Razors_Edge

My list of the 5 best power forwards Ever! They were all drafted in the 1st round and played in the 230 or better range #5 Todd Bertuzzi 6'3"-229lbs drafted 23rd #4 Eric Lindros 6'4"-240 drafted 1st #3 Jaromir Jagr 6'3"-230lbs drafted 5th #2 Alex Ovechkin 6'3"-230lbs drafted 1st #1 Mario Lemiux 6'3"-230lbs drafted 1st Richie will be in this club, he has the size, strength and skill!!!

You should read the latest reports, he is playing at 225 and consistency is his middle name he works hard every shift!

Bleacherreport.com Allan Mitchell , Featured Columnist Feb 1, 2014 NHL teams will give up a king's ransom for a true power forward. The definition of the player is vague, but there is a general consensus. This is a big player with skill to succeed on scoring lines and toughness to play in the hard areas. Power forwards are plentiful on a few teams, while others don't have any at all. One thing that is true of all teams: they're always looking for the next one... My list of the 5 best power forwards Ever! They were all drafted in the 1st round and played in the 230 or better range #5 Todd Bertuzzi 6'3"-229lbs drafted 23rd #4 Eric Lindros 6'4"-240 drafted 1st #3 Jaromir Jagr 6'3"-230lbs drafted 5th #2 Alex Ovechkin 6'3"-230lbs drafted 1st #1 Mario Lemiux 6'3"-230lbs drafted 1st Richie will be in this club, he has the size, strength and skill!!!

Sure I have no doubt Richie will go in the top 5 if he doesn't we will take him !

There are probably only two players in this draft that can step right into the Nhl. Ekblad and Richie If we don.t move up for Ekblad we will be taking Richie if he's available, he can make an immediate impact as a 3rd or 4th liner and has the potential to move up to the second or 1st line in years to come!

Ehlers is a great kid but he is not the type of player Benning is looking for. Richie however is the type that Benning wants, Hard working, Playmaker, Sniper, Fighter, Skater He has a lot of skill and plays rough. If Ehlers can't crack the top 6 there is no room for him on the team. Richie can easily crack the bottom 6 and given time will probably crack the top 6. Go Canucks

Sure http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2014/02/15/is-nhl-prospect-nick-ritchie-the-big-tough-skilled-forward-the-oilers-need/

Yup, looks like LA might get past Chicago. I can't picture either team in the East being able to handle LA.

I fail to see how its to my benefit, I like Trotz! But I think he would have said the new coach will have to have NHL experience if he was planning on hiring Trotz or someone of his ilk.

Don't worry it will be Draisaitl or Ritchie !

Benning already knows who he wants for a coach, when asked if the coach would have to have NHL experience, he said no. Fairly easy to decipher from there!

Trotz is out!

Bure was our best player ever. Nylander is a head case Draisaitl the german Gretzky is a big Center, we could use him

Virtanen is not Benning's type of player, it will never happen!

Richie is in Ehlers is out!

Richie in Ehlers Out!!! VANCOUVER -- Trevor Linden and Jim Benning hadn't spoken since they were teammates on the Vancouver Canucks in 1988-89, but it didn't take long to realize they were on the same page about fixing the current edition of the franchise. Linden introduced Benning as the Canucks' new general manager on Friday, a move many predicted soon after general manager Mike Gillis was fired in early April and Linden took over as president of hockey operations the next day. However, Linden insisted he didn't make up his mind until reconnecting with Benning. "I can't say that he was the guy I wanted because I hadn't spoken to Jim in 25 years," Linden said. "After the first interview I really felt we did share a lot of the same visions and values and what it takes to win and win consistently." Benning, who spent the past eight seasons as an assistant GM with the Boston Bruins, felt the same way about that first meeting. . "He's cut for the same cloth I am," said Benning, 51. "I wanted to tie myself to somebody who had the same thoughts and beliefs that I did." . How those beliefs will manifest themselves on a Canucks roster that missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2008 remains to be seen. But it's clear that Benning's strong background in scouting -- he spent six of his 12 seasons with the Buffalo Sabres as their director of amateur scouting before joining Boston -- played a big role in landing his first GM job in the NHL. . "I wanted someone who is an exceptional talent evaluator," Linden said. . Benning also spent time scouting for the Anaheim Ducks after playing 610 games as a defenseman in the NHL, including four seasons in Vancouver. His reputation for identifying talent in the NHL Draft and trades will be important to a Canucks organization that has an aging core and a thin list of high-end prospects. . Benning, who can begin working with the Canucks right away and will do so at next week's NHL Combine, said playing in the Pacific Division against teams such as the Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks will shape his philosophy. . "They are big, heavy teams, so when we talk to our scouting staff one of our mandates is 'Let's get a little bit bigger, a little more rugged, so we can play both styles,'" Benning said. "So we can play a skill, skating style when need be, but when it's a rugged, physical game; we can play that game too." . If that sounds a lot like the Bruins team that Benning just left, a team that bullied the Canucks on the way to winning the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, so be it. . "I never heard of the 'Boston model' until I came out here, to be quite honest," Benning said. "I would like to see a little more physicality on the third and fourth lines. I'm not talking about fighting, but I am talking about between the whistles, getting in on the forecheck, hitting, playing with a little bit more grit."

