Red Wings Central
MATTIAS RITOLA
Mattias Ritola
Position: Right wing
Shoots: Left
Vitals: 6'0'' / 198 lbs.
Birthdate: March 14, 1987
Hometown: Borlange, Sweden
Acquired: Detroit's fourth choice (103rd overall) in the 2005 draft
CSS Ranking: 25th North American skater (2005)
Contract: 2010
RWC Says: Skilled winger

STORIES

AWARDS
  • None listed

HISTORY
2003-04:
  • Cracked Swedish under-20 league with Frolunda and played well for his age (24-7-4-11).
2004-05:
  • Struggled early in year with Frolunda in Sweden's under-20 league (9-2-6-8).
  • Played much better after early transfer to Leksands of the same league (18-8-10-18).
  • Represented Sweden at world under-18 championship in April (7-1-3-4).
  • Drafted by Detroit in the third round (103rd overall) at the NHL draft.
2005-06:
  • Skated regularly in the Swedish Elite League with Leksands (30-0-3-3, 17 shots, minus-5).
  • Didn't produce much in stints at under-20 level (14-4-2-6).
  • Represented Sweden at WJC, producing well in third-line role (6-2-2-4).
2006-07:
  • Disappointed at Sweden's second level, mostly with Leksands (26-2-4-6, 19 shots).
  • Played mostly a fourth-line checking role and didn't fit in on a dump-and-chase team.
  • One of the last cuts from Sweden's world junior team in December.
  • Transferred to Borlange at Sweden's fourth level late in year (11-4-6-10).
  • Signed amateur tryout contract with AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins and practiced with the team.
  • Signed three-year entry-level contract with Red Wings on June 1.
2007-08:
  • Surprised at Red Wings' training camp and appeared in five NHL exhibition games (5-2-0-2-4).
  • One of Detroit's last cuts along with Jonathan Ericsson and Jimmy Howard.
  • Saw regular ice time and was a two-way presence, although production was minimal (72-7-15-22).
  • Posted a team-best plus-10 on a squad cluttered with minuses and had 117 shots.
  • Earned two-game call-up to Detroit in March, recording an assist and averaging 5:46 of ice time.
  • Called up to Detroit to serve as Black Ace (spare who doesn't play) during NHL playoffs.

SCOUT COMMENTS
"He's just a tremendous guy with the puck. He can score, he can beat you 1-on-1, he can make a great play. He's an offensively-dangerous guy." — Red Wings director of European scouting Hakan Andersson (August 2005) ... "Is he one of those guys who shows up at 24 years of age and figures life out and decides he's going to work hard every night? Or is he just another skilled guy who doesn't learn to compete and disappears in the wind and plays in Europe the rest of his life?" — Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill (January 2007) ... "He's got great skill, he's not afraid to take the body and be physical in the corners and along the wall. He just needs to go into the middle of the ice more often in the offensive zone and the goals will come." — Griffins general manager Bob McNamara (January 2008).

STRENGTHS
Exciting offensive skills ... Handles the puck well and can really shine when in control ... Likes to carry the puck up ice ... Good shot and playmaking ability ... Knows the game in the offensive zone and makes good decisions ... Doesn't have breakaway speed, but he is fast ... Willing to get his nose dirty for the sake of offense ... Has shown a surprising aptitude for defensive play.

WEAKNESSES
Plagued with inconsistency ... Doesn't compete or give a full effort every shift, every night ... Despite raw talent, has yet to post big numbers against high-level competition.

PROJECTION
Ritola had a good AHL rookie season in 2007-08, playing a well-rounded game, and made his NHL debut much sooner than anybody expected. He will return to Grand Rapids in 2008-09 for another year of AHL seasoning and needs to establish himself as a scoring-line player on the farm.

STATISTICS
  REGULAR SEASON PLAYOFFS
SEASON TEAM LEAGUE GP G A PTS PIM GP G A PTS PIM
2003-04 Frolunda Swe-J18 11 4 11 15 35 7 2 7 9 12
    Swe-J20 24 7 4 11 8 5 0 1 1 0
2004-05 Frolunda Swe-J20 9 2 6 8 6 -- -- -- -- --
  Leksand Swe-J20 18 8 10 18 14 5 1 1 2 2
  Sweden W-U18 7 1 3 4 8 -- -- -- -- --
2005-06 Leksand Swe-J20 14 4 2 6 16 -- -- -- -- --
    Swe-Superallsv -- -- -- -- -- 8 0 0 0 4
    Swe 30 0 3 3 10 -- -- -- -- --
  Sweden W-U20 6 2 2 4 4 -- -- -- -- --
2006-07 Leksand Swe-J20 12 5 7 12 16 -- -- -- -- --
  Borlange Swe-3 11 4 6 10 14 -- -- -- -- --
  Arboga Swe-2 3 1 0 1 2 -- -- -- -- --
  Leksand Swe-2 23 1 4 5 4 -- -- -- -- --
2007-08 Grand Rapids AHL 72 7 15 22 62 2 0 1 1 0
  Detroit NHL 2 0 1 1 0 -- -- -- -- --

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The next wave

RWC's top 10 prospects (end-of-season)
01 D Jonathan Ericsson » Grand Rapids (AHL)
02 F Darren Helm » Grand Rapids (AHL)
03 G Jimmy Howard » Grand Rapids (AHL)
04 D Jakub Kindl » Grand Rapids (AHL)
05 F Justin Abdelkader » Michigan St. (NCAA)
06 D Brendan Smith » Wisconsin (NCAA)
07 F Jan Mursak » Belleville (OHL)
08 F Cory Emmerton » Brampton (OHL)
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» COMPLETE RANKING »