I unfortunately didn't have the chance to watch the Red vs. White game on day 1 of Team Canada's WJC camp, however it's quite evident from the highlights and TSN analysis that Brett Ritchie was rolling.

I find these intrasquad games are always a little dicey; they're either uninspired (like the first two periods were), or you're unnecessarily risking injury to a key player (a la Brett Connolly on Quinton Howden last year). However, it's still an opportunity for players to get their nerves out of the way for the rest of camp.

Evidently only the final 6 minutes of this game showed any true life with all 4 goals coming in that span. However, Ritchie made the most of those 6 minutes, absolutely laying out Mathew Dumba and assisting on Team White's only goal. Ritchie also scored Team White's only goal during the shootout with a wicked wrister past Jordan Binnington.

All three of TSN's analysts were gushing about Ritchie being the best player on the ice last night which included the likes of Jonathan Huberdeau, Mark Scheifele and some guy named Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. I can't wait to see what happens during the games against CIS (university) teams.

Feel free to praise our prospect and post new links below as the camp continues.

Other notes:

• The game took place in Calgary and RNH was booed accordingly

• Ritchie started the game on a line with Niagara teammate Ryan Strome and Montreal prospect Charles Hudon.

Video Links:

Game Highlights: http://watch.tsn.ca/international-hockey/clip824932#clip824932

TSN Analysis: http://watch.tsn.ca/international-hockey/clip825000#clip825000

Notable Articles:

Stepneski: http://starsinsideedge.com/2012/12/11/brett-ritchie-notches-assist-shootout-goal-at-canada-world-junior-camp/

TSN: http://www.tsn.ca/world_jrs/story/?id=411471