Live: Jim Benning Introductory Press Conference (May 23, 2014) Benning plainly says he wants the team bigger and more rugged. If Richie is available he will be our pick! Watch from 23:30 He also says many of the scouts are excellent, they just need direction as to what the team is looking for.

Richie is a lot better player than Virtanen, so I guess it will be him unless Draisatl falls, that would make the pick tougher. Draisatl is pretty good and a center, wheras Richie is a winger.

There is no doubt if Richie is available at 6 we will take him, unless Draisatl falls, then the choice is less obvious. However I smell a trade deal where we give up Kesler and the 6th for our cornerstone player. Hoping its Malkin, Pittsburg may want to dump some salary, you never know!!!

LOL

Published on Feb 10, 2014 Nick Ritchie scored six goals and two assists in four games to earn OHL Player of the Week honours. He was the first player to score five goals in a game in the OHL since his brother Brett recorded the feat in 2012.

The Edmonton Journal: . The Oilers have myriad needs as all diehard fans know. The most acute area might be a lack of size in their top group of forwards. Of course, this size must have accompanying speed. Even better is when you can get size, speed, skill and a mean streak. There has been talk, ad nauseum, that the Oilers need size, but it has to be more than that if the Oilers truly want to be able to compete against that California trio of teams and the St. Louis Blues with their heavy and skilled loads. . One such package just might be Peterborough Petes left winger Nick Ritchie. He’s the kind of player that the Oilers have lacked for a number of seasons now and it may not be a stretch to think that he could have an impact as early as next season given the dearth of that type of player in the Oilers organization. . In the game I saw, Ritchie was in the starting lineup and lined up at left wing alongside centre Hunter Garlent and right winger Eric Cornel who is No.23 on Central Scouting’s midterm list. The line played the entire game together and had great chemistry. . Intensity was not an issue in the game at any point. He was engaged the entire time and was skating just as hard on his final shift as he was on the first. . Nick Ritchie passes the eye test with flying colours. He’s an imposing figure on the ice and appears more like an enforcer than the skilled power forward that he is. The Orangeville, Ontario native is listed at 6’3” and 235 pounds and he might even be bigger than that as he continues to grow. He’s a left hand shot and is touted to have a great release. Wears a letter “A”. I noticed right away that he uses a long stick and that just makes his reach even more of an advantage. . It didn’t take long for him to have a positive impact on the game. On his second shift he picked up the puck in the neutral zone and made a beautiful little backhand saucer pass to Garlent as they crossed the blue line. Garlent snapped it home and Petes were up 1-0. He picked up his first goal and second point on the power play in the second period. He set up on the half wall, on his off wing, just inside the wide right hash marks. He rang his first one-timer off the post but buried his second chance. On the goal, he drifted very nearly into the slot and beat the left-handed Guigovaz over his glove hand to tie the game for the Petes. . His skating is above average and His shot is excellent. It is hard and accurate. He also has a great release, as you don’t really see the puck once it’s near him for the one-timer. On the Petes’ first PP, he rang a high hard one off the post before he scored his first of the night, top shelf. He could be even more selfish though as he passed up at least two chances to shoot when in the high slot. . Ritchie had very good defensive zone awareness. He was aware of his point man, but the Petes play a system that asks him to come down low to collapse the net so he took the