International Hockey Roundtable
Artūrs Šilovs not on Latvia's Olympic qualifying roster but 3 NHLers are
© Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports - Artūrs Šilovs not on Latvia's Olympic qualifying roster but 3 NHLers areThe Latvian Hockey Federation announced its roster for the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament that it’s hosting in Riga this weekend with a rather surprising omission. Goaltender Artūrs Šilovs, the MVP of the 2023 IIHF World Championship, is not on it. No quotations or explanations of the roster decisions accompany the announcement.
The team lists only two goaltenders on the roster of 24: Kristers Gudlevskis, who plays for the Fischtown Pinguins of Bremerhaven in the German DEL, and Gustavs Grigals, who played last season for the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals and is currently a free agent.
There are three NHLers on the roster: defenseman Uvis Balinskis of the Florida Panthers, and forwards Zemgus Girgensons and Rodrigo Abols of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers, respectively. Also, 20-year-old Dans Ločmelis, who plays college hockey for the University of Massachusetts, is a Boston Bruins draft pick.
It had already been known that goaltender Elvis Merzlikins of the Columbus Blue Jackets and center Teodors Blugers of the Vancouver Canucks would not be playing.
Otherwise, the roster includes nine players from the Czech Extraliga, four from the Slovak Liga, two from the SHL, two from the NCAA, and one each from Denmark and Switzerland. It includes some familiar names such as Oskars Cibulskis, Ralfs Fribergs, Miks Indrašis, brothers Roberts and Rihards Bukarts and captain Kaspars Daugavinš.
The Latvians played two pre-tournament games against Group F favorite Denmark, losing 3-2 and then winning 5-3.
Even without Šilovs, Latvia will still be favored on home ice to win Group E over Ukraine, Slovenia and France and qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
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