Nolan Ritchie grew up watching Brandon Wheat Kings games. Whether it was a preseason game, a regular-season game or a playoff game, there’s a good chance that Nolan was at the arena watching it live.
Born in Brandon on May 27, 2002, it didn’t take him long to pick up a stick. The goal was always wanting to play for his hometown team like it is for many Brandonites. However, a very small select group of people get that chance every year and Nolan is extremely happy to say that he’s one.
Playing in the Brandon Minor Hockey Association for his whole life, Ritchie has now made his hometown WHL Brandon Wheat Kings roster.
“It’s a completely unreal feeling. Just growing up and watching them my whole life,” said Ritchie. “Getting this chance is great and it’s going to be a really special honour.”
Prior to this year, Nolan improved immensely every year. For instance, he played bantam two hockey for the Wheat Kings’ in the 2015-16 season where he had 20 points (six goals).
The next season, Ritchie moved up to the bantam one team and he exploded with 89 points (51G). In the 2017-18 season, Ritchie moved up to play U18 hockey with his hometown AAA team. He put together another special season with 84 points (40G) in the regular season. In the playoffs, he had one goal and nine points.
Last year, Ritchie was back at it again with the AAA U18 Wheat Kings’ as he increased his point total to 94 points (39G). He also led the team in the playoffs with 21 points (9G) as they won the league championship.
In all, it comes to no surprise that Nolan will become a full-time WHL player this year, even though he still has one more year of AAA eligibility left.
As the preseason ended with Brandon going 2-2, Ritchie had four points (1G). That was good for a tie for the team-lead.
“I thought things went well. It was a good stepping stone,” said Ritchie. “We played really good on Friday’s, but not so well on Saturday’s, but we’ve definitely learned a lot from that.”
“It’s a lot quicker game than the U18 level and that’s the biggest adjustment,” he continued. “It’s pretty tough at the start, but when you get used to it, it’s not too bad.”
Wheat Kings’ head coach Dave Lowry also had very good things to say about the 17-year-old rookie.
“We’ll keep things in perspective knowing he’s a young player. We don’t want to put too much pressure on our young guys. They need to understand that games get harder every single night as the season goes on,” said Lowry of Ritchie. “He’s a very intelligent player and he has a very good understanding of how to play the game.”
Nolan did get a taste of junior hockey last year. He played four games with Brandon. Picked in the third round, 56th overall in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft by Brandon, Ritchie scored one goal over the course of the four games.
“The four games helped me out a lot last year,” he continued. “It’s definitely good that I have those regular-season games under my belt.”
All in all, Nolan really is living his childhood dream. A special night is planned on Friday at Westoba Place as the team plays their home opener. Well over 3000 people have already purchased tickets and among the things going on in the pregame is the team will be unveiling their brand new HD jumbotron.
Just after 7:30, it’s game time and it’s a moment that Nolan can’t wait for. Being from Brandon, Ritchie will have a ton of family and friends cheering him on.
“There will be a lot of excitement and I’m going to have a lot of jump to my game,” he concluded. “I’ll go out there and give it everything I have and hopefully the team can get the win.”
There is no doubt that the hometown Ritchie is a player to watch for Brandon this season.
