ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Blues president and general manager Doug Armstrong announced Thursday a new signing. The team has signed forward Isaac Ratcliffe, according to the news release. However, the signing is only for a professional tryout.
Ratcliffe, 24, split last season between the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Milwaukee Admirals. He would collect 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) and 68 penalty minutes in 47 regular-season appearances.
The London, Ontario, native was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round (35th overall) in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
He appeared ten times with the Flyers, posting a goal and three assists.
Ratcliffe appeared in 26 games with the Phantoms last season, tallying two goals and two assists. He was traded mid-season to the Admirals.
Ratcliffe would make 21 appearances with the Admirals, scoring four goals and 12 assists. He would also make ten appearances in the AHL Playoffs, scoring three goals and one assist. The Admirals were eliminated in the playoff semifinals against the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
The Phantoms and Admirals are AHL affiliates of the NHL’s Flyers and Nashville Predators respectively.
Ratcliffe: New Blue or is he going to the Chicago Wolves?
Pending the outcome of his tryout, he will either be signed to a player contract with the Blues or return to the AHL for the 2023-24 season. Ratcliffe entered free agency at the end of the 2022-23 season and was signed by the Chicago Wolves.
The Wolves currently have no connection to the NHL at this time. The Wolves have had NHL affiliate deals with the former Atlanta Thrashers, the Vancouver Canucks, the Blues, Vegas Golden Knights, and Carolina Hurricanes. They also had a temporary affiliate agreement with the Predators due to the Admirals opting out of the shortened 2020-21 season.
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Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.
