Player Discussion Nick Ritchie - II

[Flash20]

He likes food to much

 

[JCRO]

He likes food to much

Same

 

[Flash20]

Same

Yeah but I can guarantee if someone shoves a million dollars in your face you could eat a piece of celery

 

[Dr Hook]

Yeah but I can guarantee if someone shoves a million dollars in your face you could eat a piece of celery

Or you just have more money to buy more tastier food

 

[Beesfan]

I'll take Ritchie everyday over Heinen, Heinen was an even bigger stiff.

Heinen will lead the Ducks in scoring next year.

 

[bme44]

Heinen will lead the Ducks in scoring next year.

good hope he does,he wasn't leading the Bruins in scoring when he left

 

[LSCII]

50 games
8 goals
10 assists
150 hits
130 PIM
9 minutes TOI
8 Fights

That would be about the stat line for Ritchie where i would want him next year, a 4th line enforcer that can play, be physical, and start shit.

Why do you believe he's anything close to an enforcer? Because of his size? He's not. His career fight numbers are 1 to 2 per year and that includes 18-19 season with zero. He isn't what you think he is.

 

[LSCII]

Or you just have more money to buy more tastier food

His speed dial is Uber Eats, Grub Hub, and DoorDash...

 

[Sheppy]

Heinen will lead the Ducks in scoring next year.

Great, he wouldn't crack 40 for the Bruins.

 

[Sheppy]

I still get a kick of people shitting on Ritchie meanwhile he scored more than Bjork & Kase down the stretch.

Ritchie is a 4th liner, that can be plugged into the third line when there's an injury.

 

[World of Wardlow]

He would fit on 4th line as LW. I say give him at least half the season before deciding if he should stick on the team.

 

[Sheppy]

He was brought in to fail, and everyone dumps on him because he doesn't score 20-25 goals. He was brought in for a middle 6 role... he's not that guy.

 

[LSCII]

I still get a kick of people shitting on Ritchie meanwhile he scored more than Bjork & Kase down the stretch.

Ritchie is a 4th liner, that can be plugged into the third line when there's an injury.

And yet he was drafted to be more, but hasn't reached that expectation for a reason most attribute to fitness level. I personally think it's more of a head issue, in that he's a moron and is squandering a chance to be an impact player, but hey that's his choice and stuff right? Just like it's the choice of several people to be critical and want him to show up in shape.

Either way, people expecting him to be this huge physical presence that will go out and enforce things will very disappointed. That's not who he is. He's got some value for the bottom 6 to teams, but not as an enforcer.

 

[Sheppy]

And yet he was drafted to be more, but hasn't reached that expectation for a reason most attribute to fitness level. I personally think it's more of a head issue, in that he's a moron and is squandering a chance to be an impact player, but hey that's his choice and stuff right? Just like it's the choice of several people to be critical and want him to show up in shape.

Either way, people expecting him to be this huge physical presence that will go out and enforce things will very disappointed. That's not who he is. He's got some value for the bottom 6 to teams, but not as an enforcer.

I agree. I never said he was an enforcer at all, he's a guy who can fight and will, but the frustrating thing is that he rarely goes out and looks to make that statement.

He's the whipping boy.

When is Bjork going to make a statement offensively? Kase? They've been here longer and as long as Ritchie. We can shit on Ritchie for not fighting or hitting (even though he hits) but these guys are all in the clear? screw that, hold everyone accountable.

 

[LSCII]

I agree. I never said he was an enforcer at all, he's a guy who can fight and will, but the frustrating thing is that he rarely goes out and looks to make that statement.

Not saying you said he was an enforcer, that was for the people that are. In reality, his lack of intensity, like you bring up, is very frustrating. He's got the size. He's supposedly got the skills. Not sure he has the mental capacity though. And that's the issue. Bottom line is a good spot for him though.

 

[Deuce17]

Ritchie is only 24... thats puppy years for a power forward... but he clearly let himself get out of shape last year? why?

im pretty sure he was very unhappy with Anaheim management. they were not giving him any offense opportunities and then when it came time to sign a contract he was hardballed and had to be a holdout..,

it was a broken relationship... then Anaheim sucked... for some players, playing on a suck deep is a little depressing. he probably felt like he wanted to feel a bit sorry for himself... thats human nature

we traded for him based on his past and his future potential.. the nick Ritchie we got was out of shape... it takes longer than a couple weeks to get in shape

but lets look at some key factors from his past...

he has averaged just 13.30 per game in his career... thats 3rd line icetime

44 goals in less than 4 full seasons of work... thats an average of at least 11 per season
66 assists is an average of at least 17 per season

he actually had a year where he put up 31 points in 60 games... thats better than a .5 per game pace

meanwhile he hits... 786 hits in 294 games... 3 hits per game with that big powerful body

he will be in a contract year this season... and he had a bad contract negotiation last time around... I fully anticipate he will work his ass off to get into shape if he plans to have an nhl future.

this is a guy who had 68 goals in his last 109 ohl games... the raw skill is there to be able to score... bruins will give this guy a chance to play if he can improve his attitude/fitness level

he was a consensus top 20 pick in his draft year... he made the nhl after just a 1/2 season of ahl time... and he became an nhl regular at age 20... he is actually quite a good player who just had a bad year

Not sure what a ‘suck deep’ is and I’ll refrain from adding any commentary

 

[Sheppy]

Not saying you said he was an enforcer, that was for the people that are. In reality, his lack of intensity, like you bring up, is very frustrating. He's got the size. He's supposedly got the skills. Not sure he has the mental capacity though. And that's the issue. Bottom line is a good spot for him though.

