[Nick Ritchie] Junior Point totals vs Getzlaf, Lucic, and Nash

[DeNiro]

Quick first 3 strides? Hey that would be useful if the rink were 20ft long.

No, but it's useful at getting to the puck first and winning puck battles.

If he's gonna be a top powerforward he needs to have that ability, as he's going to be battling along the boards down low alot.

[Merci]

Why do people think you can compare OHL and WHL numbers in a straight across comparison?

Different leagues, different styles of play.

There's also lots of examples of big junior players that put up lots of points in junior that went on to do nothing.

Yea I mention this about 5 times in the post

thanks for title reading though

No. What's dumb is these totally unreasonable expectations put on a fat kid.

I don't even know what to say. A leading OHL scorer and captain of a guy who turned a 3-0 series can't be fat

[DeNiro]

Yea I mention this about 5 times in the post

thanks for title reading though

I read your post. All you've done is chosen the 3 best powerforwards in the game and ignored all the other guys.

My point was that point total comparisons are kind of pointless.

[Special Ed]

Yea I mention this about 5 times in the post

thanks for title reading though

I don't even know what to say. A leading OHL scorer and captain of a guy who turned a 3-0 series can't be fat

Yeah you really know your stuff eh. How's that next Patrick Roy doing for ya? You make statements and predictions that are so utterly bad then just forget them and move on. Anyone who wants a good laugh could just save your quotes. I could have several but only room for the one right now :/

In fact I'm so confident in your disability to analyze hockey players that I can comfortably say we do not want Ritchie lol.

[Merci]

I read your post. All you've done is chosen the 3 best powerforwards in the game and ignored all the other guys.

My point was that point total comparisons are kind of pointless.

What would be the point to post 4/5 other players that fizzled out?

He has their points, end of story this thread is to discuss his style not affirm he's guaranteed to be like them.

[DefCon1]

DISCLAIMER: Point totals don't mean everything and there have been dozens of duds over the years, they can be misleading and should be taken with a grain of salt. However when taken in conjuncture with style of play and professional scouting they paint a fairly solid picture.

I make this thread since every other 6-10 draft pick seems to get one on Canucks Talk, so here's Nick Ritchie's

gonna copy paste from what I think is the best evaluation of him. I bolded some parts of it if your life is too busy/you're watching Ehlers videos to read the whole thing

Analysis

http://lastwordonsports.com/2014/04/07/nhl-draft-profile-6-nick-ritchie/

Point Totals

Ritchie:

1st year OHL : 62 GP 16g 23a 39 pnts

2nd year OHL: 41 GP 18g 17a 35 pnts

3rd year OHL: 61 GP 39g 35a 74 pnts

Getzlaf:

1st year WHL: 63 GP 9g 9a 18pnts

2nd year WHL: 70 GP 29g 39a 68pnts

3rd year WHL: 51 GP 29g 47a 75 pnts

4th year WHL: 51 GP 29g 25a 54pnts

Lucic:

1st year BCHL: 50 GP 9g 14 a 23pnts

1st year WHL: 62GP 9g 10a 19pnts

2nd year WHL: 70GP 30g 38a 68pnts

Nash:

1st year OHL: 58 GP 31g 35a 66pnts

2nd year OHL: 54GP 32g 40a 72pnts

Just because Ritchie scored similar numbers to these guys doesn't mean its a guarantee they will translate at all to the NHL, but it is another positive sign he has very comparable numbers to some of the elite players in the league.

Videos

13/14 OHL highlights

http://youtu.be/RztPZLG34D0

Game 7 OT playoff winner vs Sam Bennett

http://youtu.be/5fNrfBg8s5U

Perspective: The Canucks will have drafted two players that scored game 7 OT winners with the selection of Bo Horvat last year

X Factor

So what makes Ritchie different that any of the many big players that scored in junior but ended up career 4th liners or AHLers? Well the first thing is Ritchie doesn't rely on his size to be effective it's just part of his game. His speed and shot are highly ranked and so is his IQ, his discipline and consistency are where he needs the most work.

Ritchie as mentioned has an older Brother in the Stars' organization and has apparently used him as a resource for guidance to make the pro leap into the NHL.

Now ask yourself how many other 235 lb players with Ritchie's skill set could ask a family member about the keys to being a pro NHLer. Not many, it's a special gift to have someone going through exactly what you're about to go through and Nick Ritchie's consistency problems and disciplinary penalties are about as weak as issues in a prospect as possible.

We should be very afraid of Burke drafting this guy over us.

Here's the interview he did

Why would we want a player as useless as nash? Now I wouldnt mind getzlaf or lucic type player but Nash? The most overrated player in the nhl

[BanTSN]

What would be the point to post 4/5 other players that fizzled out?

He has their points, end of story this thread is to discuss his style not affirm he's guaranteed to be like them.

His style is not like Lucic. His style is not like Nash. Maybe Getzlaf, but a poor, poor man's version of him.

Thinking Clowe, Pyatt and Latendresse all play a similar style to Ritchie.