man in the slot when necessary once. There was an economy of movement in the defensive zone – no wasted effort. Seemed to be in the right spot at all times and anticipated potential dangerous situations well. . He back checked hard all night. I noted that a few times, as he never seemed to loaf at any point when Belleville was on the rush. He drifted back to the point on another occasion when the defenceman had pinched – showed good awareness here. . Seems to have well above average vision and offensive awareness. He made the unselfish play, time and time again. Actually passed up a scoring chance twice that he should have shot on and instead tried to set someone else up on the wing for the one-timer. He did fly the zone early once, but generally he’s part of the breakout and does a good job of creating speed through the neutral zone. He was willing to chip it in or carry it in. Once in the offensive zone, he was constantly moving his feet and his stick was ready to receive a pass. Drifted between the front of the net and the soft spot between the defence and the forwards in the circles. He actually came off under the one minute mark on a shift despite the Petes having control in the offensive zone; came across as selfless in that instance. . He drove to the net hard on at least two occasions and his wrap-around attempt on his fifth shift of the first period was stopped by the Belleville goalie but it was a high-skill play showing a good nose for the net. . Ritchie loves to play a physical game and why wouldn’t he, given his skating ability and his physical gifts. He landed his first big hit on his third shift. On his fourth shift, he knocked another guy down at centre ice with ease. Shrugged off defenders along the wall a couple of times in the second period. On one play in the second, he completely erased the defender along the boards, retrieved the puck and made a beautiful into the slot for a prime scoring chance. There were a couple of times where it was almost laughable with how easy it was for him to dominate along the wall. In the third period, he had a big hit on the defenceman in the Belleville zone on the first shift of the period. He had another big hit on his fourth shift of the third period. However, he doesn’t appreciate being hit as he went right after big Belleville winger Chad Heffernan when Heffernan went after him. Ritchie responded to the hit with a cross check to Heffernan’s ribs but nothing came of it. . He played in all game situations. He got some limited PK time, about 15 seconds to end the Petes’ first kill. He did get a short shift in a four on four situation in the first period. He took a defensive zone draw in the four on four situation – did lose it, but stayed with his man after losing the draw. He had extended PP time in the second and scored his first goal with the man advantage. He played four on four in the third period and looked good with the extra ice, made at least two nice passes. Interesting that he plays a lot of the game on the right side leading me to think he could easily play on either left or right wing at the next level. . It was just one viewing, but Ritchie was very impressive. He looks like a blue-chip prospect whose game should translate well to the NHL level. He has had a couple of injuries with one being a shoulder injury that actually required surgery in 2012-13. He’s represented Ontario as a U17 and he has competed for Canada at the U18 Juniors. I tried to think of a Pro Player Comparison for Ritchie and came up with Canadian Olympian Jamie Benn. If he ends up being that kind of player, he’ll be a great addition to any NHL club. Here’s hoping the Oilers are taking a long look at Ritchie for the 2014 draft given his obvious size, skill and physical play.

One Injury doesn't make you injury prone. Virtanen just had shoulder surgery Almost everyone on the Canucks has had surgery at one time or another, that's just a fact of playing hockey. Go Canucks

