# Ryder Ritchie

Ryder Ritchie (born August 3, 2006) is a Swedish-Canadian junior ice hockey forward for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He was selected in the second round, 45th overall, by the Minnesota Wild in the 2024 NHL entry draft.

## Playing career

Ritchie was selected 14th overall in the 2021 Western Hockey League (WHL) prospects draft. In his rookie season in the WHL, the 2022–23 season, Ritchie scored 20 goals and 55 points in 61 games, and won the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL's rookie of the year. The Raiders would not qualify for the playoffs that year.
Ritchie was selected as one of 40 draft-eligible prospects to compete in the 2024 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. He suffered a hematoma in his quadriceps following a knee-on-knee collision in a December 15, 2023 game against the Kelowna Rockets and missed ten weeks of play, returning in February. He finished the regular season with 44 points in 47 games, a similar per-game rate to his rookie season. Prince Albert qualified to the WHL playoffs, claiming the final available berth, but lost to the Saskatoon Blades in five games in the first round.
At the 2024 NHL entry draft, Ritchie was selected in the second round, 45th overall, by the Minnesota Wild. On August 26, 2024, before the start of the 2024–25 season, his WHL rights were traded to the Medicine Hat Tigers in exchange for Tomas Mrsic and draft picks.

## International play

Ritchie skated for Team Canada White at the 2022 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, recording four goals in six games. In the summer of 2023, he joined the national under-18 team for the first time at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he scored three goals and nine points en route to a gold medal. The following spring, he again played with Team Canada at the 2024 IIHF World U18 Championships. Team Canada reached the championship final against the United States, where Ritchie scored the team's first goal of the game to tie it, before the United States retook the lead. Midway through the third period, American forward Trevor Connelly was assessed a five-minute major penalty for delivering an illegal hit to Ritchie's head. Team Canada scored three goals on the ensuing power play to take the lead for the first time, and would ultimately win the game 6–4. Ritchie called the tournament "definitely one of the highlights of my life and something that I'll remember forever."

## Personal life

Ritchie is the son of former NHL player Byron Ritchie, who played for the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames, and Vancouver Canucks in his eight season, 300+ game career. Although he was born in Canada, he is also a citizen of Sweden and spent parts of his childhood in Europe while his father played there. His uncle, Andreas Johansson, also played in the NHL.

## Career statistics
### Regular season and playoffs

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2022–23 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 61 | 20 | 35 | 55 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023–24 | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 47 | 19 | 25 | 44 | 24 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| WHL totals | WHL totals | WHL totals | 108 | 39 | 60 | 99 | 44 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 |

### International

| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2022 | Canada White | U17 | 6th | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 2023 | Canada | HG18 | | 5 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| 2024 | Canada | U18 | | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | 18 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 6 |

## Awards and honours

| Award | Year | Ref |
| WHL |||
| Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy | 2023 | |