WASHINGTON — His plane made it to D.C.
The Islanders called up top prospect Cal Ritchie on Friday to make his debut with the team against the Capitals, some 24 hours after originally intended.
Ritchie had been in line to play in Thursday’s 6-2 loss to the Hurricanes as a replacement for Mat Barzal — a healthy scratch as discipline for missing the team bus — but his flight from New York to Raleigh, N.C., was canceled as a result of bad weather in the Northeast.
“It was pretty crazy,” Ritchie said before the match against Washington. “I was on the ice in Bridgeport. I was ready to pack up and leave to go to Wilkes-Barre to play on the road, and I got told to get off the ice and pack up my stuff and go to the airport.
Cal Ritchie during an Islanders-Rangers preseason game on Sept. 29, 2025. Getty Images
“So, did that, and then a lot of delays. Lot of cancellations yesterday with the weather. I was disappointed yesterday, but I’m glad I was able to make it today.”
The twin absences of Ritchie and Barzal left the Islanders, who did not bring an extra forward on the trip, with no choice but to play 11 forwards and seven defensemen in Carolina, with defenseman Adam Boqvist as a fourth-line winger. The makeshift lineup did not work out well in the blowout loss.
Defenseman Marshall Warren was sent down to Bridgeport as a corresponding move to make room for Ritchie on the 23-man roster.
“It was pretty painful to see the delays coming in,” Ritchie said. “I was always checking the timing, how long the flight is, hopefully I can make it to the game, sort of thing. I realized it was going to be canceled when the weather was pretty bad.”
Since Barzal was back in the lineup Friday, calling up Ritchie anyway begged the question of whether this represented a more serious audition for the 21-year-old than it had seemed he would get in Raleigh.
It looked on Thursday like calling up Ritchie would be a temporary, one-game matter, as he could provide the closest thing the Islanders have to a like-for-like replacement for Barzal. But with the two of them together on the top line Friday — an alignment that required Ritchie to shift to the wing, Anthony Duclair to drop to the fourth line and Max Tsyplakov to come out of the lineup as a healthy scratch — that was obviously not the case.
Calum Ritchie #64 of the New York Islanders skates against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on September 25, 2025. Getty Images“Just learn,” coach Patrick Roy said. “He was so good in preseason. Played a lot of games. I’m sure he learned a lot. I’m sure it was a great experience for him in Bridgeport. I’m sure he learned a lot [there] as well. I’m excited to see him play and see where he is.
“Not trying to put expectation on anything, other than him enjoy the game. We talk about joy a lot. I want him to enjoy the game and have fun playing.”
Ritchie, who was acquired from the Avalanche last season in the trade that sent Brock Nelson to Colorado, pushed hard for a roster spot in training camp, but was one of the team’s last cuts.
In three games at Bridgeport this season, the 21-year-old had three points, and missed three games with a lower-body injury. It’s unknown whether that injury was related to one he suffered in the Islanders’ final preseason game that kept him off the ice for the last few days of training camp.
“I’m so excited,” Ritchie said. “Obviously, since I’ve been here, it’s been incredible. Since being sent back [to Bridgeport], we’ve been trying to work on all the things we need to get back to this level. At the NHL level, it’s a dream. I’m really excited to play for the Islanders tonight and put on that jersey for the first time in a regular-season game.”
