Former First-Round Draft Pick Follows His Brother to Europe, Signs in the Same League
Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nick Ritchie has decided to join his brother, signing in the Slovakian league after failing to garner interest in the NHL this season.
Ritchie last played in the NHL during the 2022-23 season where he got into 58 games with the now-defunct Arizona Coyotes, who have since moved to the state of Utah. Since then, he has travelled around Europe extending his career in both the Finnish Liiga and the German pro league, the DEL. Now it appears that he will spend at least one season in Slovakia, following his older brother's footsteps.
Notably, Nick did not sign with the same team as his brother. In fact, the two now play for rivals and they are scheduled to meet each other two more times this season, once in January and again in February.
Ritchie, originally drafted by the Anaheim Ducks, got into 481 career NHL games before making the move to Europe. Considering how bad the Ducks are though, it is somewhat surprising that they would not consider bringing him back, especially as they appear to be putting on this season as their rebuild continues. In those 481 games, Nick has 84 goals and 186 points. Those totals certainly are not very impressive for a former 10th overall pick, but that just goes to show you that the NHL draft has a lot more uncertainty in it than people might expect. Still though, Ritchie is far from the worst selection in that range as fellow 10th overall pick Tyler Boucher has failed to even play a single NHL game since being drafted in 2021. Boucher has just 5 points in 25 career AHL games and he is a forward, showing just how badly the Senators missed on that pick.
If you get a chance, it could be fun to tune in to some Slovakian hockey games this season, especially if you are a fan of the Ritchie brothers. In the meantime though, be sure to stay up to date on all the latest NHL news here at Blade of Steel.
