Ratchuk was drafted in the first round, 25th overall, by the Colorado Avalanche in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. He grew up playing for the Cazenovia Chiefs. After his freshman year with Bowling Green State University, Ratchuk moved to the QMJHL with Hull Olympiques before turning pro.\n', '

Ratchuk was signed as a free agent by the Florida Panthers prior to the 1998–99 season. He played 32 games with the Panthers over two seasons, 1998–99 and 2000–01. He scored one goal and one assist.\n', '

After that, he was picked up by his hometown team, the Buffalo Sabres. During the 2002 preseason, he was sent down to that team\'s farm club, the Rochester Americans, for the 2002–03 season, then left to play in Germany. This resulted in a rather amusing error in ESPN\'s hockey recaps—in Sabres game recaps, Ratchuk\'s name would often be used mistakenly to refer to Dmitri Kalinin, a then current Sabres defenseman. Both Ratchuk and Kalinin wore #45, and ESPN never dissociated Ratchuk from the Sabres in their database when he left the league, resulting in the error.[citation needed]\n', '

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