Anaheim Ducks fans should give Nick Ritchie a chance
By Kennyth M
Anaheim Ducks fans list of priorities this summer revolve around the desire to trade Corey Perry and Nick Ritchie. Perry’s enormous salary makes it unlikely he gets moved. As a result, all the pent-up frustration has been focused on shipping out the younger forward, but maybe they are being a bit hasty.
Nick Ritchie was never given a fair shot at being popular with Anaheim Ducks fans. Heading into the 2014 entry draft and picking 10th overall, Ducks fans were enamored with the electric Nikolaj Ehlers. Watching Ehlers get plucked one pick before Anaheim was met with groans of, “what could have been.” Unmet expectations meant, whoever GM Bob Murray chose was not going to be received with the same anticipation.
Ducks fans looked on in somber silence when the team announced Ritchie as their selection. Another power forward with the attributes we’ve come to expect: undisciplined, needs conditioning, plays when he wants to. Despite the negatives, he also had the potential and pedigree to become the best player in the draft.
The negatives that have followed Ritchie since have been a mixture of his own doing, but also a “self-fulfilling” prophecy established by the fan base. It’s why the positive things he has accomplished in his short career are all but forgotten, but the negatives are dwelt on.
If Ritchie can be moved to get a dynamic player, then I’m all for it. Moving him for the sake of moving him is a bad notion. There is hope should he remain a Ducks and I’ll explain why.