As of right now, it appears the biggest reason Avalanche prospect Calum Ritchie wasn’t selected to Team Canada for the World Juniors last Winter was because he was recovering from major shoulder surgery. After being one of the top scorers for Canada at the Under-18’s in 2023, he was already on their radar, but it’s tough to pick someone who is still working their way back from injury.

It doesn’t seem like Canada will be leaving him off the roster this year.

Last week, Ritchie earned high praise for his performance at the World Junior Summer Showcase, as he scored the game-tying goal for Team Canada to send the final game to overtime against Team USA. On Wednesday, The Athletic staff got together and put their projected Team Canada roster together for this year’s World Juniors, and Ritchie is on it.

“Calum Ritchie is a lock,” according to them.

They have Ritchie centering the second line on their roster.

Ritchie will arrive at Avalanche camp next month with hopes of making the NHL roster, but there’s still a chance he could be sent back for the World Juniors even if he makes the team, as the Avalanche might deem it’s good for his development. According to a recent NHL.com article, Ritchie said he’s added 12 pounds of muscle this summer, up a few pounds from what he told me at Development Camp. He’ll need that extra muscle if he wants to survive in the NHL.

If he does end up going to the World Juniors, it’ll give Avalanche fans something to watch this Winter. Sean Behrens is the most recent example of a Colorado prospect who showed well on the international stage. Russia is banned from international competition, so Mikhail Gulyayev will not be competing in the tournament.

Ritchie led the Oshawa Generals with 80 points in 50 games during the regular season, and followed it up with 30 points in 21 playoff games. Oshawa lost in the OHL final to the London Knights. Being left off Team Canada might have left a chip on his shoulder.

“I think I use it as motivation and try to push myself to be better,” he told CHN exclusively earlier this year.

I will be doing a Calum Ritchie film room here soon, so stay tuned for that.