Rittich, kid brother have strong bond

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This article was published 18/12/2022 (1036 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SEATTLE — Win or lose, David Rittich knows it doesn’t matter to his biggest fan in the world. And the special bond the fiery Winnipeg Jets backup goaltender has with his younger brother, Tomas, will always bring a smile to his face regardless of how a hockey game plays out.

The 27-year-old has autism, along with other developmental issues.

“Obviously it’s a little different. But we have a great relationship. And we stay connected as much as we can,” Rittich, 30, told the Free Press in a candid, wide-ranging interview prior to his Sunday night start against the Seattle Kraken, where he suffered a tough 3-2 defeat after stopping 31 of 34 shots.

They may be separated by more than 7,000 kilometres during the season, but barely a day goes by the two don’t video chat with each other. Earlier this week, for example, David watched in delight as Tomas participated in a Christmas concert in Czechia.

“He was dancing and really enjoying himself,” Rittich said.

“I’ve lived in that world all my life. I don’t really know how other life is. You just have to go with the flow. It is what it is. I try to help him. I try to help my parents as much as I can. Obviously it’s not easy for him, or them.”

Hockey has taken Rittich all over the world — from his hometown of Jihlava to California, where the undrafted netminder was signed to a minor-league deal in 2016 with Calgary’s AHL organization which was based at the time in Stockton. Stops in Toronto, Nashville and now Winnipeg would later follow.

But his heart very much remains back home with his family, especially the brother he’s always been protective of.

“Thank God in our hometown there’s a very good program for people with special needs. He’s there with people who have similar challenges. Some have more challenges than the others. I really appreciate that in my hometown theres a school for them, it does a lot of things, it helps the families, helps the individuals,” he said.

So, too, does hockey.

“My brother, he loves hockey. Obviously he’s cheering for me and cheering for our team, but he’ll also go on YouTube and watching hockey (videos and highlights) all the time. He just loves it,” said Rittich, who created a cherished lifetime memory for Tomas a few years ago when he introduced him to Harvey The Hound, the Flames mascot.

It’s a bit of a mixed bag for the rest of the clan, with a bit of a love-hate relationship with the sport.

“I don’t think my Mom (Jana) watches any games anymore. She gets so nervous,” he said. “My Dad (David Sr.) watches for sure. He and my wife are the first to text me after every game.”

Mom has nobody to blame but herself. After all, she’s the one who first green-lighted Rittich’s childhood request to play goal.

“Funny story,” Rittich begins. “At the time, when I started playing, it was like mini-hockey, half the rink. There wasn’t really forward or D. You were just a player. We had a goalie, but his Dad was a soccer player, his grandfather was a soccer player, and he decided to choose soccer. So we lost the goalie.”

Opportunity was knocking.

“I was pretty flexible, so they asked me if I wanted to try. I said ‘Yeah, sure.’ But my Dad was really against it,” Rittich continued.

“One day, he had to go referee a game (something he did at a high-level for more than a decade back home), and so my Mom took me to hockey, And she let me play goal behind my Dad’s back. It went well, and I really started to like it. So I stayed there. And the rest is where we are now.”

Safe to say his father is now fully supportive, once again proving that mother really does know best. Rittich grew up idolizing Patrick Roy, Peter Budaj and Carey Price, who he got to play against a few years ago then got an autographed stick which is now a cherished keepsake.

“He’s a hell of a person and a hell of a goalie,” said Rittich.

After getting called up to Flames in his rookie pro season, Rittich established himself as an NHLer, including an All-Star appearance in the 2019-20 campaign. Sunday’s start in Seattle was his seventh of the year with the Jets, and the 158th appearance of his career.

Now on his fourth NHL organization, Rittich has quickly made himself comfortable. He’s a real character and big personality, something he quickly pleads guilty to. He’s also a new father, with his wife, Nikola, giving birth to son, Timmothy, around the same time he signed a one-year, US $900,00 contract with the Jets.

“It’s my never shut mouth,” he said. His accomplice on the Jets is Nate Schmidt, who also has the gift for gab and pulling pranks on teammates.

“Me and Schmitty, we are…something,” said Rittich. “No, I can get used to things pretty fast. It’s about getting to know guys. Obvously the first month is a bit tough, getting to know the city, where you live, getting to the know the organization and, most importantly, getting to know your teammates.”

Rittich said the culture within the Jets room and organization is impressive, something he quickly got immersed in during a retreat in Banff near the end of training camp.

“That was awesome. If we wouldn’t have played golf that would have been perfect. I suck at golf,” he said.

He was partnered with Dylan Samberg, who doesn’t suck at golf. “I felt bad for Sammy, I still feel bad. It’s obviously not my sport,” said Rittich. The team fishing derby went a bit better as he was paired with Nikolaj Ehlers for a fishing derby they had, saying it’s a good thing it wasn’t Schmidt.

“They couldn’t do that. The guy (driving) the boat would throw all his stuff in the water and probably jump overboard to try and get away,” said Rittich.

“But the trip to Banff was awesome. I got to know the guys a lot more than just spending a few hours a day with them. We had dinners, we had meetings, we made it fun. That helped everybody in our locker room.”

It’s a big reason the team is off to a scorching hot start, with Rittich solidly filling the role of understudy under Connor Hellebuyck that was vacated when Eric Comrie shuffled off to Buffalo as a free agent.

“I think me and Bucky are really good together, and really good for each other. I’m really enjoying it,” said Rittich.

“I think we have a bit of a similar personality. We like to talk, to go through the process. To push each other. So it’s good.”

They are also both proud members of the “goalies are weird” club, with plenty of quirks and idiosyncrasies.

“I mean, we all do have something wrong with us,” Rittich said with a smirk. “Who else would go stand in there and let guys rip pucks 100 miles an hour at your head?”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg