Byron Ritchie

Byron Ritchie (born April 24, 1977) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward playing for Modo Hockey of the Swedish Elitserien.

Playing career
Ritchie was drafted in the 7th round (165th overall) by the Hartford Whalers in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. His rights transferred to the Carolina Hurricanes when the Whalers franchise relocated in 1997. On December 21, 1998, Ritchie made his NHL debut with the Hurricanes against the Buffalo Sabres. On January 16, 2002, he was traded to the Florida Panthers with Sandis Ozolinsh for Bret Hedican, Tomas Malec, Kevyn Adams and a conditional 2nd round selection in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. On July 4, 2004, he was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Calgary Flames. On July 2, 2007, Ritchie signed with the Vancouver Canucks, where he played for one season.

After the Canucks chose not to re-sign him, he signed as a free agent to play in Europe for Geneve-Servette HC of the NLA and signed a one-year contract. After a very good season in Switzerland during which he earned 60 points and took the 5th place of the overall top-scorer rankings, Ritchie, again a free agent, decided to sign with the Dinamo Minsk of the Russian KHL. In the 2009–10 season, Bryon was hampered by injury and played in just 12 games posting 3 goals for Minsk.

On June 14, 2010, Ritchie remained in Europe and signed a one-year contract to return to Sweden with Modo of the SEL.

Byron is now playing in the Elite League in Berne, Switzerland.(2011)

Awards

 * Named to the WHL - East Second All-Star Team in 1996
 * Named to the WHL - East Second All-Star Team in 1997
 * Named the American Hockey League Player of the Week on October 29, 2001

Records

 * Set Lowell Lock Monsters franchise record for points in a game with 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) on October 26, 2001 against the Portland Pirates

Controversial remarks
On Tuesday May 13, 1997 after a game in the Memorial Cup refereed by a Francophone from Quebec he was caught by an RDS (the French version of TSN) camera yelling: "Fuck you, you fucking Frogs! Fuck them all!"" He apologized the next day at practice stating "Whether the camera was on me or not doesn't make it right." For the remainder of the tournament, he was booed mercilessly by the fans in Hull, Quebec, where the tournament was taking place.