Calum Ritchie still building toward Avalanche debut: ‘I’m confident in my abilities’

The Colorado Avalanche need young players stepping up next season to help ease their salary cap crunch.

Is Calum Ritchie an option?

The 2023 first-round draft pick — No. 27 overall from the Oshawa Generals (OHL) — participated in Avs development camp last week at their practice facility. Last season, Ritchie led his team in scoring with 80 points (28 goals) in the regular season. He dominated in the playoffs with 30 points (eight goals) over 21 games.

Ritchie’s draft stock fell due to an injury (shoulder surgery). He missed development camp last year. Now, at full health, he’s shown early signs of being a first-round steal for Colorado.

“I’m confident in my abilities. I’m going to go in and try my best. I just focus on what I can control,” Ritchie said earlier this week. “It’s not my decision in the end. I’m going to work has hard as I can and try my best.”

One thing is clear: The Avalanche won’t rush his development.

“He’s a young kid that has to get man strong and come into his first NHL training camp. We’ll see what he can do,” Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said back in May. “We can wait until he’s ready to thrive and he can come into a role where he doesn’t have to be counted on as a point producing guy from a young age. Which I think can be a challenge. He can come in and grab a role and grow at a pace that allows him to thrive in the league. And not just survive.”

Ritchie is doing his part. The talented 19-year-old forward has beefed up to 187 pounds on his 6-foot-2 frame. His next step is an entry level contract from the Avalanche; opening the door for his NHL debut. But it’s unclear right now if Ritchie will return to the OHL next season.

“They put a lot of belief in me, selecting me in the draft. I owe it to them to work as hard as I can every single day and be an impact (player) for this organization one day,” Ritchie said. “Being around this environment, you try to soak everything in. Workouts. Skates. We have all these meetings. (It’s about) what it takes to play in this league.”

Davis invited

The Avalanche paid close attention to University of Denver goaltender Matt Davis. The reigning NCAA national champion earned an invitation to development camp.

“We see Matty Davis play a ton right here in our backyard,” MacFarland said earlier this week. “It’s an opportunity to just kind of get to know some of these guys that aren’t draft picks, or have their rights owned.”

Davis went undrafted last spring. But he’s still getting a taste of the NHL before his senior season at DU.

“I’m just trying to soak it in and get a little better each day and learn from the goalie staff here,” Davis said. “(DU) means the world to me. Just super happy every day to be a part of it.”