[Merci]

Yeah you really know your stuff eh. How's that next Patrick Roy doing for ya? You make statements and predictions that are so utterly bad then just forget them and move on. Anyone who wants a good laugh could just save your quotes. I could have several but only room for the one right now :/

Yea you're right Gibson is definitely the new Patrick Roy.

[Merci]

His style is not like Lucic. His style is not like Nash. Maybe Getzlaf, but a poor, poor man's version of him.

Thinking Clowe, Pyatt and Latendresse all play a similar style to Ritchie.

Nah his style is a total hybrid of Nash and Getzlaf

He can already make Sedin like saucer passes in full stride, thanks for coming out though

[BanTSN]

Nah his style is a total hybrid of Nash and Getzlaf

He can already make Sedin like saucer passes in full stride, thanks for coming out though

So his style is like Sedin?

This thread is confusing, if not useless.

[Merci]

So his style is like Sedin?

This thread is confusing, if not useless.

No I'd say his style is Potato, or Saucer pass.

[DeNiro]

I find it amazing though that all fans have done for the past 5 years is complain about how soft and small this team is, and now we have a chance to draft a top ranked powerforward with a mean streak and all people can do is point out his flaws?

Guess what? Every prospect in every draft has flaws. That's why teams have development systems in place. As long as the prospect has the fundamentals like IQ and work ethic, the rest can be worked on.

We're gonna get a good player at number 6. The only question is who it's gonna be, and how well is their development going to go. It's up to the organization and that player to mold them into their potential.

[saucypass]

I'd be happy with Ritchie after Ehlers though.

Edit: I think Vancouver is most likely going to draft Ritchie. What a shot this kid has, imagine Kassian in his prime setting up Ritchie in his prime. Kesler in the middle?

[winthecup]

Why do people think you can compare OHL and WHL numbers in a straight across comparison?

Different leagues, different styles of play.

There's also lots of examples of big junior players that put up lots of points in junior that went on to do nothing.

yup, there are also examples of all other types and different sizes of players that put up alot of points in junior that became busts....not including maybe the first 3 or 4 picks in this years draft, I think there is bust potential in all the picks.

[TGokou]

I'd be happy with Ritchie after Ehlers though.

Edit: I think Vancouver is most likely going to draft Ritchie. What a shot this kid has, imagine Kassian in his prime setting up Ritchie in his prime. Kesler in the middle?

To me, any of Ehlers, Ritchie or Virtanen would be good for different reasons. The reason I like Ritchie is I believe the Canucks should have two power forwards in their line up BUT I think they should be on two separate lines. A combination of Ritchie and Kassian on the same line would be too slow for the defensive role of the game. They may have a quick stride in the offensive zone but they would be ineffective in trying to prevent 2 on 1's. On the other hand, having Ritchie and Kassian on separate lines would allow them to make room for the players like Shinkaruk/? on two lines.

Btw, I had no idea that Draisatl was almost a full year older than Virtanen! I would still pick Draisatl over him any day but if a team thinks they can make Virtanen a better overall player than I don't mind him....I just think it might be a little harder to get him to change. He is still young though.

I'm still strongly against drafting Nylander.

[asian player]

Ok so the arguments for not drafting him are:

-he's "fat"

-he has a busted head and busted shoulder

-there are examples of power forwards drafted 10 years ago that busted

-undisciplined penalties

This kid has the best wrist shot in the draft. He has a much higher IQ than Virtanen. He can pass, and like Merci mentioned, he can even make a saucer pass at top speed. He's physical (not in Lucic territory) but nonetheless, he is physical and can drop it with anyone. His skating is NOT an issue. He has good acceleration and he gets where he needs to be. As for the undisciplined penalties, those things are not permanent and can be stamped out.

[SwissCanucks]

A big problem with him : He seems to get injured really offen ! Injury prone player ? =/

[jejejester]

Quick first 3 strides? Hey that would be useful if the rink were 20ft long.

Quick 3 strides is very important in every aspect of the game. For one it tells how fast a player can get up to top flight speed. Another case where it is very important is along board battles, once Ritchie gets the puck he can get out if the corner, or off the boards with speed. A quick 3 strides allows him to get to a lose puck in front of the net quicker, offensive and defensive.

There's a huge reason as to why the first 3 steps are important to scouts. Look at what it does for players like Kane, Crosby, and Datsuyk. It allows then to separate themselves from the other player quickly, and gives them a lot of open ice.

[theminister]

I think it will be very interesting if Vancouver takes Ritchie at 6th and many people get their first real look at him in Prospect's Camp in August. There will be a quick retribution on this site for how bad some of these evaluations and comparisons are.

He's going to be seen to be a lot better than many here give him credit for.

It also has a high possibility of actually happening.

[Absent Canuck]

Not 1 fan that i polled would take Ehlers over Ritchie not 1 that is how i know the oil fans are here just to be goofs Ritchie reminds them of Kass and not 1 oil fan likes Kass they dont want our team having tough players when their team has wimps.