Damien Riat

January 2023 – Riat has signed an extension that will keep him in the NL Swiss League until 2024-25, which will keep him there until he is 27. It appears incredibly unlikely that he returns to North America to play in the NHL. Riat’s production has declined this season as well. Time to cut loose if he is still held on to in the deepest of leagues. Pat Quinn

September 2022 – Riat has indeed stayed in Switzerland signing in the NL until 2023-24 with Lausanne HC. He will be 27 when this deal expires and may come back to North America by then, but he may just be happy enough to stay in Switzerland for his career. Pat Quinn

January 2022 – Riat has 10 points in 17 games but has been out recently with an injury. It is unknown if he will be back with the Capitals, or even in North America, as all signs/rumours seem to point towards him staying in Switzerland. Pat Quinn

September 2022 – Riat decided he wanted to go back to Switzerland to play and the Capitals loaned him to Lausanne HC of the Swiss League for the 2021-2022. Pat Quinn

March 2021 – 12 games in to the season and Riat has been fine, not great but also not bad. He has struggled to post points playing in a middle six role as he has four points in 12 games. He has struggled in March posting one goal on one shot in four games.  In the eight games prior to this stretch he had 15 shots, which is still not very ideal. He is turning in to more of a playmaker than a sniper, but he has a good enough shot. The Bears just need to convince him to keep shooting. He will be developing in the AHL for a little while. Pat Quinn

January 2021 – Riat is coming over to play for the Bears in the AHL as the teams’ training camp has opened. He finished is Swiss league loan with 18 points in 20 games and looks to carry the momentum to Hershey this season. It will likely still take him over a year to have an NHL shot as he may adapt somewhat slowly to the North American AHL game. Pat Quinn

August 2020 – Riat was loaned to the Geneve-Servette Hockey Club of the Swiss National League to start the 2020-2021 season. The Capitals will recall him when the NHL training camps open for the 2020-2021 season where he will likely play in the AHL for the full season to get accustomed the North American play.  Pat Quinn

March 2020 – With the Swiss league cancelling the remaining games Riat finished with 22 points in 36 games, which was an improvement on his prior two seasons in points per game, from 0.50 to 0.52 to finally 0.61. In the few games I watched, as we remained quarantined, he looked more confident on the ice than I had seen before. After the cancellation of the NLA Riat signed a two-year ELC with the Capitals. He will play 2020-2021 in the AHL and hopefully he can get ice time. The Capitals are known to prefer veterans in the AHL over young players (see the past five years at minimum) but the hope is once the 2020 starts Hershey moves away from that mantra and plays the young players more. Riat is not cut out for a bottom line role, he needs to play in offensive situations.  Pat Quinn

September 2019 – Riat is playing his final season in the NLA and Caps fans are hoping he can increase his production in the Swiss league. He has really stagnated lately so the hope is that his production and confidence grow. Pat Quinn

June 2019 – Riat’s contact with EHC Biel-Bienne runs until 2019-2020 and that is concerning for Capitals fans. Riat’s game has stagnated in the Swiss league slightly and it would be best for him to come to North America soon. He at least upped his playoff production from one points in five games in 2018 to four points in 12 games this season. The Swiss leagues are notoriously low scoring so his true potential will be better measured in North America.  Pat Quinn

March 2019 – Riat finished his year with a similar stat-line than the previous year with 25 points in 48 games, but he did take a few more penalty minutes and put up three points in five playoff games instead of the one point in five games from the previous year. He still has one more season in the NLA under contract so hopefully he can break out eventually or he will just appear to be a bottom six NHLer at best. Pat Quinn

December 2018 – Riat is pretty much mirroring his 2017-2018 season this year but he is more consistently dangerous this season. Pat Quinn

September 2018 – Riat will change teams in the NLA (Swiss League) from his hometown Genève-Servette HC to EHC Biel-Bienne for the 2018-2019 season as he looks to improve on his 24 points in 48 games.  Pat Quinn

May 2018 – Riat bounced back in the second half of the season for Genève-Servette HC with 18 points in 29 games. In a league where scoring isn’t as prominent and young players do not play much Riat began to stand out. He is signed in the Swiss League until 2019-20 and will likely play in the AHL after that. Pat Quinn

November 2017 – Riat has struggled to score to start the season in the Swiss league (NLA) with only six points in 19 games. NLA is typically a low scoring league, and if you are a young player and do not score off the bat you will be given less minutes. Riat has been given low minutes again and needs a hot run to get his minutes up. He will likely come over to Hershey in the AHL for the 2018-2019 season and hopefully begin producing as some younger players on he Bears current roster should move up to the NHL roster. Pat Quinn

January 2017 – Riat was easily a top forward for the Swiss always creating offense when he could. In the playoff match versus the USA he finished with an assist and was consistently dangerous. The Capitals may have a gem on their hands, but a wait and see approach is needed. Pat Quinn

January 2017 – Riat has been on of the best players for the Swiss team in the world junior tournament, standing out amongst many scouts watching the team. In the four round robin games he has one goal and four assists. Rait is consistently is one of the most dangerous and creative forwards on the Swiss team, making things happen when he has the puck. The Capitals may have drafted a very good player in the fourth round, but he really needs to pick up his scoring and consistency in the NLA (Swiss A league) as well as bulking up. Pat Quinn

July 2016 – Riat is a player who has moved around a lot to start his career. First he played two years at Notre Dame private school in Saskatchewan, then moved to Sweden for two more years of hockey, and then ended up returning to Switzerland to play in their National League A. He put up 21 points in 45 games for the Geneve Servette, tying him for for sixth on the team in goals, eighth in points, and ninth in assists. Riat has a long way to go before he can make an impact but the Capitals must have felt the six-foot winger has enough skill to take a chance on him this late. Pat Quinn