Rich, a Natuashish native, was ranked fifth in the GMHL’s first set of Top 40 prospects in the North Division. The rankings are voted on by a league-wide committee and updated every few weeks. They are a tool used by collegiate and pro teams across the world in order to identify top players for their respective leagues.
Rich is currently tied for fifth in team scoring for the Lynx, a team based out of Sturgeon Falls, Ont., with six points (1G-5A) in six games so far.
The five-foot-eight, 150-pounder played last season with the Kings, accumulating 15 point (2G-13A) in 32 games, with another goal coming in six playoff appearances.
Rich spent many days at the hockey rink in Natuashish, where he met Juan Strickland, who was overseeing the minor hockey program there at the time. Rich trained for five years under Strickland’s direction and, when the coach returned to Corner Brook, Rich came with him to try out for the Kings. He made the team’s starting lineup as a top-six defenceman.
The GMHL is a Canadian developmental junior league, with teams in the Greater Toronto Area, Central Ontario, Northeastern Ontario and Quebec.
