It turns out that the Vancouver Canucks didn’t have four players at the 2025 IIHF World Championship; they had five.
On Thursday, the Canucks announced the signing of Anri Ravinskis, who represented Latvia at the tournament. The undrafted free agent signed a two-year, entry-level contract for $1.75 million — a cap hit of $873,000.
“Anri is a player our group has been watching closely this year in Finland and more recently at the World Hockey Championships in Sweden,” said Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin 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.”
It’s fair to say that Anri Ravinskis wasn’t on the radar for most people. He didn’t earn a mention in The Athletics’ round-up of undrafted free agents, and his production in the Finnish Liiga wasn’t overly remarkable for a 22-year-old winger.
Still, he caught the eye of the Canucks’ scouts, partly because of what Allvin highlighted: his size.
A 6'3" power forward out of Latvia
Ravinskis plays a heavy, physical game, looking to finish every check along the boards, a style that fits well with his 6’3”, 200+ lbs frame. It certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s a strong skater, allowing him to close quickly on his opponents on the forecheck.
It’s a style of play that this management group loves, as illustrated both by past free-agent signings like Kiefer Sherwood, as well as their previous choice of head coach in Rick Tocchet. It’s similar to what drew them to Nils Åman, their first free-agent signing out of Europe. Åman has since become one of the top forwards on the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL and a reliable depth centre for the Vancouver Canucks when called up to the NHL; a similar result from Ravinskis would be a great result.
Ravinskis has been going under the radar for a while. He spent a season in Canada playing U-18 AAA hockey for the Toronto Red Wings, but then returned to Latvia for his draft year in 2020-1. That likely hurt his chances of getting picked by an NHL team, as he had few eyes on him there. Latvian players who get drafted are typically playing in another league, such as in Sweden or in major junior hockey in Canada.
He did catch a small amount of attention at the World Under-18 Championships that year, as he scored two of Latvia’s six goals in the tournament. A scout from DraftPro liked what he saw from Ravinskis in a game against Canada.
“Ravinskis was a pleasant surprise to witness, an energetic blend of speed and offensive awareness with a dynamic touch,” said the scout. “He was most noticeable on zone entries as he was often the target man…and there’s a reason his linemates want to give him the biscuit so badly.”
The scout praised his wrist shot and ability to find open ice to use it, pointing out that he hit a post and had a couple of other great chances to go with his goal against Canada, with Latvia one of the few teams that challenged Canada in that tournament.
“Ravinskis’ offensive awareness was too good to ignore, his breakouts and entries were crisp, he showed above-average skating when taking defence wide along the boards, and jeez, could he ever get to open ice in the blink of an eye,” raved the scout. “Impressive game from the Latvian winger.”
On a Latvian hockey podcast, Ravinskis noted that he got some attention from NHL teams heading into the draft, particularly the Arizona Coyotes, but he ultimately didn't get picked. Arizona's interest was legitimate, as he got an invite to their training camp and played in the Coyotes' rookie tournament in 2021.
From the QMJHL to Finland
After going undrafted, Ravinskis returned to North America, joining the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the QMJHL. He was a solid player for the Armada, but didn’t turn enough heads to get drafted in his second or third years of eligibility. The upside is that Ravinskis has already played two seasons on North American ice, which ought to help his transition to the pro game in North America a little bit easier.
Ravinskis said he had ECHL offers to stay in North America, but instead signed in Finland with Ketterä. It turned out to be a good decision.
Ravinskis spent just three games on Ketterä’s under-20 team in Finland, putting up three goals and seven points to quickly prove he belonged with the men’s team in the Mestis, Finland’s second-tier pro league. He put up 14 goals and 30 points in 45 games in the 2023-24 season, then added 7 goals and 10 points in 16 playoff games.
This past season, Ravinskis continued to climb up the ladder in Finnish hockey. After 21 points in 23 games with Ketterä in the Mestis, he was loaned to HPK in the top-flight Liiga and stuck with the team, earning a contract with the team for the rest of the season.
“Anri is a goal-oriented and forward-thinking young player who has already gained a lot of international experience in different national teams in the Latvian jersey,” said HPK’s hockey director Erkki Rajamäki at the time. “He is a good skater whose strengths are in attack. Anri has impressed us with his daily work and successes in games. It is great that Anri continues with us. We also thank Ketterä for the cooperation.”
Ravinskis tallied 8 goals and 17 points in 27 games with HPK, with many of his goals coming from right on top of the crease, which certainly didn’t hurt his stock with the Canucks’ scouts. He finished third among Liiga rookies in points per game and was first in shot attempts per game.
Beyond his league play, Ravinskis has represented Latvia at multiple international tournaments, including two World Junior Championships and the most recent World Championship. He could end up on Latvia’s Olympic roster alongside his fellow Canucks, Arturs Silovs and Teddy Blueger.
TIC-TAC-TOE 🚨
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 26, 2022
Anri Ravinskis finishes off the pass from Rainers Rullers and this game is all tied up!#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/kajKpYCNQi
What is the potential for Ravinskis?
With his combination of speed and size, Ravinskis could have a future on an NHL fourth line, which would be a great outcome for an undrafted free-agent signing. There are sparks of something more in his game, as he has the hands, shot, and net-front game to possibly play a complementary role on a scoring line.
His most likely destination, of course, is the AHL, and expectations shouldn’t rise any higher than that for now. Still, it’s an intriguing bet for the Canucks that a player who has risen rapidly in recent years will continue his upward trajectory.
Ravinskis will have to change his number when he joins the Canucks, however, as he wore the number 43 with Ketterä and Latvia. With HPK, he wore Alex Edler’s number 23.
Notes and fun facts
According to his interview on the Latvian hockey podcast mentioned earlier (or at least a google translation of his comments), Ravinskis is a fan of Formula 1, specifically Max Verstappen. He said his father was an avid follower of Formula 1, then he got into it more heavily because of the Netflix series, "Formula 1: Drive to Survive."
His dream car? A Porsche 911 GT3.
Ravinskis also says he reads books "very, very often," a habit he picked up when he first came to Canada and felt he had nothing to do in his downtime. Now he says he reads every day — someone tell Kevin Lankinen.
Another fun fact from that interview: when Ravinskis first stepped on the ice, he didn't start with hockey; he started with figure skating classes.
Finally, the name "Anri" is one of the rare masculine Latvian names that does not end in an "S." The name is a Latvian variation of the name "Henry" and Ravinskis' name actually comes from Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. His father was an Arsenal fan and decided he liked the sound of the name.
It was also an easy transition to playing major junior hockey in Quebec: "They immediately said that you have a French name."
