Team Latvia has announced the first six players of to their roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics. The remainder of the rosters will be announced closer to the end of the year.
The tournament will consist of 12 teams. As expected, there is not going to be a Team Russia. The 12 teams will be separated into groups, which are as follows: Group A features Canada, Czechia, France, and Switzerland. Group B includes Finland, Italy, Sweden, and Slovakia. Lastly, Group C has Denmark, Germany, Latvia, and the United States. The hockey tournament will take place on February 11th and run until the 22nd.
Now onto the first six players on Team Latvia’s preliminary roster.
Rodrigo Abols
Rodrigo Abols is the first Latvian player named to their Olympic roster. He hails from Riga and spent the season with the Philadelphia Flyers, which was his first. In 22 games, he had two goals and three assists for five points. This will be his second time playing for Latvia at the Olympics; he suited up for them in the 2022 Beijing Olympics and has also competed for his country eight times at the World Championships, including six straight years from 2018–24.
Uvis Balinskis
Uvis Balinskis has slowly become more known in the NHL after being a member of the Florida Panthers for the past two seasons. The 28-year-old defenseman has five goals and 16 assists for 21 points in 102 NHL games. Much like Abols, he also played for Latvia in the 2022 Olympics and has competed at the World Championships five times. His most recent appearance came in 2023.
Teddy Blueger
The third player named, Teddy Blueger, has spent seven seasons in the NHL split between the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he was drafted, and the Vancouver Canucks. With the Canucks this season, he played in all 82 games and had eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points. The 30-year-old native of Riga has played in 418 NHL games in his career and has scored 49 goals and 103 assists for 152 points. He has yet to play for Latvia at the Olympics but has played for them at the World Championships.
Zemgus Girgensons
After spending 10 seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, Zemgus Girgensons moved on and joined the Tampa Bay Lightning this past year and was able to experience playoff hockey for the first time in his career. In 770 games, the 31-year-old has scored 91 goals and 103 assists for 194 points. This past season with the Lightning, he only scored two goals and four assists for six points. As the third native of Riga on this list, he played for Latvia at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. However, he hasn’t competed internationally since 2017.
Elvis Merzlikins
The first of two goalies on this list, Elvis Merzlikins finds himself suiting up for Latvia once again. The 31-year-old, also a native of Riga, has played for the Columbus Blue Jackets since 2019, where he quickly became their starting goalie. He has a career record of 94-100-35 with a 3.20 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage, as well as 11 shutouts in 244 games. This season alone, he had a record of 26-21-5 with a 3.18 GAA and a .892 SV%. He played for Latvia at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and has played for them at the World Championships six times.
Arturs Silovs
The second goalie and final member of the six players named to Team Latvia, Arturs Silovs, is a member of the Canucks. At just 24 years old, he will be joining his fellow countrymen at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Silovs has played in 19 NHL games and has a record of 8-8-2 with a 3.13 GAA and a .880 SV%.
The 2026 Olympics in Milano Cortina will be the first time in 12 years that NHL players will be allowed to participate in the Olympic Winter Games.
