Ryder Ritchie

November 2023 – Ryder Ritchie looks to be the third WHL player off the board this year as another quick, skilled forward. Ritchie has very quick feet and hands with excellent puckhandling posture, making him an excellent puck carrier. Especially when given time and space to attack downhill, Ritchie is particularly adept at using those hands to find the middle of the ice for high-quality chances. Ritchie is also an effective positionally-focused player, using great puck spacing and support in all three zones and prioritizing strong body positioning before establishing puck possession. The next steps for Ritchie will be improving his standstill explosiveness and checking lanes (which hinders his ability to win puck battles) and adding more layers of deception to his playmaking. Ritchie has a good read of where his options are but too often telegraphs his intentions, making many of his passes unnecessarily risky. If Ritchie can improve in these areas and continue to develop, he could challenge Catton and Lindstrom for a top WHL draft-eligible. Luke Sweeney (November Rankings: 17th Overall)