Claim: Latvian ice hockey player, Grigorijs Pantelejevs played his first two seasons in Latvia before beimg drafted into the Boston Bruins in 1992, and playing on various teams in the US through 1998.
Evidence: Grigorijs Panteļejevs (born November 13, 1972 in Gastello, Soviet Union) is a Latvian ice hockey player. The 5th choice, 136th overall selection of the Boston Bruins in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, Panteļejevs came to North America and the NHL in 1992-93 after spending the past two seasons with Dynamo Riga. After three seasons in the Bruins organization, Panteļejevs was released following the 1994-95 season only to be signed as a free agent by the New York Islanders in September 1995. Panteļejevs played only four games with the Islanders while playing the majority of the 1995-96 season with the IHL's Utah Grizzlies and Las Vegas Thunder. In 1996-97 Panteļejevs joined the IHL's San Antonio Dragons and went on to play a little over one season with the team before being dealt to the Orlando Solar Bears early into the 1997-98 IHL season. Dinamo Riga (Latvian: RÄ«gas Dinamo) is a professional ice hockey team based in Riga, Latvia.