NHL bloodline grows with multiple picks at 2024 NHL Draft

LAS VEGAS -- Ryder Ritchie credits his father, former NHL forward Byron Ritchie, for helping him move up the ice and become a forward.

In the most painful way possible.

"I originally wanted to be a goalie," Ritchie said Saturday after being selected by the Minnesota Wild in the second round (No. 45). "I played goalie for practice once, my dad was out and he ripped one off my chest and it hurt pretty bad. So, I've never wanted to put on the pads ever since then."

The move paid off as Ritchie, a right wing with Prince Albert of the Western Hockey League, had 44 points (19 goals, 25 assists) in 47 games last season on his way to the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Sphere in Las Vegas.

Ritchie said he did receive less painful advice from his father, who played 324 NHL games in eight seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.

"I lean on him a ton," Ryder said. "To have him in my life, it's unreal. He's my biggest supporter. And just getting to talk to him through this process, it's been huge. He's been through it as a player, as an agent. He's such a supporter and I wouldn't be here without him, for sure."

Ritchie was one of several players with NHL connections selected during the draft.

Among them was Tij Iginla, the son of Hockey Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla. Tij was selected by the Utah Hockey Club with the No. 6 pick of the first round Friday.

"He's helped me so much," Tij said. "Not just through the draft process in particular. Everything through the years. He's instilled a lot of values in me and just helped me learn a lot of life lessons."

Jarome was chosen by the Dallas Stars with the No. 11 pick of the 1995 NHL Draft before embarking on an NHL career that saw him score 625 goals, tied for 16th all-time.

Tij, who scored 47 goals in 64 games with Kelowna of the Western Hockey League last season, said the bragging rights he has from being picked five spots ahead of his father ended at the draft.

"I've been hearing that one a little bit," Tij said. "I've got to keep building my resume if I want to stack it up against his NHL career."

Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said it's up to Tij to create his own name.

"The name you can celebrate on draft day, but he's got to have talent and he's got to have passion and he's got to want to bleed for Utah," Armstrong said. "We believe he has that. He'll stand on his own. He's going to make his own name in Utah."

The Washington Capitals selected forward Ilya Protas in the third round (No. 75). He's the younger brother of Capitals forward Aliaksei Protas.

"It's a special moment, a special day for me and for my family," Ilya said. "I don't have words to explain. Just happy to be in this organization."

Ilya said he wasn't sure the Capitals would be the team that called his name, but moments before, Washington had traded two picks to the New Jersey Devils to move to No. 75. That reminded Aliaksei of the day he was selected by the Capitals in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft (No. 91).

"When New Jersey traded the pick, he told me when it was his draft, it was the same thing, New Jersey traded the pick with Capitals," Ilya said.

Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said moving up Saturday was to make sure they could select Ilya.

"We were familiar with him because of his brother," MacLellan said. "We were hoping to get him in the third and then we were getting nervous that we might not be able to get him, so we traded up to get him."

Ilya had 51 points (14 goals, 37 assists) in 61 games with Des Moines of the United States Hockey League this season. The 17-year-old said the only time he and Aliaksei, 23, have been on the ice together has been for practices. Now they'll have a chance to be NHL teammates.

"I hope so," Aliaksei said. "It’s up to him to work and to prove he deserves with to be with the Capitals. ... I will try to help him as much as I can, but at the end of the day it's up to him to work and prove."

The Capitals selected two other players with NHL bloodlines, defenseman Cole Hutson in the second round (No. 43) and forward Miroslav Satan in the seventh round (No. 212).

Hutson is the younger brother of Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson. He had 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) in 51 games last season with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Under-18 team and is the all-time leader in points for a defenseman in program history with 119 points (25 goals, 94 assists) in 112 games.

Cole, who turned 18 on Friday, was selected with a pick acquired moments earlier in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres for forward Beck Malenstyn.

"That's super cool," Cole said. "That's probably one of the picks that means the most. They've got a lot of trust in me and it's super cool."

Satan's father, also named Miroslav, played 14 seasons in the NHL and won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.

The younger Satan had 31 points (14 goals, 27 assists) in 27 games with Bratislava's team in Slovakia's junior league.

"He's an interesting player," MacLellan said. "He's young. He’s really big (6-foot-7, 190 pounds). He's got a lot of growth, or areas [for it]. There's potential there that we see long term. It will probably take him a long time, but we thought it was worth the pick to do that."

In the third round (No. 70), the Montreal Canadiens chose center Aatos Koivu. His father, Saku Koivu, was chosen by the Canadiens in the first round (No. 21) in the 1993 NHL Draft. He played 13 seasons with the Canadiens, including his final 10 as captain (1999-2009).

"Unreal feeling right now," Aatos said. "I’m super, super happy. I can’t find the words right now to describe what I’m feeling. Extremely happy and excited. Montreal as an organization and city, everything, is just unbelievable."

Aatos made his debut in Liiga, the top professional league in Finland, playing four games with TPS. He had 31 points (16 goals, 15 assists) in 28 games in Finland's junior league.

"We liked him as a player, regardless of his last name," Canadiens co-director of amateur scouting Nick Bobrov said. "He’s a late-blooming kid. ... For a kid who was smaller (6-0, 170) just about a year ago and grew quickly, there’s a lot of growth potential. Clearly, his dad taught him very well. His habits are already pro.

"He’s been in the household where pressure was pretty common. The type of person his dad is and the family, this kid knows what it’s all about and we felt he’d be comfortable in that environment, and he was a pretty easy pick for us."

Other players with NHL bloodlines chosen during the two days at Sphere:

* Defenseman Zeev Buium, a first-round pick (No. 12) of the Minnesota Wild. His brother, Shai Buium, is a forward prospect for the Detroit Red Wings.

* Forward Max Plante, a second-round pick (No. 47) of the Detroit Red Wings. His father is former NHL forward and current Chicago Blackhawks assistant coach Derek Plante.

* Defenseman Lukas Fischer, a second-round pick (No. 56) of the St. Louis Blues. His father, Jiri Fischer, played six seasons with the Red Wings and is their associate director of player personnel

* Defenseman Spencer Gill, a second-round pick (No. 59) by the Philadelphia Flyers. His brother, Dylan Gill, is a Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman prospect.

* Forward Jack Pridham, a third-round pick (No. 92) of the Chicago Blackhawks. His father, Brandon Pridham, is assistant general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

* Forward Carson Wetsch, a third-round pick (No. 82) of the San Jose Sharks. His cousin is Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

* Forward William Samuelsson, a seventh-round pick (No. 222) by the Dallas Stars. His father, Mikael Samuelsson won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 2008 as part of his 14-season NHL career. He's now a development coach with the Vancouver Canucks.

NHL.com staff writers Tom Gulitti and Nicholas J. Cotsonika contributed to this report.