PHOTO COURTESY NATHAN REITER PRINCE ALBERT DAILY HERALD
The Medicine Hat Tigers acquired forward Ryder Ritchie from the Prince Albert Raiders in a trade Monday morning, sending forward Tomas Mrsic and two third round picks, the other way.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The newest Medicine Hat Tigers is ready to make an immediate impact.
Ryder Ritchie, acquired in a pre-training camp blockbuster from the Prince Albert Raiders in exchange for Tomas Mrsic and two third-round picks, is in Medicine Hat and excited at his new opportunity with the Tigers.
The forward is up to facing the championship aspirations the Tigers and the city of Medicine Hat has.
“To have that challenge ahead, that’s what you want to play for,” Ritchie said. “You want to play for championships and you want to be part of a team that can win a championship, and we definitely have the team to do that in Medicine Hat, so I’m super excited.”
The 18-year-old spoke with the News while sitting at his gate at the Kelowna airport. He arrived in the city Monday evening and will be one of 56 players suiting up once training camp gets underway Friday morning. Ritchie will have some familiar faces, beyond playing against his new teammates over the years.
The Kelowna product played one season with Gavin McKenna at the Canadian Sport School Hockey League level, suiting up for RHA Kelowna in 2021-22. A then 15-year-old Ritchie had 11 goals and 31 points in 23 games with RHA, outscored by the then 13-year-old McKenna who had 23 goals and 65 points in 35 games.
The pair also won gold together this spring for Canada at the U18 World championship.
McKenna has lived with the Ritchie family in Kelowna for the past two years when not at home in Whitehorse, which will allow chemistry to form quickly Ritchie says.
“We spend pretty much every day with each other,” Ritchie said. “We skate with each other a lot. So I think we’ve kept the chemistry over the years.”
Ritchie’s acquisition supplements a Tigers’ forward core that already features top WHL talent in McKenna, Cayden Lindstrom, Andrew Basha, Oasiz Wiesblatt and more. There will be a lot of options on the power play and players who have to share a singular puck.
Ritchie says there won’t be an issue with sharing the puck because they all share the same goal, to win it all.
“If you want a championship, you’re going to have to play as a team, and there’s a lot of great, great players on this team who will have to share the puck,” Ritchie said. “That’s something we’re going to do and we know we can do.
“We just have to play the right way and we’re going to try to contend for a championship here.”
Head coach Willie Desjardins touted Ritchie’s international experience, as well as his right-hand shot and playoff performance as some of the benefits he’ll bring to the orange and black.
“He’s got a little bit of international experience, so we’re really excited to get him,” Desjardins said. “Obviously, we don’t make the trade if we don’t think it’s going to help us, but he’s a guy I think that can help us. He’s a guy who put up seven points in the playoffs last year in five games, that’s a pretty good sign.”
Ritchie, a 45th overall pick by Minnesota in June’s NHL Entry Draft, has 39 goals and 99 points in 106 games across two seasons with Prince Albert.
He was limited to 47 games last season due to injury. The 18-year-old Kelowna product had 19 goals and 44 points in the 2023-24 season, adding three goals and seven points in five playoff games. He was the 2022-23 rookie of the year in the WHL.
He looks back fondly at his time in Prince Albert.
“I want nothing for the best for those guys and I’m really going to miss my billets,” Ritchie said. “I’m going to miss my teammates, of course. I had a great two years in P.A., and I want to thank the fans, my teammates and my billets for that.”
He enjoyed playing at the Art Hauser Centre in P.A., a rink not friendly to those visiting. That’ll be a new experience for Ritchie when the Tigers head to Prince Albert on Nov. 20. Until then, he’s looking forward to playing at Co-op Place and the opportunity for Tigers fans to see what he can do.
“I’ve heard the city has great fans and I experienced the Teddy Bear toss game at Co-op Place, it was pretty packed,” Ritchie said. “The rink seems really nice and the fans seem great, so I’m excited to get going.”