The Edmonton Journal: . The Oilers have myriad needs as all diehard fans know. The most acute area might be a lack of size in their top group of forwards. Of course, this size must have accompanying speed. Even better is when you can get size, speed, skill and a mean streak. There has been talk, ad nauseum, that the Oilers need size, but it has to be more than that if the Oilers truly want to be able to compete against that California trio of teams and the St. Louis Blues with their heavy and skilled loads. . One such package just might be Peterborough Petes left winger Nick Ritchie. He’s the kind of player that the Oilers have lacked for a number of seasons now and it may not be a stretch to think that he could have an impact as early as next season given the dearth of that type of player in the Oilers organization. . In the game I saw, Ritchie was in the starting lineup and lined up at left wing alongside centre Hunter Garlent and right winger Eric Cornel who is No.23 on Central Scouting’s midterm list. The line played the entire game together and had great chemistry. . Intensity was not an issue in the game at any point. He was engaged the entire time and was skating just as hard on his final shift as he was on the first. . Nick Ritchie passes the eye test with flying colours. He’s an imposing figure on the ice and appears more like an enforcer than the skilled power forward that he is. The Orangeville, Ontario native is listed at 6’3” and 235 pounds and he might even be bigger than that as he continues to grow. He’s a left hand shot and is touted to have a great release. Wears a letter “A”. I noticed right away that he uses a long stick and that just makes his reach even more of an advantage. . It didn’t take long for him to have a positive impact on the game. On his second shift he picked up the puck in the neutral zone and made a beautiful little backhand saucer pass to Garlent as they crossed the blue line. Garlent snapped it home and Petes were up 1-0. He picked up his first goal and second point on the power play in the second period. He set up on the half wall, on his off wing, just inside the wide right hash marks. He rang his first one-timer off the post but buried his second chance. On the goal, he drifted very nearly into the slot and beat the left-handed Guigovaz over his glove hand to tie the game for the Petes. . His skating is above average and His shot is excellent. It is hard and accurate. He also has a great release, as you don’t really see the puck once it’s near him for the one-timer. On the Petes’ first PP, he rang a high hard one off the post before he scored his first of the night, top shelf. He could be even more selfish though as he passed up at least two chances to shoot when in the high slot. . Ritchie had very good defensive zone awareness. He was aware of his point man, but the Petes play a system that asks him to come down low to collapse the net so he took the man in the slot when necessary once. There was an economy of movement in the defensive zone – no wasted effort. Seemed to be in the right spot at all times and anticipated potential dangerous situations well. . He back checked hard all night. I noted that a few times, as he never seemed to loaf at any point when Belleville was on the rush. He drifted back to the point on another occasion when the defenceman had pinched – showed good awareness here. . Seems to have well above average vision and offensive awareness. He made the unselfish play, time and time again. Actually passed up a scoring chance twice that he should have shot on and instead tried to set someone else up on the wing for the one-timer. He did fly the zone early once, but generally he’s part of the breakout and does a good job of creating speed through the neutral zone. He was willing to chip it in or carry it in. Once in the offensive zone, he was constantly moving his feet and his stick was ready to receive a pass. Drifted between the front of the net and the soft spot between the defence and the forwards in the circles. He actually came off under the one minute mark on a shift despite the Petes having control in the offensive zone; came across as selfless in that instance. . He drove to the net hard on at least two occasions and his wrap-around attempt on his fifth shift of the first period was stopped by the Belleville goalie but it was a high-skill play showing a good nose for the net. . Ritchie loves to play a physical game and why wouldn’t he, given his skating ability and his physical gifts. He landed his first big hit on his third shift. On his fourth shift, he knocked another guy down at centre ice with ease. Shrugged off defenders along the wall a couple of times in the second period. On one play in the second, he completely erased the defender along the boards, retrieved the puck and made a beautiful into the slot for a prime scoring chance. There were a couple of times where it was almost laughable with how easy it was for him to dominate along the wall. In the third period, he had a big hit on the defenceman in the Belleville zone on the first shift of the period. He had another big hit on his fourth shift of the third period. However, he doesn’t appreciate being hit as he went right after big Belleville winger Chad Heffernan when Heffernan went after him. Ritchie responded to the hit with a cross check to Heffernan’s ribs but nothing came of it. . He played in all game situations. He got some limited PK time, about 15 seconds to end the Petes’ first kill. He did get a short shift in a four on four situation in the first period. He took a defensive zone draw in the four on four situation – did lose it, but stayed with his man after losing the draw. He had extended PP time in the second and scored his first goal with the man advantage. He played four on four in the third period and looked good with the extra ice, made at least two nice passes. Interesting that he plays a lot of the game on the right side leading me to think he could easily play on either left or right wing at the next level. . It was just one viewing, but Ritchie was very impressive. He looks like a blue-chip prospect whose game should translate well to the NHL level. He has had a couple of injuries with one being a shoulder injury that actually required surgery in 2012-13. He’s represented Ontario as a U17 and he has competed for Canada at the U18 Juniors. I tried to think of a Pro Player Comparison for Ritchie and came up with Canadian Olympian Jamie Benn. If he ends up being that kind of player, he’ll be a great addition to any NHL club. Here’s hoping the Oilers are taking a long look at Ritchie for the 2014 draft given his obvious size, skill and physical play.

If Linden is talking cornerstone then he is talking trade up to Florida' 1st overall pick. Florida has already said they will trade it. Hopefully we can keep 6th and get Richie at the same time. Then we have something!