It was more than just his physical condition. Maybe it’s because I’ve been accustomed to seeing garbage on ice for the first 10 games, but he was way more offensively aware than I’ve seen from him in the past. There was a level of creativity that he didn’t really have in his game last season.
I think Ritchie has had ample opportunities to grab prime positions in the past honestly.
That said, I've been no stranger in Ritchie debates that I think powerforwards take longer to come into their own. I think there's an adjustment since they're not playing against kids that they're simply far more advanced physically. I think a large portion of that is realizing that their size alone isn't going to take them far in the league. They have to decide if they're content with being an NHLer (primarily due to talent and physical traits) or if they want to be more than that. Based on his conditioning and first game, it looks like Ritchie wanted to be more which is a great sign. The next step is to maintain that work ethic and keeping that desire to be great, not just good.
Maroon is a good example. I'm of the opinion that even the "Anaheim Maroon" has much more value then some realized. 4th liners who slide up and down the lineup and produce, who also can stand up for teammates have a lot of value. See how much guys like Martin, Shawn Thorton, etc. are paid. Maroon, for whatever reason, realized he wanted to be more and now he's obviously a much better player. Hoping Ritchie does something similar. He's got the potential to be a prime Lucic though. Regardless, extremely glad we kept him. I was very fearful that he'd be traded this past offseason.
