Islanders’ Cal Ritchie beginning to make impact at NHL level

The way Matthew Schaefer has upended the development curve has a way of making you forget what it usually looks like for a prospect to adjust to the NHL.

Cal Ritchie’s first month with the Islanders is much closer to the norm. And lately, things have been falling into place for the 21-year-old.

More ice time, more confidence, more assertiveness on the ice — and, on Wednesday, a pretty backhand assist to Anthony Duclair on what eventually became the game-winning goal in a 2-1 Islanders victory over the Lightning.

“I think my game is getting to a point where I’m starting to feel more comfortable,” Ritchie said afterward. “I’m starting to play more offensive hockey, showing my skill a bit more, trying to play with more confidence and stuff.

“And then just building chemistry with my linemates. Been doing a good job with the [offensive] zone and defensively. You don’t have to think as much defensively when you’re playing strong defensively. You can focus more on offense and creating.”

Ritchie’s current line — he’s skating between Simon Holmstrom and Duclair — came together as a necessity after Jean-Gabriel Pageau got hurt. To some extent, so too did his uptick in minutes, as he jumped from the fourth line to the third.

That confidence, though, was hard earned, and without Pageau, it’s been all the more crucial that Ritchie take the next step forward.

His contributions have gone from a luxury to a necessity for the Islanders, whose forward corps is down Pageau and Kyle Palmieri.

“I think at the start, you come up and you don’t want to make mistakes and stuff,” Ritchie said. “You want to be part of the team. So for me it was just a process to get comfortable. I’m starting to build that confidence, starting to play the way that I can. [I’ve] shown my abilities offensively a bit more and not focus too much on trying not to make mistakes.”

That is just what the Islanders want, and just what coach Patrick Roy has stressed to Ritchie in video sessions. 

“That’s my style anyway,” Roy said. “I let people play. I don’t hold them back. When they make a mistake, I can’t wait to put them back on the ice and give them a chance to — I don’t know if that’s the correct wording — but redeem themselves and find a way to show me they’re ready to go.”