Anaheim Ducks Sign Nick Ritchie to Three Year Entry Level Contract
By Jason Byun
Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Nicholas Ritchie poses for a photo with team officials after being selected as the number ten overall pick to the Anaheim Ducks in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Today was a rare, busy news day in the NHL offseason. It started with the Ducks signing big winger Patrick Maroon to a three year extension, but the big headline came with P.K. Subban agreeing to an eight year deal worth $72 million. However, lost in the shuffle of all the chaos was that the Ducks managed to sign their 2014 first round pick, Nick Ritchie, to a three year entry level deal.
Ritchie was selected with the Ottawa Senators’ 2014 first round pick, which was acquired in the deal that sent Bobby Ryan from Anaheim to the capital of Canada for Jakob Silfverberg, Stefan Noesen, and the aforementioned pick, which ended up being the tenth pick this year.
Nick Ritchie is built like a prototypical power forward and had a dominant season for the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League this past year, scoring 39 goals and 74 points while racking up 136 penalty minutes in 61 games. For a player who stands 6’3 and weighs 229 pounds, he moves around the ice very well and has a nice mix of skill to mix with his skating, size, and strength. When he has shown flashes of being able to put all of his gifts together, he is a force of nature who is very difficult to stop.
Ritchie is not NHL ready as of right now: he needs some extra seasoning and more playing time before he can reach that threshold. He models his game after Milan Lucic and Jamie Benn, and we all know how well Benn, Ryan Getzlaf, and Corey Perry played together at the Olympics. If he keeps taking steps forward, we could see him playing in a Ducks jersey sooner rather than later.