Darren Ritchie has been on the Brandon Wheat Kings staff since the 2006-07 season. From that point until the end of the 2015-16 season, he was an assistant coach.
For the past three seasons, the Minnedosa native was the team’s director of scouting. In early May, Brandon announced that they would not be extending the contract of Grant Armstrong, which meant the team was in search of a new general manager.
The search took more than two months to find the right candidate, but that search is officially over. Darren Ritchie has been named the team’s 12th general manager.
Prior to becoming an assistant coach back in the 06-07 season, Ritchie played nine seasons as a professional. Most of which were in Germany. He also played in Italy, and in North America.
Before his pro days, Ritchie was a star with the Wheat Kings. He played in 232 games with the team and had 278 points (152G). He also scored three goals in four Memorial Cup games.
1994-95 was his best season in Brandon. He had 114 points (62G) in the regular season and he added 22 points (13G) in the playoffs. The three Memorial Cup points also came in that season. He was a WHL best +64 and he won the league’s Most Sportsmanlike Player award.
As the off-season continues to roll on and Opening Day gets closer each day, Ritchie is excited for his first full season as GM.
“Kelly approached me about the position and asked me my thoughts. At the time, I was honoured and wasn’t sure what to think,” said Ritchie. “I really liked being the director of scouting for the team. At the end of the day, there aren’t many positions like this. I thought it would be a really great opportunity for me to help our organization, I’m really excited to do it.”
This upcoming season will also be a milestone year for Darren. If you combine his years playing with the team, this will be his 20th Anniversary in the Wheat City. The first 19 were so great that coming back for a 20th was a no-brainer.
“Everyone treats each other with respect and everyone’s opinion matters,” said Ritchie. “It all starts with Kelly, he’s the boss and he lets everyone feel welcome. I have always enjoyed helping players day in and day out. We want to make sure everyone feels welcome and a part of things, it’s a great place to be.”
When accepting the job, McCrimmon did provide Darren with some advice as he embarks on his first year as a GM.
“He told me to treat people the way I want to be treated. Have fun at the rink, it’s great being at the rink,” said Ritchie. “That’s how Kelly has always done things and I plan on carrying on with that tradition.”
With all the excitement of accepting the position in the rear-view mirror, Ritchie is now tasked with setting up a lineup that will look to get back into the playoffs.
Last season was the first since the 2013 campaign that Brandon missed the playoffs. In the stretch of five straight playoff appearances, Brandon won a league title and lost in a league final.
Despite it being his first year as a GM, pressure is something that Ritchie is not feeling.
“I don’t feel it. I’ve been a part of this team for a long time and we’ve been lucky to be in the playoffs as much as we have,” said Ritchie. “We take a lot of pride in making the playoffs. When we don’t, it’s disappointing and it makes everyone work harder. We’re going to prepare hard to be ready at the start of the year. We do expect to be in the playoffs.”
When it comes to who’s eligible to come back this season, the Wheat Kings do have a solid group. Luka Burzan, Ben McCartney, Jiri Patera, Cole Reinhardt are all eligible to return, just to name a few.
Between Luka, Ben and Reinhardt last season, the three combined for 83 goals and 81 assists. Jiri led the team to 22 wins in net.
Among other transactions, Brandon added two players at the CHL Import Draft earlier this summer. With the 22nd pick, Brandon snagged Marcus Kallionkieli. He had 29 goals and 24 assists with the Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) this past season.
With their 82nd pick, Brandon picked Vladislav Firstov of Russia. The pick was the team’s first Russian-born player picked since 2014 when they took Ivan Provorov. Ivan is known as one of the Wheat Kings’ better defenders in their history.
Firstov also played in the USHL this past season, with the Waterloo Blackhawks where he scored 26 times and added 24 assists.
Unfortunately for Brandon, Firstov is committed to the University of Connecticut for the 2019-20 season. Kallionkieli could very well be on his way to Brandon in the fall.
All in all, Ritchie knows the team will have what it takes to make a run.
“We return a lot of good players. Now it’s all about taking the next step, players will come in better after all of their training in the off-season,” said Ritchie. “Our d-core got a lot better in the second half last season and now; we expect them to take the next step this season. Then our forwards, we’ll look for big contributions from guys like Luka, Ben, and some other top-end players.”
Brandon plays their first pre-season game on September 6. It’s the Battle of Manitoba, as Brandon and Winnipeg square off at Westoba Place.
The regular season begins on Friday, September 20 on home ice against Winnipeg.
