Ivanans a happy camper in LA

 

Stephine Chavez (HV)

 

Raitis Ivanans signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings on July 13th, 2006. In 2005, Raitis made his NHL debut with the Montreal Canadiens. He played his first NHL game on October 8th, 2005. In response to Raitis making the Los Angeles Kings team over fellow LA Enforcer George Parros, Raitis simply said "just came to training camp with hopes that everything would work out and it did." Raitis' main focus is to keep on playing hard and helping his team win. Raitis previously played for the Montreal Canadiens and before that he spent eight seasons in the pro-minors first playing for the Flint Generals of Flint, Michigan in 1997. Riatis played in the American Hockey League (Hamilton Bulldogs, Milwaukee Admirals, Hershey Bears), East Coast Hockey League (Baton Rouge, Toledo Storm, Pensacola Ice Pilots), United Hockey League (Rockford IceHogs, New Haven, Flint Generals), and Central Hockey League (Tulsa Oilers, Macon Whoopee). In 2004 when Raitis played for the Hamilton Bulldogs, he recorded 259 penalty minutes. He recorded 166 penalty minutes with the Milwaukee Admirals in 2003-04. In the playoffs, he helped the Admirals win the Calder Cup. Raitis also played for Team Latvia at the 1999 World B Junior Championships. On October 12, 2006, Raitis Ivanans scored his first NHL goal against the Dallas Stars. He was the lone scorer for the King's and blocked Marty Turco from his 25th career shutout that night. Raitis was very excited about his goal saying, "at first I didn't believe it went in but once it sunk in it felt great." Raitis went on to mention that his family was very excited for him and knew about his first goal before he even called them. His family is very proud of him and is very supportive of his NHL career. When asked about which fight so far has been his toughest he said it would have been a fight last year in the AHL. He stated, "you have good fights and bad fights; I don't think about them." So far, Raitis has had seven fights in the NHL, including three during preseason and four during regular season. As of October 25, 2006, Raitis has fought Brad Norton of Detroit, Derek Boogaard of Minnesota, Trevor Gillies of Anaheim, Todd Fedoruk of Anaheim twice, and Shawn Thornton of Anaheim twice. ON ICE TIME Raitis says he would definitely like to have more time on the ice and knows it depends on his performance. He says he is going to keep working hard and keep trying to score points.

Photo: Raitis Ivanans © Stephine Chavez (HV)