Avalanche Prospect Calum Ritchie's Dominant OHL Season

Recapping the 2023 First-Round Picks season and how he accomplished it all while coming off a shoulder surgery

With the 2023-24 OHL season now concluded, it’s crucial to highlight the progress of a specific Avalanche prospect, showcasing their growth and development over the past few months. Calum Ritchie of the Oshawa Generals should be on not only every Avalanche fan’s radar but also the league’s radar.

Ritchie’s Oshawa Generals were dominated in the OHL Finals, as the London Knights swept them in four games. The series was largely one-sided, with London outscoring Oshawa 24-3 in Games One, Two, and Four and narrowly winning Game Three in overtime. Oshawa had a brutal end to the season, but if you're an Avalanche fan, there's a lot to love about what you saw from Ritchie. After returning from off-season shoulder surgery, he was arguably the best player in the OHL.

For the first time in, might I say, quite a while, the Avalanche have a first-round pick they can be really excited about in the future. Well, technically, there are two of them. I really like Mikhail Gulyayev's game and think the growth in the KHL can really help him when he arrives in the NHL, but this piece isn't about him.

Let's recap Ritchie's impressive season, examine his growth throughout it, and consider what could come next for him.

Regular Season

Coming off the 2022-23 regular season, Ritchie had 24 goals and 35 assists for 59 points in 59 games. The Oshawa Generals were off a 4-1 series loss to the Ottawa 67’s. With many returning for the next season, the Generals would look to improve their winning ways but would hit a rough patch shortly before their season.