Calum Ritchie prepares for first avalanche test; “I’m trying to take it in”

DENVER — The Avalanche are at Ball Arena on Monday night at 7 p.m. to play their season opener against the Dallas Stars, and young center Calum Ritchie will make his season debut.

“I'm learning a lot,” he told me after morning practice. “I just try to soak everything in and learn something from everyone.”

Ritchie missed training camp last year while recovering from a shoulder injury, but after a strong 2023-24 season in the Ontario Hockey League, the Oshawa Generals' leading scorer has an opportunity to make the opening night roster.

“That’s the goal for everyone here,” Ritchie said.

Without top forwards Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin and an injury that prevented Artturi Lehkonen from participating in training camp, the Avs have at least two spots in the top nine open for selection. And Ritchie, who has the offensive potential to fill such a role, gets his first chance to show that he fits with the big club at 19 years old.

“(The coaching staff) always told me to just work as hard as I can and fight hard,” Ritchie said. “You just have to try to pay attention to the details and take care of the little things in a game and good things will happen.”

Colorado's No. 27 pick in the 2023 draft is in a tough spot. His skills have developed in OHL play, where he scored 28 goals and 80 points in just 50 games last season. However, due to an agreement between the Canadian junior league and the NHL, Ritchie is ineligible to play for the Avs' minor league team, the Colorado Eagles, in the American Hockey League. For him, it's either NHL or OHL.

“I'm open to putting young players in the mix. Whoever can do the job,” head coach Jared Bednar said at media day last Wednesday. “I know there are some teething issues, but the right time to get young players in the lineup is early in the year.”

But does this mean that Ritchie will receive special treatment given the hype surrounding him?

“This is the best league in the world,” Bednar said. “And if you want to play on one of the best teams in the best league in the world, you have to expect to earn it.”

Preseason preview

The Avs play a mostly young group against Dallas on Monday night. But among the notable veterans in the lineup is Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who is playing his first game in an Avalanche uniform in three years. He is still fighting for a contract with the team.

The two new signings without a contract, Oliver Kylington and Erik Brannstrom, will also make their debut on Monday. They will be joined by junior defenseman Sean Behrens, who is attending his first Avalanche training camp after a successful college career on I-25 with the DU Pioneers.