Why Islanders Fans Should Be Fired Up About Calum Ritchie’s Upcoming Impact
The 20-year-old forward should make the Islanders out of training camp.
Calum Ritchie, selected 27th overall by the Colorado Avalanche at the 2023 NHL Draft, was not a prospect that anyone around the NHL thought would be on the move.
However, to get, you have to give, and Ritchie, Colorado’s top prospect, was the main piece the Avalanche sent back to the New York Islanders at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline for Brock Nelson and William Dufour.
The Islanders also received a 2026 first-round pick, a valuable asset.
Ritchie made the Avalanche out of training camp, playing seven games before being returned back to the OHL’s Oshawa Generals for the remainder of the season.
The Oakville, Ontario native—the same hometown as Islanders prospect Isaiah George—recorded one goal over those seven games, scoring against his new team.
While Islanders fans were very excited to see Ritchie join their prospect pool, there were many questions about how good he could be and how quickly he’d be able to make an impact at the NHL level.
Rachel Doerrie, the CTO of Betalytics, the host of Puck Social, and prospect evaluator for ESPN, shared with me why she is so incredibly high on Ritchie, who is likely to start the 2025-26 season as the Islanders’ No. 3 center.