Player Type: Intelligent, playmaking center

OHL Draft Projection: First round
Projected OHL Arrival: 2021-22

Projectable skills: Intelligence, puckhandling, mobility
Development opportunities: Continuing to build strength

One of a handful of prospects in the conversation to hear their name first in the 2021 OHL Draft, Calum Ritchie oozes offensive potential and has the confidence to achieve that potential. His skill with the puck is on display whenever he’s on the ice, showing off quick hands and poise when under pressure. When confronted, he can evade his attacker with a slick move, all while keeping his head up and looking for his next play. He’s a strong skater, with impressive straight-line speed, great mobility, and excellent edge work. He also has good acceleration, whether from a stand-still or by building speed through crossovers. He can use this speed to win a race to the puck, or his agility to create separation from a defender. His vision is tremendous, finding teammates through traffic and often looking to funnel the puck into the high-danger areas. He’s very engaged in his own end, maintaining good position as a centerman and keeping an active stick when defending the rush. His puck protection is strong, positioning his body between the puck and the attacker. He’s not afraid to throw his body around or jump into board battles either, doing whatever he can to ensure his team has the puck. He’s relied on by his coaches to play in all situations, from the power play to the penalty kill including defending 5-on-3 as the lone forward. On the power play, Ritchie is utilized on the blue line, where he runs the power-play unit. Ritchie’s best asset might be his intelligence and the patience that comes with it. He doesn’t rush decisions, even when under pressure. Instead, Ritchie scans the environment, either moving the puck to safety or looking to set up a play. He should transition very well to the OHL game.

Calum Ritchie is one of the most offensively gifted players in the 2005 class, which allowed him to regularly produce highlight reel plays this past season with Ontario’s Oakville Rangers. He has a tremendous ability to maneuver pucks in tight spaces and uses his elite stickhandling to manipulate opposing players and goalies. Ritchie has outstanding offensive instincts which he uses to move to the right positions on the ice to get the puck and then accelerates quickly to separate from defenders. He is always finding the quiet areas on the ice putting himself in positions to score or set up teammates. His shot is lethal and he can let it go from multiple areas of the ice, while also changing the look of his shot. He can shoot off his inside leg, drag and shoot the puck, and has a hard slapshot that he uses often on one-timers. Defensively, Ritchie backchecks hard and consistently helps his defence down low. He is effective at getting in lanes and intercepting passes, and consistently gets pucks out of his own zone either by himself or taking a pass on the breakout. We expect Ritchie to be one of the first few picks at the 2021 OHL Draft.