By Thomas Williams -
After the Minnesota Wild traded up and took full advantage of the Philadelphia Flyers not wanting all-around suburb defenseman Zeev Buium, they are back and ready to make some noise on Day 2.
And boy, did they do that. With the 45th overall selection in the second round, to start Saturday, they take electric 6-foot winger out of the WHL's Prince Albert Raiders, Ryder Ritchie.
While his counting stats is now all that impressive -- just 19 goals and 44 points in 47 games -- Ritchie played on the abysmal Raiders team after winning the 2022-23 WHL Rookie of the Year award. He is one of the flashiest, pure-skilled wingers available this year. A winger that can go through defenders with top-tier shooting and puckhandling.
Don't just take it from us, though, our pals over at Elite Prospects breaks down his games:
"By pure speed, Ritchie’s not a burner, but his functional pace – the speed at which he makes plays – is among the draft’s highest. At full speed, he dangles opponents, slips passes through them, and shoots in stride. He combines give-and-goes with crossovers and east-west movement, constantly shifting the defence and creating gaps. Just when opponents think they’ve figured him out, he cuts back and finds the trailer. Ritchie’s both a scoring and playmaking threat, thanks to mechanical refinement and skills in both facets. His shot, in particular, is a constant threat. There are zero tells inside his release, transferring his weight suddenly and hiding his blade the whole time. He adapts to tricky passes and instantly fires them, even under pressure." -- 2024 Elite Prospect Draft Guide
Yeah, we like that.
Ritchie was ranked anywhere from 22nd overall to 37th overall in the public scouting sphere, so this feels like an incredible win from where we are sitting.
Overall, the Wild seem to be betting on high-end skill and players to then work themselves enough. Buium and Ritchie were projected to go above where the Wild ended up selecting them -- clearly going for the long-term build and consistent injection into this current roster.
Things are exciting in Minnesota.
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