Ritchie rang in 2015 in style. Not only did he make his NHL debut with the Dallas Stars on Dec. 31, 2014, he also scored his first NHL goal on his first shot in a 6-0 victory against the Arizona Coyotes.
The goal, which opened the scoring at 7:22 of the second period, made the Orangeville, Ontario, native the first Stars player to score a game-winning goal in his NHL debut since Fabian Brunnstrom on Oct. 15, 2008, against the Nashville Predators.
Ritchie rang in 2015 in style. Not only did he make his NHL debut with the Dallas Stars on Dec. 31, 2014, he also scored his first NHL goal on his first shot in a 6-0 victory against the Arizona Coyotes.
The goal, which opened the scoring at 7:22 of the second period, made the Orangeville, Ontario, native the first Stars player to score a game-winning goal in his NHL debut since Fabian Brunnstrom on Oct. 15, 2008, against the Nashville Predators.
Ritchie, who was selected by Dallas in the second round (No. 44) of the 2011 NHL Draft, finished with nine points (six goals, three assists) in 31 games as a rookie despite limited ice time (13:59).
Although he spent the majority of the 2015-16 season with Texas of the American Hockey League, he stuck with Dallas the following season, when he had an NHL career-high 16 goals and 24 points in 78 games.
After two more seasons with the Stars, Ritchie signed a one-year contract with the Boston Bruins as a free agent on July 1, 2019.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- OHL Second All-Star Team (2013)
- Signed as a free agent by Boston, July 1, 2019.
- Signed as a free agent by Calgary, January 17, 2021.
