Physical forward Nick Ritchie works to stay on the right side of the line for Hockey Canada

KINGSTON, Ont. — International hockey officiating standards, Canadians often complain, are a moving target. Especially for players who target anything that moves.

The Peterborough Petes' Nick Ritchie, with the confluence of strength and skill he possesses, is prominent in the Anaheim Ducks' plans after becoming their No. 10 overall choice in June. The overarching concern for the 6-foot-3, 229-pound wing is finding that delicate balance between being physical while not taking penalties that could hurt his team.

For 2½ periods, Ritchie literally checked off all the boxes at the K-Rock Centre, where he scored a Game 7 overtime goal for the Petes in the 2014 playoffs. He threw several solid checks, including one in the first period that caused Russia defenceman Vladislav Gavrikov to very slowly skate to the bench. The one damper was a checking-from-behind minor/misconduct in the third period that led to the only Russia goal

"Being a bigger guy, it's something I got to do," Ritchie said. "I felt I got some good licks on guys early and maybe set the tone and we rolled pretty well tonight.

"I thought I did a good job of that in both of these games, [except] maybe that one penalty at the end there. That was the only one I got. I guess they add a 10 [misconduct] for a check from behind. I didn't think it was too bad but I guess the ref has to call it. I thought I kept it all on the right side of most of the time."

Ritchie is leads the OHL with 51 penalty minutes over 17 games. Some would remember that the Orangeville, Ont., native, whose older brother Brett Ritchie wore the Maple Leaf at the 2013 world junior, also got involved in the rough stuff during the summer development camp in August. To be fair, though, the standard of decorum for Canada's second matchups with the Czech Republic and Russia in the summer was a notch up from 'anything goes.'

Point being, staying disciplined with be an ongoing thing for Ritchie. Canada will need his presence come tournament time. Playing Russia pointed out that the competition often has a stronger, more mature base along the blueline than what Canada's top teens are used to facing in major junior.

"It's a big jump," said Misha Donskov, Hockey Canada's manager of hockey operations, analytics and video. "These guys are playing against men so they're bigger, faster, stronger. It's a great test for our players. It's what they have to expect to play against the next level and on the world junior stage."

Two years ago, Canada opted not to take current Washington Capitals wing Tom Wilson, who was a 6-foot-4, 225-pound wrecking ball. Ritchie, however, would be suited for a scoring line role than a shutdown one. His line with Dallas Stars-drafted centre Jason Dickinson and player of the game Max Domi had a strong first half.

"Thursday we got some of the same chances we did tonight," Ritchie said. "They didn't go in then and tonight they went in. As a whole, we were more solid defensively than Thursday. There were positives in both games."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.