Mattias Ritola

Mattias Ritola
Ritola with the Grand Rapids Griffins during the 2007-08 season
Born	(1987-03-14) March 14, 1987 (age 38) 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			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!". 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.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database