At least two Latvian players on the Vancouver Canucks will be heading to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy next February.
On Monday morning, Teddy Blueger and Arturs Silovs were named to Team Latvia's "first six" players for the upcoming men's hockey tournament at the Olympics. It was part of a series of announcements for the 12 teams in the tournament.
Blueger and Silovs making Team Latvia's first six isn't too much of a surprise. Just by virtue of playing games in the NHL last season, Blueger and Silovs are two of the best Latvian hockey players in the world.
Just six Latvians played any games in the NHL last season, and all six were named to Team Latvia on Monday. Along with Blueger and Silovs, Team Latvia's "first six" includes Rodrigo Abols, Uvis Balinskis, Zemgus Girgensons, and Elvis Merzlikins.
Blueger was the highest-scoring Latvian in the NHL, with 8 goals and 26 points in 82 games, and also plays the type of two-way defensive game that Latvia typically relies on as an underdog in international tournaments.
The 30-year-old centre has represented Latvia at three IIHF World Championships, tallying 8 points in 19 games, and was also the captain of Latvia in Olympic qualifying in 2021, putting up 4 points in 3 games to ensure Latvia made the 2022 Winter Olympics in China, though he himself, as an NHL player, was unable to play in the Olympics themselves.
Silovs has a good chance of being Latvia's starting goaltender at the Olympics. Although he has faltered in the NHL during the regular season the past two years, Silovs has excelled for Latvia in international tournaments, culminating in being named MVP at the 2023 IIHF World Championship after backstopping Latvia to the bronze medal — Latvia's first ever medal in IIHF competition.
Silovs will have to compete with Merzlikins for the role. Merzlikins has been the better of the two goaltenders in the NHL, but has struggled in his two most recent World Championship tournaments.
The Canucks could have another representative on Team Latvia after signing prospect Anri Ravinskis in May. Ravinskis played for Latvia at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, and he's a good bet to make the team again for the Olympics.
