The Colorado Avalanche announced on Wednesday that the team is sending back forward Calum Ritchie to the Oshawa Generals of the OHL.
After impressing Avalanche brass with a strong training camp in September, the 19-year-old Ritchie was able to earn a spot on the Avalanches’ opening night roster, which came as a little bit of a surprise.
Now, after a 7-game stint with the Avalanche to start the season, Ritchie will be heading to Oshawa where he figures to be a big piece in helping the Generals compete for the Memorial Cup.
In the 7 games Ritchie appeared in for the Avalanche, he registered 1 goal and 1 point, with his first NHL goal coming against the New York Islanders in a 6-2 loss.
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Sending Ritchie back to the OHL before reaching 10 games played at the NHL level will prevent the Avs from burning the 1st year of his contract.
Another factor that likely went into the decision to return Ritchie to the OHL is development. In Ritchies’ last game against the Kraken, he saw a total of 7:14 minutes of ice time. A player of Ritchies’ caliber needs prime minutes, something that wasn’t going to happen in Colorado at this point, even with the injuries to key forwards in Jonathan Drouin and Gabriel Landeskog.
Ritchie will receive top-line minutes for Oshawa and will play a big part in the teams success, accelerating his development as he prepares to likely become a full-time NHL player as soon as next season.
During the 2023-2024 season playing for the Generals, Ritchie led the team in scoring with 28 goals and 52 points for 80 points in 50 games played. Ritchies’ production helped lead the Generals to the OHL Final last season. With Ritchie now back in Oshawa, the Generals are expected to once again be a favorite to reach the finals.
To take Ritchies’ spot on the roster, the Avalanche recalled forward Chris Wagner.
