Ritchie Named to Canada U18 National Team
April 16, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince Albert Raiders News Release
Hockey Canada announced their National Men's U18 Team this morning ahead of the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship. On the roster is Raider winger Ryder Ritchie, who is one of seven WHL players on the team. The tournament kicks off on April 25 in Espoo and Vantaa, Finland.
After being awarded the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL Rookie of the Year in 2022-23, Ritchie was bit by the injury bug for a chunk of the 2023-24 campaign, where he missed 21 games. Still, in 47 regular season games, the sophomore scored 19 goals and added 25 assists for 44 points, averaging just under a point per game. He turned it on in the playoffs, however, where he scored three goals and added four helpers in five games.
In 108 career WHL games, Ritchie is one point shy of 100 in his career, with 39 goals and 60 assists.
The Kelowna, BC product was a part of the Canadian National Team that captured gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Czechia last summer. In five games in that tournament, Ritchie scored three goals and assisted on six more for nine points.
Prior to the start of the tournament, Canada will play a pair of pre-tournament games against Finland on April 20 and Norway on April 23. The quest for a gold medal begins April 25 at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT against Sweden. Canada will also face Czechia on April 26, Switzerland on April 28 and Kazakhstan on April 30 to close out preliminary-round action. The semifinals are set for May 4 before the tournament concludes with the medal games on May 5.
Since 2002, Canada has won four gold medals at the IIHF U18 World Championship (2003, 2008, 2013, 2021), in addition to one silver (2005) and four bronze (2012, 2014, 2015, 2023).
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