I think we might see Frederic take that role a bit this year. If they're on the same line, I hope they can kind of feed off each other a bit.

A 4th line of Ritchie - Kuraly - Wagner isn't too bad, and then maybe Frederic rotating in.

 

[Kegs]

Great, he wouldn't crack 40 for the Bruins.

Neither will Ritchie. Henien is as good at puck possession. Ritchie seems to be on the wrong side of the puck most the time. He also pretty much never has the puck.

 

[Dr Hook]

I think we might see Frederic take that role a bit this year. If they're on the same line, I hope they can kind of feed off each other a bit.

A 4th line of Ritchie - Kuraly - Wagner isn't too bad, and then maybe Frederic rotating in.

I am kind of over Kuraly and Wagner myself. I would be okay with a 4th line of Ritchie-Frederic- Blidh.

 

[Kegs]

Not saying you said he was an enforcer, that was for the people that are. In reality, his lack of intensity, like you bring up, is very frustrating. He's got the size. He's supposedly got the skills. Not sure he has the mental capacity though. And that's the issue. Bottom line is a good spot for him though.

Pft. Providence is a good place for him.

 

[Sheppy]

Neither will Ritchie. Henien is as good at puck possession. Ritchie seems to be on the wrong side of the puck most the time. He also pretty much never has the puck.

I agree, Ritchie won't, but he shouldn't be expected to. Heinen is a more offensive player, but goes absolutely missing in games that require any sort of physicality. The guy is f***ing scared of his own shadow.

 

[BruinDust]

And yet he was drafted to be more, but hasn't reached that expectation for a reason most attribute to fitness level. I personally think it's more of a head issue, in that he's a moron and is squandering a chance to be an impact player, but hey that's his choice and stuff right? Just like it's the choice of several people to be critical and want him to show up in shape.

Either way, people expecting him to be this huge physical presence that will go out and enforce things will very disappointed. That's not who he is. He's got some value for the bottom 6 to teams, but not as an enforcer.

When he broke in he showed he could be. He had nights in the early part of his career where he had 7-8-9 hits a game. Not every night, but a lot more than a couple. I remember when he broke in I always carried one forward strictly for hit on my fantasy pool team, and in 2016-17 he was my guy to rack up hits.

I'm perplexed as to why his hit numbers dropped right off. Did he get fat and slow while the league got faster. Did he get complacent and think he's more of a skill guy and didn't think he needed to prove himself physically? Or is he just getting older and lazier. Maybe a combination of all of the above.

I don't see any reason why he couldn't be a big physical presence if he set his mind to it, accept his role and get in shape/lose some weight. Depend on how bad he wants it.

Sadly I'm not going to hold my breath.

 

[Sheppy]

Pft. Providence is a good place for him.

Then its a good place for most of our bottom 6.

 

[LSCII]

When he broke in he showed he could be. He had nights in the early part of his career where he had 7-8-9 hits a game. Not every night, but a lot more than a couple. I remember when he broke in I always carried one forward strictly for hit on my fantasy pool team, and in 2016-17 he was my guy to rack up hits.

I'm perplexed as to why his hit numbers dropped right off. Did he get fat and slow while the league got faster. Did he get complacent and think he's more of a skill guy and didn't think he needed to prove himself physically? Or is he just getting older and lazier. Maybe a combination of all of the above.

I don't see any reason why he couldn't be a big physical presence if he set his mind to it, accept his role and get in shape/lose some weight. Depend on how bad he wants it.

Sadly I'm not going to hold my breath.

Hits and hitting are one of those things that you either love or hate to do. While throwing the big hit looks great, in reality, it can hurt to deliver that crunching body check. If I had to guess, he did it early in the career because he was hungry to prove himself, got to a level where he thought he was good enough to not do it, and simply moved away from that. It's either ingrained or it's not. If you see a big hit total followed by low hit totals, it says to me that he's not that guy. He did it because he had to, now he prefers not to.

 

[Sheppy]

Nordstrom had 55 hits in 13 games, 4.23 hits per game.
Ritchie had 27 hits in 8 playoff games, 3.37 hits per game.
Wagner had 34 hits in 12 playoff games, 2.83 hits per game.
Kuraly had 31 hits in 10 playoff games, 3.1 hits per game.

I believe these were the top 4 fowards in hits.