Introduction
Brett Ritchie (born July 1, 1993) is a Canadian ice hockey player for the Dallas Stars in the National Hockey League. He played his junior hockey with the Niagara IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League.
Playing career
Junior
In 2009–10 Ritchie scored 13 goals and 16 assists in 65 games during his first season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). During his second season he missed approximately a month of the season due to mononucleosis, but despite playing just 49 games, his scoring improved to 21 goals and 20 assists during the 2010–11 season. Unfortunately, due to his illness during the mid-season, Ritchie missed his opportunity to play in the 2011 CHL Top Prospects Game.
On January 5, 2012 Ritchie was traded to the Niagara Icedogs for Guelph's 2012 2nd round pick, Peterborough's 2014 2nd round pick, and Niagara's own 2013 2nd and 5th round picks – all of which Sarnia immediately traded to Mississauga to acquire goalie JP Anderson.
Professional
On July 11, 2012, Ritchie signed a three-year entry-level contract with Dallas Stars. Ritchie began his professional career April 5, 2013 with the Texas Stars against the Oklahoma City Barons, where he scored his first professional goal. Ritchie achieved a hat trick after scoring his third goal of the night on an empty net in the Texas Star's game against the Charlotte Checkers on December 27, 2014.
Personal life
Brett's younger brother, Nick Ritchie, plays in the NHL for the Anaheim Ducks. During the 2012–13 season Nick played with Team Canada to win gold medals at both the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and the 2013 IIHF World U18 Championships. In 2014, he was drafted 10th overall by the Anaheim Ducks at the NHL Entry Draft.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2009–10 | Sarnia Sting | OHL | 65 | 13 | 16 | 29 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Sarnia Sting | OHL | 49 | 21 | 20 | 41 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Sarnia Sting | OHL | 23 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Niagara IceDogs | OHL | 30 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 24 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 14 | ||
| 2012–13 | Niagara IceDogs | OHL | 53 | 41 | 35 | 76 | 40 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 2012–13 | Texas Stars | AHL | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | Texas Stars | AHL | 68 | 22 | 26 | 48 | 53 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 10 | ||
| 2014–15 | Texas Stars | AHL | 33 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 40 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 31 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Texas Stars | AHL | 35 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 39 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Canada Ontario | WHC17 |  | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | |
| 2011 | Canada | WJC18 | 4th | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | |
| 2011 | Canada | IH18 | | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2013 | Canada | WJC | 4th | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 24 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 16 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Honours | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| World U-17 Hockey Challenge Silver Medal (Team Ontario) | 2010 | |
| IIHF World U18 Championship Team Canada | 2011 | |
| Calder Cup Champion | 2014 |