2024 NHL Draft Profile: Why the Dallas Stars must draft Ryder Ritchie

Who needs more offense? Everyone!

If you’re not a draft nerd, well, you should be. When it comes to prospects, some make the cut but many don’t. Regardless, every journey, whether it’s Julius Honka or Logan Stankoven, can help make you a more informed hockey watcher.

Today we’re gonna forget about what Dallas needs, and focus on a player who probably shouldn’t drop down to Dallas, but who will make things hard on Dallas if he does. After all, the Stars don’t need any right wings. Or do they?

The Bio

• Date of Birth: Aug. 3, 2006

• Age: 17

• Height:

• Weight: 183lbs

• Position: RW

• Shoots: Right

• Team: Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)

What the pros are saying

Below I’ve highlighted a few choice quotes from the most familiar, and most respected public outlets.

From EPRinkside (ranking him at #22):

• By pure speed, Ritchie’s not a burner, but his functional pace – the speed at which he makes plays – is among the draft’s highest. At full speed, he dangles opponents, slips passes through them, and shoots in stride. He combines give-and-goes with crossovers and east-west movement, constantly shifting the defence and creating gaps. Just when opponents think they’ve figured him out, he cuts back and finds the trailer.

From Scott Wheeler (ranking him at #32):

• Ritchie’s a shifty playmaking winger who can make highlight-reel skill plays with the puck. He can play at multiple paces and adjust his tempo between them. He protects extremely well and will commonly shake past or around opposing players, building speed through his crossovers to hang onto the puck inside the offensive zone until a play presents itself. There’s also some real creativity to his game as an equal opportunity facilitator and finisher (he’s got a really nifty curl-and-drag and snap release that can cleanly beat goalies from midrange). He has a way of finding his way out of trouble, whether with a twist or turn or bit of creativity to set up an opening to pass through with a pre-planned move so that he can place a puck under a stick or between someone's skates..

From Corey Pronman (ranking him at #49):

• Ritchie was the best rookie in the WHL last season and a top player for Canada's U18 team this summer but his season to in Prince Albert wasn't as impressive. He is an average-sized winger, but he brings a ton of skill to the table. He is a very elusive forward due to his skating and hands and can make a lot of tough plays with pace. His effort is fine but his consistency could be better. I also don't think he's a dynamic playmaking winger but instead a very good one.

Unimaginative, misleading comparables

• Arturri Lehkonen

• Cam Atkinson

• Reilly Smith

• Kyle Palmieri

• Andrew Mangiapane

• Matias Maccelli

The numbers

On the surface, and beneath the hood, Ritchie profiles like the real McCoy. His offense rates better than 93 percent of his draft peers, with an emphasis on playmaking, but he’s defensively responsible and slick in transition.

Not sure what this chart means and need a quick and dirty explainer? I’ve got you covered! Click here to learn more from a man who knows less.

The tape

Personal observations

Like Vanacker and Stiga, Ritchie reminds me of the forwards Dallas has drafted in recent years with an emphasis on smarts and playmaking. Like the others, Ritchie runs clean, smooth routes to maximize opportunities, relying on skills as much as fluid positioning. He doesn’t have all-world talent in any one phase of the game, but like players like Johnston and Bourque, he leverages each talent in unison across multiple zones to be one of the most impact players on offense at this stage of the draft.

There are decent questions about why his production doesn’t match his performance, but I would argue that you can have production without performance — the problem is that it’s less sustainable. Whereas performance without production at least has a rational explanation: not enough of the right breaks. Given the quality of the team he was on, the criticism isn’t all that warranted IMO.

How he helps the Stars

Conventional wisdom is that Dallas needs right-handed defensemen and left wingers, therefore shouldn’t be looking at right wing. Except you could have made the same case in 2021 when Dallas already had Seguin, Hintz, Dellandrea and Bourque already in the system before drafting yet another center in Wyatt Johnston. There won’t be many “BPAs” available where Dallas is picking, but that’s not to say it can’t happen. Ritchie is in a very small group of forwards at this range with serious middle six potential.

The allure of players like Elick or Emery (who I consider legit, top four defensemen in time) is palpable, as is the need to shore up areas where Dallas is deficient. But there are other ways to do that, between trade, free agency, the waiver wire, and college pick ups. A player like Ritchie is a safe bet to be a difference maker.

Beyond that, Dallas isn’t actually set at right wing. Logan Stankoven is basically all they have. Mavrik Bourque will likely slot there, but that’s very different from having a right wing playing their natural position, regardless of how much easier the transition is for centers. So sure, it’s true that Dallas needs more right-handed defensemen and left wingers in their system, but they could use really anything of note given how many of their prospects have either graduated or are on the cusp of graduating.

Like Stiga and Vanacker, Ritchie’s floor is quite high as well. I wouldn’t go so far as call him a genuine two-way forward, but as one of the younger players, you never expect the defense to pop off. (You see this in a lot of young NHLers especially: even Johnston didn’t have strong defensive impacts in his rookie year.) Given his offensive maturity, don’t be surprised if the rest follows. And don’t be surprised if the offense takes care of itself.