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  • Wild Prospect Traded In WHL

    Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports
    Thomas Williams

    By Thomas Williams -

    That's Wild

    Transactions might have taken a little bit of a pause in the NHL -- well, after a flurry of them this past week -- but the Western Hockey League is starting to open up training camp soon enough and a big trade was made between two teams on the opposite side of the standings.

    Minnesota Wild prospect Ryder Ritchie, the 2024 second-round selection, has been traded from the not-very-good Prince Albert Raiders to the very good Medicine Hat Tigers.

     

    What does this matter, though? Well, it moves the electric winger from a not-great situation, trying to carry the massive workload as being the top player on a bad team, to someone who will certainly get lots of minutes playing alongside some of the best prospects in the world.

    Ritchie is joining Columbus Blue Jackets prospect and 2024 fourth-overall pick, center Cayden Lindstrom, Calgary Flames prospect Andrew Basha, and projected 2026 first-overall pick and possibly someone who can be labeled as generational talent, Gavin McKenna. That's three prospects who were taken in the first 45 picks just this past draft and the best junior hockey player in the country all on the same team.

    We should expect more than just the standard developmental rise in Ritchie's point totals -- he could really just explode here.

    • If Riley Heidt gets his nine games before heading back to juniors, then he really needs to take advantage of the whole thing. [Hockey Wilderness]
    • Liam Ohgren is taking part in the NHLPA Rookie Showcase next month. [The Hockey News]

    Off the trail...

    • The Edmonton Oilers are reportedly considering a trade that would "shake things up". As they try to fill the holes that Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway left behind. [Edmonton Journal]
    • There is certainly a massive increase of these "lockout-protected" contracts -- players are preparing for it. [TSN]
    By Thomas Williams  

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    MNCountryLife

    I wonder if Guerin facilitated this trade.  It's a good trade that should help our Wild prospect.  We need to Put our prospects in positions where they can have success.  Sure would like to see the IA Wild get some upgrades.

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    mnfaninnc

    So, in evaluating the stat line for Ryder Ritchie in his draft year, should we take into account he played on a bad team when looking at them? Had he been on a good team, would those stats have been inflated? Was he, then, the driver on his whole team?

    Perhaps we should take this into account and believe he is a prospect that has greater upside than we thought?

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    Kato AK
    2 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

    So, in evaluating the stat line for Ryder Ritchie in his draft year, should we take into account he played on a bad team when looking at them? Had he been on a good team, would those stats have been inflated? Was he, then, the driver on his whole team?

    Perhaps we should take this into account and believe he is a prospect that has greater upside than we thought?

    Ryder missed a good portion of last year and was still over a PPG player. He is already a good upside player that was on a bad team. 

    He should probably have significantly higher stats this year, but stats shouldn't be the sole indicator of development. It appears that Medicine Hat is putting together an AHL caliber roster in the WHL. Ryder should get better development with other NHL prospects but could end up looking like a AAA team play AA opponents.

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    Need4speed99
    8 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

    So, in evaluating the stat line for Ryder Ritchie in his draft year, should we take into account he played on a bad team when looking at them? Had he been on a good team, would those stats have been inflated? Was he, then, the driver on his whole team?

    Perhaps we should take this into account and believe he is a prospect that has greater upside than we thought?

    This is a really good point.

    I sure hope either end of this year or start of next, if he continues to excel and progress, they give him 9 games to see where he is at or if he's ready.

    Unfortunately, at this point the team does not have the luxury on waiting on some of these prospects if they plan on being a contender/show kk they are going to be there very soon. They don't, and won't, have the cap space to magically transform this team. They will have to rely on prospects.

    Edited by Need4speed99
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