2008-09: His fourth NHL season, all with Philadelphia … Named team captain … Set new personal bests with 30 goals, 50 assists and 80 points … Led the NHL with seven shorthanded goals, which gives him 19 career shorthanded goals in only four seasons … Became the first player in NHL history to score three career shorthanded goals with his team down two men … 2007-08: Led all Philadelphia forwards in average ice-time (21:30) …… 2006-07: Missed 16 games recovering from surgery to repair a sports hernia … Played in his 100th career NHL game on November 20 vs. Pittsburgh … 2005-06: Scored his first career NHL goal in his first career NHL game vs. NY Rangers on October 5 … Minor professional: Registered 15 points in 14 playoff games with the Philadelphia Phantoms in 2004-05, after joining the team following the elimination of Kitchener from the OHL playoffs … Amateur: Led the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers in points for two seasons (2002-04) …Served as Kitchener’s captain for two seasons (2003-05) … Played four seasons with Kitchener (2001-05) … Registered 115 goals and 177 assists for 292 points in 233 regular season OHL games … Minor hockey: Played all his minor hockey in Kenora … Names Doug Novak as his favourite minor hockey coach

An alternate captain with Team Canada at the 2006 IIHF World Hockey Championship in Riga, Latvia, finishing fourth … Won two medals with Canada at the World Junior Championships (2005-gold, 2004-silver) and served as team captain in 2005 … Won a gold medal with Canada’s National Under-18 summer team at the 2002 Eight Nations Cup in Slovakia … Won a bronze medal with Team Ontario at the 2002 World Under-17 Challenge in Stonewall, Man.

Nickname: Richie … His cousin Jeff Richards plays University hockey … Held the Mike Richards Hockey School in his hometown of Kenora (ON) during the summer of 2006 … Favourite NHL Player growing up: Joe Sakic … Favourite NHL team growing up: Vancouver Canucks … Would like to learn how to sail … Son of Norm and Irene … has two brothers, Matt and Mark