ROCKFORD, Ill. -- Antti Raanta permitted himself to think about everything the first few days after the Chicago Blackhawks assigned him to the Rockford IceHogs last month.
He first wondered why he was sent to the AHL despite having a 7-4-1 record, 1.89 goals-against average and .936 save percentage with the Blackhawks. The bigger question was about his future. With the Blackhawks recalling goaltender Scott Darling and then announcing a two-year extension for him, it became unclear where Raanta stood with the organization going forward.
All of that was racing through Raanta’s mind when he made a decision -- he had to stop thinking about it. He was driving himself crazy. He loves nothing more in life than being happy, and his happiness had disappeared.
Raanta instead opted to begin focusing on the present and the positives. He was going to play more frequently. He was around a fun group of players. The IceHogs were in a playoff race and he had a chance to impact it. And with that mentality, his smile returned.
“I don’t want to mess my head too much thinking those things,” Raanta said on Wednesday. “Everything happens for a reason, but if you start thinking those [things] you can ruin everything in here also. Just try to go day by day here, just try to have fun and just enjoy whenever you play the game. It’s a really good thing for me now to just play the games and practice and play the games again. It’s really good for me.
“I like to be with a smile on my face. When you come here, there’s always fun things going on here. It was really, really easy to come here and you know start playing games.”
The IceHogs don’t take Raanta and his cheerfulness for granted either. IceHogs defenseman Stephen Johns has been around long enough to now know most players who have played as many NHL games as Raanta has aren’t normally that ecstatic to be in the AHL.
“It’s awesome,” Johns said. “You’d never know he had just gotten sent down. He’s always one of the guys smiling in the locker room and keeping an upbeat tempo. I think the guys are rallying around him. Other situations maybe some guy who gets sent down he might pout about it or something, but in Raant’s case, he’s an unbelievable guy and has an unbelievable amount of character that the guy shows and displays. I think everyone builds off of that and gets that positive mindset back.”
It’s also helped that Raanta has succeeded in the net. He and Michael Leighton have been rotating starts. Raanta has gone 4-0-1 and made 129 saves on 140 shots for a .921 save in five starts since joining the IceHogs.
On Wednesday, Raanta helped the IceHogs to their first consecutive win as he had 30 saves on 32 shots in a 3-2 win over the Lake Erie Monsters. The IceHogs are in fourth place in the Western Conference.
“He’s been good,” IceHogs coach Ted Dent said Wednesday’s victory. “I thought he played really good in the second [period] when they started to come on. Overall, he’s had a great attitude, a smile on his face and has been refreshing for the dressing room.”
Raanta does believe he’s an NHL goalie. He was especially proud this season he became accustomed to being a No. 2 goalie and figuring out how to still be crisp despite sitting on the bench for long spans. He struggled with that last season.
As for what his future holds, Raanta will wait until after the season to address that. It's not going to let it spoil the fun he's having.
“I think that’s also a waste of time to start thinking those things,” said Raanta, whose contract expires after the 2015-16 season. “Of course, you’re always talking with the agents and like that, but we go along with this season now and we’ll see after the season what’s going on. That’s the thing right now, we want to win here. I know the Blackhawks want to win up there. It’s a really good situation for an organization that we have four goalies who can play.
“I don’t want to start ruining my days thinking about my future. It’s going to happen. What’s going to happen? We’ll see after the season what’s the deal. But now, I’m just here and happy about that.”