A nice, cool ice rink is the perfect balm for the sweltering summer heat. For hockey fans in the Minneapolis area, there is a chance to get away from the sun and watch a little hockeythis week. The 2025 World Summer Showcase rolls into town this week (games started today with Team USA White defeating Finland, 5-2) as prospects from the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Finland participate in a round-robin slate of games trying to impress their national scouts in an effort to make the roster for the Under-20 World Championships in December.
Sweden, Team USA (two teams), and Finland had released their rosters earlier in the month, but Team Canada (two teams) waited a little longer. Their roster finally came out, and for Minnesota Wild fans, there was a familiar face. Ryder Ritchie, the team's second-round pick in 2024, made the cut and will be skating for his country along with the presumptive top pick in next year's draft, Gavin McKenna. The games will take place over the next few days at Ridder Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota.
Ritchie, an 18-year-old right winger, has already represented Team Canada at the Under-17 World Championship in 2022-23, where he scored 4 goals in 6 games. He followed that up with an 8-point (4 goals, 4 assists) performance at the Under-18 Championship the next season. Chances are he'll be on the final roster for the U20's in December, but a strong performance over the next few days will solidify his spot.
It's been a busy summer for Ritchie, who was at the Wild's prospect development camp earlier in the month. Following the Showcase, he'll head east to get ready for his upcoming season with Boston University. He decided to leave junior hockey after a 61-point (29 goals, 32 assists) performance with Medicine Hat last season despite missing 14 games early in the season after a teammate's skate caught him in the face. The lure of a more structured season with plenty of time to work in practice during the week lured him away from the WHL.
Ritchie is one of the top prospects in the next wave of players that should be hitting professional hockey in a year or two. As Scott Wheeler wrote last February for The Athletic,
"He has a way of finding his way out of trouble, whether with a twist or turn or bit of creativity to set up an opening to pass through with a pre-planned move so that he can place a puck under a stick or between someone’s skates. He’s a crafty, talented winger who looks like he’s got top-six upside to me..."
Tickets for the Summer Showcase are available through the University of Minnesota website, and are available for all games this week. For more details, and to take a look at the full rosters, head to the USA Hockey site.