Mattias Ritola

Mattias Ritola
Ritola with the Grand Rapids Griffins during the 2007-08 season
Born (1987-03-14) March 14, 1987 (age 37)
Borlänge, Sweden
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Left
Played for Leksands IF
Detroit Red Wings
Tampa Bay Lightning
Modo Hockey
Skellefteå AIK
HC Fribourg-Gottéron
National team  Sweden
NHL draft 103rd overall, 2005
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 2007–2021

Mattias Kenneth Ritola (born March 14, 1987) is a former[1] Swedish professional ice hockey forward.

Playing career

Ritola made his debut in Sweden's top-tier SHL with Leksands IF during the 2005-06 season, after being drafted 103rd overall in the fourth round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings. Ritola joined the Red Wings for the 2007-08 season and played his first NHL game on March 15, 2008, against the Nashville Predators. Ritola did not qualify to be engraved on the cup because he did not play in a post-season game, but he was awarded a Stanley Cup ring, and he was included on the 2008 Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup picture. Ritola played in his first post-season game on May 6, 2010, in a 7–1 win over the San Jose Sharks.

On Tuesday October 6, 2010, Ritola was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Lightning.[2] He scored his first NHL goal on October 30, 2010, against Ilya Bryzgalov of the Phoenix Coyotes. In late 2010, he was diagnosed with the Meniere's disease.[3] Early in November 2011, Ritola cleared regular waivers and was assigned to Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League, however Ritola refused to report to the AHL club. On November 9, 2011, Ritola cleared unconditional waivers and his contract with Tampa Bay was terminated so he would be free to pursue playing opportunities in Europe.[4] On November 10, 2011, Modo Hockey announced that he signed a contract to play until the 2012–13 season of Elitserien.[5] His contract was extended to the 2015–16 season on January 4, 2013.[6]

During the 2014–15 season, after 10 games with Modo, Ritola transferred to return to his original and fellow SHL club, Leksands IF on October 13, 2014.[7] After spending the 2014-15 season with Leksands, he moved on to another SHL side, Skellefteå AIK. He was a regular on a Skellefteå squad that progressed to the SHL finals, where they were beaten by Frölunda HC.

On May 31, 2016, he signed a two-year deal with HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the Swiss National League A (NLA)[8] and left the club on January 18, 2017, for personal reasons.[9] He returned to Leksands IF shortly after parting ways with Fribourg.[10]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2002–03 Borlänge HF SWE.3 25 6 14 20 4 — — — — —
2003–04 Västra Frölunda HC J18 Allsv 11 4 11 15 35 7 2 7 9 12
2003–04 Västra Frölunda HC J20 24 7 4 11 8 5 0 1 1 0
2004–05 Frölunda HC J20 9 2 6 8 6 — — — — —
2004–05 Leksands IF J20 18 8 10 18 14 5 1 1 2 2
2005–06 Leksands IF J20 14 4 2 6 16 — — — — —
2005–06 Leksands IF SEL 30 0 3 3 10 — — — — —
2006–07 Leksands IF J20 12 5 7 12 16 — — — — —
2006–07 Leksands IF Allsv 23 1 4 5 4 — — — — —
2006–07 Arboga IFK Allsv 3 1 0 1 2 — — — — —
2006–07 Borlänge HF SWE.3 11 4 6 10 14 — — — — —
2007–08 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 72 7 15 22 62 — — — — —
2007–08 Detroit Red Wings NHL 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2008–09 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 66 15 27 42 32 8 0 2 2 0
2009–10 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 73 19 23 42 50 — — — — —
2009–10 Detroit Red Wings NHL 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2010–11 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 31 4 4 8 11 1 0 0 0 0
2010–11 Norfolk Admirals AHL 17 9 18 27 8 4 1 4 5 0
2011–12 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 5 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
2011–12 Modo Hockey SEL 35 7 13 20 30 6 1 1 2 8
2012–13 Modo Hockey SEL 50 11 13 24 12 5 2 1 3 4
2013–14 Modo Hockey SHL 38 7 11 18 26 2 1 0 1 0
2014–15 Modo Hockey SHL 10 2 2 4 12 — — — — —
2014–15 Leksands IF SHL 42 10 22 32 18 — — — — —
2015–16 Skellefteå AIK SHL 33 9 23 32 16 16 5 8 13 10
2016–17 HC Fribourg–Gottéron NLA 27 4 13 17 22 — — — — —
2016–17 Leksands IF SHL 16 1 6 7 6 — — — — —
2017–18 Leksands IF Allsv 47 16 17 33 30 10 1 3 4 4
2018–19 Leksands IF Allsv 11 2 7 9 0 10 3 8 11 14
2019–20 Leksands IF SHL 47 8 9 17 42 — — — — —
2020–21 Leksands IF SHL 23 5 7 12 4 4 0 2 2 2
SHL totals 324 60 109 169 176 33 9 12 21 24
AHL totals 228 50 83 133 152 12 1 6 7 0
NHL totals 43 4 5 9 17 2 0 0 0 0

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2005 Sweden WJC18 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 1 3 4 8
2006 Sweden WJC 5th 6 2 2 4 2
2016 Sweden WC 6th 8 0 1 1 2
Junior totals 13 3 5 8 10
Senior totals 8 0 1 1 2

References

  1. ^ "Beskedet: Avslutar nu spelarkarriären". www.expressen.se (in Swedish). 16 June 2022. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  2. ^ "Mattias Ritola - player profile and career stats". redwings.nhl.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2008.
  3. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning's Mattias Ritola to get injection for Meniere's disease". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
  4. ^ "Lightning notes: Ritola and team part ways". TBO.com. 2011-11-09. Retrieved 2011-11-09.
  5. ^ "Modo signs Ritola for two years". Modo Hockey. 2011-11-10. Retrieved 2011-11-10.
  6. ^ "Mattias Ritola förlänger med MODO Hockey!".
  7. ^ "Mattias Ritola returns to Leksands". Leksands IF (in Swedish). 2014-10-13. Retrieved 2014-10-13.
  8. ^ "Mattias Ritola (SWE) pour 2 saisons avec Fribourg-Gottéron | HC Fribourg-Gottéron". www.gotteron.ch. Archived from the original on 2016-06-11. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
  9. ^ "Actualité - Mattias Ritola quitte subitement FR-Gottéron | Planète Hockey". Planète Hockey (in Swiss French). Retrieved 2017-01-18.
  10. ^ "Ritola flyttar hem - Leksands IF". www.leksandsif.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2017-01-27. Retrieved 2017-01-20.


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