Ritchie shows resilience managing shoulder injury ahead of 2023 NHL Draft

The 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held June 28-29 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The first round will be June 28 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS) and rounds 2-7 are June 29 (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, a look at Calum Ritchie of Oshawa in the Ontario Hockey League. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.

BUFFALO -- A strong finish is just what Calum Ritchie needed to gain a fresh start prior to the NHL Scouting Combine presented by adidas this week in Buffalo.

Ritchie, a center with Oshawa, had nine points (three goals, six assists) in seven games to help Canada earn a bronze medal at the 2023 IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Switzerland in April. He was the highest scorer of the 10 Ontario Hockey League skaters representing Canada.

The 18-year-old right-handed shot accomplished this despite dealing with a shoulder injury sustained eight months earlier, during the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in August. But he worked himself into shape and, all the while, never made excuses.

"I was just strengthening it throughout the OHL season but re-injured it during OHL playoffs and right before the U-18 Worlds," Ritchie said. "I made the decision that I was going to go (to Switzerland), so I asked if I could stay an extra week (in Oshawa) to strengthen the shoulder. I stayed back, missed some exhibition games, but was there for the start.

"After the tournament, I had a procedure done so it's all good now."

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The effort exhibited by Ritchie, No. 13 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters presented by BioSteel, has created quite a buzz.

"I had a great experience at the U-18 Worlds," Ritchie said. "I appreciated the opportunity to play for Canada again and feel like I learned a lot. I was excited to play more hockey after my OHL season ended and feel it benefited me to play against great competition and show more of my game."

Ritchie has 23 interviews scheduled with NHL clubs at the Scouting Combine this week. He wears a sling as a precaution and said he won't perform any physical testing at the combine but expects to return to the ice and resume his training in three weeks.

"The combine is a great opportunity to meet with teams and allow them to get to know me better," he said.

"I would for sure say the U-18 Worlds was a confidence boost for him," Oshawa coach Derek Laxdal said. "He didn't know if he was even going to be able to play at the end of the season. But for him to represent Canada is a great way for him to finish off the season after battling through injury most of the year.

"I think the sky's the limit for Calum moving forward."

The third-place finish comes after Ritchie (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) had 59 points (24 goals, 35 assists) and six power-play goals in 59 games in his second full season with the Generals. He also had six points (two goals, four assists) in five OHL playoff games.

"I think my best assets are finding my open teammates, shooting the puck and being hard to play against," Ritchie said. "Winning face-offs, tracking the puck hard and being good in the defensive zone are also things I take pride in."

Ritchie is the second-highest OHL player listed among North American skaters after left wing Colby Barlow of Owen Sound.

"He's got lots of professional and NHL attributes to his game, starting with the fact he can play in traffic and can manage that with good hands and hockey sense," Central Scouting director David Gregory said. "When he was out of the lineup (in March), Oshawa struggled and did not have much success at all. That just tells you how much he brings to the game."

Ritchie can thank Laxdal for instilling in him the pro-style game that made a big difference in his approach this season.

"I think he's definitely trying to turn me into like a pro-ready player and I've learned a lot from him, and it's definitely helped my game," Ritchie said.

Laxdal was named Oshawa's coach Aug. 4, joining the club after three seasons as an NHL assistant under Rick Bowness with the Dallas Stars (2020-22).

"The big thing for me is Cal has a very well-rounded 200-foot game, he does everything very well, and the one thing we really tried to work with him was obviously being more of a complete player," Laxdal said. "We knew he could score, can beat players 1-on-1, but we really wanted to try and round out his game.

"If you watch him down low on defensive zone entries, he's got great positioning for when he gets any quick breakouts ... we really tried to work with him on that by watching guys like Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby or Roope Hintz when coming through the paint, through the dot line on breakouts. He excelled at that during the year and was a breakout machine."

Laxdal also served as coach of the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League for six seasons (2014-20).

"I think people don't realize how hard it is to play at the next level, like the AHL or NHL," Ritchie said. "[Laxdal] kind of brings that mentality every day to the rink and it's all business when he gets to the rink. When we take care of business at the rink and in practice, keep working hard, that's when we have a lot of fun."

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