A one-time 10th overall NHL draft pick is being given a new opportunity to pursue his professional hockey career, following a controversial release from his most recent team. Nick Ritchie, aged 28, saw his contract with Karpat in the Finnish Elite League terminated due to an on-ice altercation that led to an eight-game ban.
During a late December game, Ritchie received an eight-game suspension for his conduct against TPS Turku's Markus Nurmi. In a scuffle, Ritchie knocked Nurmi to the ice and struck him multiple times in the back of the head. The SM-Liiga condemned Ritchie's behavior as premeditated, unilateral, and excessively violent.
After serving his eight-game suspension, Karpat announced that they no longer wished to keep Ritchie on their roster, granting him the liberty to seek a new contract elsewhere. Ritchie has successfully done this by joining the Iserlohn Roosters in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) in Germany.
Ritchie's tenure at Karpat encompassed 10 games in which he scored a goal and totaled 5 points, contributing to the team's decision to release him. Selected as the 10th overall pick by the Anaheim Ducks in 2014, Ritchie participated in 481 regular season NHL games with various teams prior to his European signing for the 2023-24 season.
