Raitis Ivanāns (born January 3, 1979) is a

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

n former professional ice hockey

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and was known primarily as an enforcer.

Playing career

In 1997, Ivanāns came over to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and played for the Flint Generals. In 2005, he made his NHL debut with the Montreal Canadiens, accumulating 9 penalty minutes in 4 games. He got into a fight in his second game, against the Ottawa Senators, with Zdeno Chára, and sustained a broken

orbital bone In anatomy, the orbit is the cavity or socket of the skull in which the eye and its appendages are situated. "Orbit" can refer to the bony socket, or it can also be used to imply the contents. In the adult human, the volume of the orbit is , of ...

due to a late punch after he was down. On July 13, 2006, he signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Kings. Ivanāns scored his first NHL goal against Marty Turco the Dallas Stars on October 12, 2006. On March 18, 2007, he signed a one-year, one-way deal with the Los Angeles Kings. On January 29, 2008, Ivanāns signed a two-year contract extension with the Kings. In each of his four consecutive seasons in Los Angeles, Ivanāns led the team in penalty minutes. On July 1, 2010, Raitis signed a two-year deal as a free agent with the Calgary Flames, and made his Flames debut on October 7, 2010 in the 2010-11 season opening against Edmonton Oilers; however he suffered a debilitating

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

during a third period fight with Oilers' heavyweight

Steve MacIntyre Steven "Big Mac" MacIntyre (born August 8, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger, who last played for the Carolina Thunderbirds in the FPHL, and is known as an enforcer. Playing career Amateur MacIntyre came to the Contin ...

. On October 20, 2011, Ivanāns was sent to the Abbotsford Heat by Calgary, where he scored his first goal of the season on November 11 against the Texas Stars. On May 22, 2012, Ivanans signed a two-year deal with Dinamo Rīga of the Kontinental Hockey League. During the 2012-13 season, he failed to establish a lasting role in 39 games with Riga, and was released prior to the second year of his contract.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

*
Yahoo! Sports profile of Raitis Ivanāns
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanans, Raitis 1979 births Living people Baton Rouge Kingfish players Calgary Flames players Dinamo Riga players Flint Generals players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Hershey Bears players Latvian ice hockey left wingers Los Angeles Kings players Macon Whoopee (CHL) players Milwaukee Admirals players Montreal Canadiens players New Haven Knights players Pensacola Ice Pilots players Rockford IceHogs (UHL) players Ice hockey people from Riga Toledo Storm players Tulsa Oilers (1992–present) players Undrafted National Hockey League players