Friday Thots: Ritchie Had to Go

Well, all good things come to an end, and that includes Calum Ritchie’s first taste of NHL action. But was it actually a good thing?

The 19-year-old kid had a shot at making the team because the Colorado Avalanche were riddled with injuries at forward (bad thing!). In the preseason and training camp, he proved that he could play with NHL-caliber players (a good thing!) and had a little flair unseen amongst the Avs’ typical stable of late first-rounders with upside and defensive forwards.

But when the season got going, he looked lost pretty often (bad thing!), posted the worst possession metrics on the team (bad thing!), and while he did score his first NHL goal (good thing!) he didn’t help create any others (bad thing!) and was on the ice for six goals against (bad thing!). All that happened in limited, sheltered minutes and a little powerplay time.

Was it fair to expect Cal to break out as a star in the NHL before he even turned 20? Of course not – but this team needed some skill in the forward corps, and Ritchie could not deliver it. Even as injuries mounted on the wings (Rest in Pasta Ross Colton), it became clear that #71 wouldn’t seize the opportunity.

So, was it actually a good thing even though it didn’t work out? Unequivocally, yes – Ritchie wasn’t ready, but he showed the talent that made him a high-end prospect and the great head on his shoulders that absolutely endeared him to his coaches and teammates. He has the hockey sense and skill to make a difference in all three zones and he just needs to build up his confidence and processing speed to be ready for his next shot at the roster.

Next season, the kid could really pop – but let’s not forget to be patient.

Last season, I did Friday grades for all the players. That meant I used a lot of words to tell you in a lot of different ways that Nathan MacKinnon was really good and Jack Johnson was really slow.

This season, I’m still going to judge the players – my job as a journalist is to be judgemental – but I’m going to call them Thotties and Naughties and let you decide about the folks who don’t make the list. I know I shouldn’t trust you to form your own opinions – but that’s a risk I’m willing to take to make this column shorter and better. Let’s get into it.

THOTTIE: Justus Annunen – Wow, what a difference a week makes! After starting the season with two poor showings in relief of…