prove in juniors, the Avalanche’s enviable center depth will likely stop him from making the roster straight out of camp or from exceeding the nine-game threshold.
Nathan MacKinnon scored 140 points last season and won the Hart Trophy as the NHL MVP for the first time in his career. Casey Mittelstadt looks to have finally filled Colorado’s Nazem Kadri-sized hole with nine points in 11 playoff games last season, and Ross Colton scored 17 goals and 40 points in third-line duty during his first season with the Avalanche.
Barring a trade, that leaves Ritchie to battle with a number of hopefuls for the fourth-line center spot, a role which does not suit his current skill set. Beyond a nine-game audition, Ritchie would be better served dominating the OHL and playing a leading role in all situations at the World Juniors while rounding out his defensive game and penalty-killing prowess. He would not get that luxury in Colorado.
NHL-CHL Agreement a Major Roadblock
Under the terms of the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, a player on an entry-level contract (ELC) is eligible to play as many as nine NHL games in a single season without burning the first year of their contract and starting the countdown to restricted free agency.
The all-or-nothing nature of the NHL-CHL agreement means that there is no margin for error for Ritchie. Either the 19-year-old is too good for the OHL which – for all of his strengths – he is not, or he gets a ton of reps with the puck in high-leverage situations at a lower level of competition.
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The Avalanche could feasibly give Ritchie a taste of NHL life without compromising his ELC status to reward his play in the OHL and then send him down to challenge for the Memorial Cup and the World Juniors crown. It’s a pattern of development that has played out across the league for years, and Ritchie will likely be the latest example of the frustrating balance of the inter-league agreement.
One look at the situation 2022 fourth-overall pick Shane Wright found himself in last season should inspire caution around the idea of letting Ritchie sink or swim on his own without the life raft of the AHL bobbing in the background. Unless they’re a Connor McDavid-level prodigy, even highly-touted prospects need time to mature and wouldn’t be stunted by an extended stint in the OHL.
Staying in OHL Best for Ritchie’s Development
If Ritchie hopes to make the Avalanche straight out of training camp, he must first demonstrate that he is leaps and bounds ahead of his peers at the upcoming prospect showcase. If he can’t show that he needs a bigger challenge by clearly outpacing weaker competition, the demands of a full-time gig in the NHL may be outside of his purview. History has shown that isn’t the worst thing for prospects, and Ritchie could do a lot worse than playing a starring role on a major junior championship contender.
