It has already been reported that Latvian striker Raivis Ansons has fallen under the auspices of the Pittsburgh “Penguins” in the NHL draft on Wednesday.
The 18-year-old Anson was named the Penguins in the fifth round with a total of 149.
“Of course it feels very good. I didn’t expect to be drafted at the Pittsburgh Penguins at all, because it’s a very good team. Of course, there was a bit of excitement both on the day of the draft and the day before,” Anson remembers the special event in his career. .
The hockey player pointed out that he had still trained in the draft evening, but then followed the selection ceremony live. After the number 100, the hockey player thought that his turn would not come so quickly, so he decided to go to peace, but shortly afterwards there were calls from colleagues and also the agent, who discovered that the attacker would be under the auspices of the “Penguins”.
Although he spent many years in hockey, Anson remembered almost all the specialists who put his hand to make the “tree of things” come out of him.
“My first coach was Aivars Skudra. I started my hockey career in Riga, that’s how I’ve spent most of my career there,” Ansons remembers the first steps in hockey. “All the coaches have helped very well. For example, Juris Ozols, when I played in the special class. Oleg Sorokin, Rodrigo Lavins – everyone helped me a lot.”
The hockey player pointed out that the most important thing right now is to prepare for the season, but in order to become a good hockey player, who is also given the opportunity in the NHL, you have to work hard regularly and pay attention to the details.
“There [NHL] “Everything happens much faster, everyone is much more technical and everyone has more experience than us in the junior league,” said Ansons.
Meanwhile, one of Anson’s coaches Juris Ozols expressed satisfaction that the student managed to approach the hockey mecca, but he alone cannot take all the laurels.
“Raivis is a powerful ‘guy’, smart, with a good throw. Of course, a first-shift player. It’s hard to say anything more, he’s a very interesting guy,” describes the striker Ozols, who reveals that the potential in the young hockey player was noticeable early on.
“The potential has been seen since I started working with him when he was 13. He has, in fact, always played with” guys “older than a year. He has always played with players born in 2001, although he was in 2002 himself. was born and has been a first or second player. So the potential was already visible. “
The coach wished his former student good luck and also gave advice on how to achieve the set goals.
“The main thing is not to stop. Then the NHL system will move him forward, he will find the best club to play in, place and role in the team. I think the most important thing is not to stop, because hard work has been invested in special classes and in Canada and then just don’t give yourself any discounts, “adds the coach.
Anson spent the previous season in the Quebec Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) team at Be-Como “Drakkar”, which scored 13 goals in 60 games and assisted with 22 goals.
While foreign hockey players have difficulty returning to North America, Ansons represents Optibet’s Latvian Hockey League (OHL) team “Zemgale” / LLU, marking two assists in one match.
Ansons has represented the Latvian youth team at world championships.
The “Penguins” team is currently represented by striker Theodor Blugers, but last season the contract with the American Hockey League (AHL) team Wilkes-Bar / Screnton “Penguins” was Renar Krastenberg, who did not play in the second strongest league in North America.
The Penguins NHL team was once also represented by Peter Skudra and Viktor Ignatiev.
In addition to Anson, the Pittsburgh team selected four more hockey players in this year’s draft. In the second round, the Finnish goalkeeper Joels Bloomquist was chosen with the number 52, in the third round with the number 77 Swedish puck catcher Kalle Klangs, in the fourth round with the number 108 American striker Lukass Svedžkovskis, and in the sixth round with the number 170, another American .
Last year, the Vancouver “Canucks” team selected goalkeeper Artūrs Šilovs from the Latvian hockey players in the sixth round with the total number 156.
In total, 37 Latvian hockey players have been drafted in the NHL.
In April, when the NHL’s central scout bureau published the latest draft forecast, the list of hockey players playing in Europe included Jānis Švanenbergs, the striker of the Russian Youth Hockey League (MHL) unit “Rīga”, but he was not selected in the draft.
Drafting in NHL teams does not guarantee a contract. Statistics show that 60% of draft players do not play any NHL games.
It has already been reported that the New York Rangers chose the talented Canadian Alexis Lafrenj with the first number on Tuesday.
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