Cal Ritchie details his areas of focus heading into year two with NY Islanders

Cal Ritchie could have looked at his rookie season and focused on a couple of obvious areas where he needed to improve.

Instead, the Islanders forward chose pretty much all of them.

Ritchie entered the offseason coming off an impressive first full NHL season, but his approach to Year 2 was built around a simple reality of playing at this level: being really good at one or two things only gets you so far.

"I think just trying to improve my strengths and my weaknesses," Ritchie said. "I think trying to see the ice better, handle pucks better, make better passes, better shot, worked on my skating a lot, battles."

That's quite the summer checklist. Off the ice, Ritchie concentrated on getting stronger, improving his conditioning and becoming more mobile. On the ice, there wasn't one specific skill he decided would suddenly take his game to another level.

It was everything.

"I mean, you have to be good at everything to play in the NHL," Ritchie said. "So, this summer I just tried to work on everything."

That's probably the right mindset for a young player who has already demonstrated he belongs but now needs to prove he can build upon it.

The NHL adjusts quickly. Opponents learn tendencies. What worked during a rookie season won't necessarily work as easily the second time around. For Ritchie, improving his strengths while addressing the weaker parts of his game could make him a much more complete player.

And despite having a full NHL season behind him now, Ritchie isn't arriving at training camp believing his job is finished.

"You still got to prove yourself every training camp," he said. "I'm just not really thinking too much about the past. I'm just trying to have a strong season this year and try to help the team."

Last season established what Ritchie can be.

This summer was about expanding it.

Because if he wants his second NHL season to be better than his first, Ritchie understands there can't be many parts of his game that stay exactly the same.

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