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TORONTO — Pete DeBoer used the stick — in this case, the bench — to make his point to Calum Ritchie on Thursday night in Ottawa. On Saturday against the Maple Leafs, it was more about the carrot.
Rather than demoting Ritchie off the second line, DeBoer kept him there, having gone over video with him the day prior to reinforce the message that Ritchie’s puck management needs to improve. The overall message, though, was one of faith in the 21-year-old center.
“It’s all part of the process,” DeBoer said. “I had Wyatt Johnston in Dallas. I had Thomas Harley. They all went through this. They all had great games and they had games where they took a step back. You had to sit and watch for a little bit. This is all part of that development.”
Of course, that has the added benefit of being true. Things worked out pretty well with Johnston and Harley, and the safe bet is that they will with Ritchie too.
Ritchie, scoreless in four straight games going into Saturday, seemed to take the message in stride.
“I think I’ve been forcing some plays offensively a little bit,” he said pregame Saturday. “I’m just trying to generate offense and I’m forcing some things. Just trying to hold onto pucks. Making smarter plays is a big thing and obviously, I think just battling harder. Winning more puck battles. I think those are the two biggest things probably.”
Making better decisions with the puck has been a near-constant refrain from DeBoer at the start of the season, with Ritchie far from the only player to struggle doing so. Given their speed deficit on the blue line when Matthew Schaefer is off the ice, and their lack of offensive firepower, giving away high-end chances that stem from turnovers simply isn’t something the Islanders can get away with.
The giveaways from Ritchie, along with taking a penalty, irked DeBoer enough on Thursday night to sit him for the last 11:30 of regulation and all of overtime in an eventual 2-1 defeat to the Senators.
“I think a bit of it is not executing what I’m seeing,” Ritchie said. “I’m seeing something and just trying to make a play and they close it off quickly. It’s kinda like, a more high-risk play, you’re not sure it’s gonna happen. It’s just getting back to the basics, simplifying my game a little bit. Just trying to play the right way.”
Of course, he can’t tilt too far in the other direction either. The Islanders don’t want to mute Ritchie’s skill with the puck on his stick, or force him into a mentality where he’s scared to make a mistake. Learning when to try and make a play versus when to just dump the puck in and move onto the next one — especially with a new coach whose principles are different from what Ritchie was taught last year — will be an ongoing process.
“He’s a young guy that’s finding that line between creating offense, how to create offense in this league against some big, heavy teams and big bodies, but also do it without being reckless with the puck,” DeBoer said. “But also do it without being reckless with the puck. That’s something every young player goes through. It’s OK to sit and watch for a few shifts here and there.”
At least to hear him tell it, Ritchie’s confidence won’t be affected. He knows this is normal and if he forgets, he can always reflect on last season, when the Islanders sat Mathew Barzal and Anthony Duclair for a third period over back-checking issues.
“You still gotta play hockey,” he said. “You gotta play free. If you’re not playing free, you’re not gonna play very good. For me, everyone kinda goes through that. Stars in this league get sat sometimes. Just gotta bounce back, play better, play the right way.”