It took them a few years, but the Vancouver Canucks finally atoned for the mistake of giving up on a young Latvian forward too soon. The only difference is that they've signed a different one.
On Thursday, the Canucks signed 22-year-old Latvian forward Anri Ravinskis to a two-year, entry-level contract worth $1.75 million ($872.5k AAV), taking a fine flier on a young player who's played some excellent international hockey lately.
“Anri is a player our group has been watching closely this year in Finland and more recently at the World Hockey Championships in Sweden,” Canucks GM Patrik Allvin said in a statement. “Finding European free agents like Anri is a good way for our organization to improve its depth. We like his size and body type and look forward to helping him refine his skills and get used to the North American pro game.”
The Canucks once had a promising Latvian forward by the name of Rodrigo Abols, a versatile 6-foot-4 skater who could play center and wing. Abols, 29, was drafted 184th overall by the Canucks in the seventh round of the 2016 NHL Draft, but never played a single game in the Canucks organization before heading for Sweden's SHL in 2020.
Abols has since returned to North America, resurfacing with the Philadelphia Flyers this past season and scoring two goals, three assists, and five points in 22 NHL games. In the AHL, Abols recorded 15 goals, 17 assists, and 32 points in 47 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
That might be as much as the Canucks can hope for Ravinskis to be at the end of the day, and while there are no guarantees one way or another, the new signee will almost assuredly start his North American career in the AHL.
Abols, on the other hand, recently landed a one-year contract extension with the Flyers, securing an NHL future as a fringe roster player. But, the Canucks found a way to add passable forward depth from the outside eventually, and that's what counts now.