Ben Riche — who was added during the off-season in a trade with the Victoria Royals for over-ager Vaughn Watterodt — has provided instant offence to the Saskatoon Blades.
Just add new player, stir and mix.
Ben Riche — who was added during the off-season in a trade with the Victoria Royals for over-ager Vaughn Watterodt — has provided instant offence to the Saskatoon Blades.
Riche, who led the Blades through the pre-season with two goals and seven assists for nine points in four games, has three goals and one assist through two games to start the season.
While Saskatoon skated into the new season with some big holes, offensively, their new addition and latest Western Hockey League reclamation project is working wonders, so far.
“Very, very happy with his game,” said the Blades’ first-year head coach, Dan DaSilva, whose team returns to action Saturday night, at home, against the Brandon Wheat Kings and Saskatoon product Roger McQueen.
“He’s got some things defensively that he needs to work on, but he was a pre-season point-getter so that’s a good thing. Hopefully he carries it over.”
And, so far, he has.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Riche, who hails from Bethune, is making the best of his blazing-fast speed.
“I knew, obviously, (about) his skating,” DaSilva said of what he knew about Riche before he joined the Blades. “He’s a really fast skater, but I didn’t realize just how fast he was. At practice (last week), he was just flying by everyone. It was crazy how fast. He’s on another level.”
Can he keep that high level of production in the regular season?
“I hope so,” said Riche, who played under-18 for the Regina AAA Pat Canadians after two seasons with the under15 AA Prairie Storm.
“It’s a good start. It’s nice to throw a couple in the back of the net and get rolling early.”
Riche is a former second-round pick, 33rd overall, of the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors.
“The consistency is definitely important. It’s something I’ve been working on a lot. That’s kind of me as a player. I’ve just got to keep working and do the little things and stay positive.”
Riche dressed for 71 regular-season games with Moose Jaw being before he was dealt to Victoria at the start of last season.
He had 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points in 62 games with the Royals last season after scoring eight goals the season before with the Warriors.
He continues to work on his game away from the puck.
“A lot of that is who you play with,” Riche said. “I trust my line mates. I know that those guys I’m out there with all the time are going to do the right thing, so I think that will be a big help for me.”
Being welcomed with open arms is also a big help.
“From the moment I stepped in, (he felt like a Blade),” explained Riche. “I came in a little bit early and I did a kids’ camp, which is good to come meet some of the guys. They were very welcoming. A great group and it’s super positive and a great atmosphere in the room.
“Even though it’s a fairly different group from last year, you can tell it’s pretty tight. Everybody’s very inclusive and we’ve got a good leadership core, so that makes it a lot easier to come into a group like this and have some fun.”
After their Eastern Conference final run, the Blades said goodbye to top scorers Trevor Wong, Egor Sidorov, Fraser Minten, Easton Armstrong, Alexander Suzdalev and Watterodt during the off-season so Riche has joined a new-look team looking for new players to lead the way offensively, along with holdovers like Brandon Lisowsky, Tyler Parr, Rowan Calvert, Lukas Hansen, Misha Volotovskii and offensive-minded defenceman Tanner Molendyk.
“It’s been great,” said Riche. “That’s really what pre-season is for, is to get that chemistry and get comfortable with your line mates. Hopefully once Lisowsky gets back here (from NHL Toronto Maple Leafs camp), we can fire it up a little more, too. It’s been great and a great start.”
Riche, who is a 2005-born player, said he isn’t feeling the pressure to score.
“Obviously it’s something I like to do; it’s something I know I’m capable of,” he said. “I know it’s a skill I can bring to the team and I think it’s something I’m good at. Hopefully I can keep it up.”
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