David Rittich

Born in Jihlava, Czech Republic on August 19, 1992, David Rittich has spent the better part of a decade carving out a career in the NHL's most demanding position — accumulating 260 games, 122 wins, and 9 shutouts across six organizations by the time he pulled on a New York Islanders jersey for the 2025-26 season.

Rittich's path to North America was not through the NHL draft. The 6'3", 200-pound left-catching netminder found his way into the Flames organization and made his NHL debut with Calgary in a single appearance during the 2016-17 season. From that quiet entry point, he built toward a full-time role over the following two seasons, logging 21 games with a .904 save percentage in 2017-18 before breaking through in earnest in 2018-19.

That 2018-19 season stands as a career benchmark. Rittich went 27-9 across 45 appearances, posting a 2.61 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage with 1 shutout — numbers that earned him selection to the 2020 NHL All-Star Game, representing Czech Republic internationally along the way. The following season, 2019-20, he appeared in 48 games for Calgary, going 24-17 with a 2.97 GAA, a .907 save percentage, and 2 shutouts — at that point the busiest individual campaign of his career by games played.

After four seasons in Calgary, Rittich's career entered a more itinerant phase. A four-game stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the abbreviated 2020-21 season gave way to 17 appearances with the Nashville Predators in 2021-22, then 21 games with the Winnipeg Jets in 2022-23, where he went 9-8 with a 2.67 GAA and a .901 save percentage. Each stop kept him in the league without a prolonged primary role.

The 2023-24 season with the Los Angeles Kings brought some of the sharpest numbers of his career outside of that 2018-19 run. Across 24 games, Rittich went 13-6 with a 2.15 GAA and a .921 save percentage — his highest mark across any season in which he appeared in more than a handful of games — adding 3 shutouts. He returned to the Kings for 2024-25, playing 34 games and finishing 16-14 with a 2.84 GAA.

For 2025-26, Rittich is with the New York Islanders, wearing number 33. Through 30 games he has gone 14-10 with a 2.76 GAA, a .894 save percentage, and 2 shutouts — on pace for his highest single-season game total since his final Calgary season. His career GAA stands at 2.79 across those 260 appearances, with a career save percentage of .903.

InGoal Magazine has covered David Rittich in one drill breakdown. In a 2021 piece by Kevin Woodley, then-Calgary Flames goaltending coach Jason LaBarbera worked with Rittich on a Figure-8 Drill designed to develop lateral footwork, patience, and tracking while staying on top of the puck ^[1]. LaBarbera described the drill as requiring goalies to "shuffle and adjust" and "keep your feet under you," with the video capturing Rittich recovering to the middle between shots rather than cheating early toward the second glove ^[1].