Today, the roster of Latvia’s men’s national ice hockey team for the Milan–Cortina Winter Olympic Games was officially announced.
A total of 25 players have been named to the squad: three goaltenders, eight defensemen, and 14 forwards.
The most experienced players on the team are forward Kaspars Daugaviņš and defenseman Oskars Cibuļskis, both aged 37, while the youngest player is defenseman Alberts Šmits, who is 18.
Already in June, the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation announced the first six players selected for Latvia’s men’s hockey team for the 2026 Milan–Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympic Games. All six of these players compete this season in the world’s strongest league, the National Hockey League (NHL). The initial list included goaltenders Elvis Merzļikins (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Artūrs Šilovs (Pittsburgh Penguins), defenseman Uvis Balinskis (Florida Panthers), and forwards Zemgus Girgensons (Tampa Bay Lightning), Teodors Bļugers (Vancouver Canucks), and Rodrigo Ābols (Philadelphia Flyers).
At the Olympic Games, Latvia will compete in Group C, facing the United States, Germany, and Denmark.
Latvia will open the tournament on the 12th of February against the United States, play Germany on the 14th of February, and face Denmark the following day.
The men’s Olympic ice hockey tournament will feature three groups. Group A includes Canada, Czechia, Switzerland, and France, while Group B consists of Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, and Italy. The winner of each group and the best team among the second-place finishers will advance directly to the quarterfinals, while the remaining teams will compete in the round of 16.
The men’s Olympic ice hockey tournament will take place from the 11th of February to the 22nd of February.
Latvia’s roster for the 2026 Olympic Games is as follows:
Goaltenders: Elvis Merzļikins (Columbus Blue Jackets, NHL), Artūrs Šilovs (Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL), Kristers Gudļevskis (Fischtown Pinguins Bremerhaven, Germany).
Defensemen: Uvis Jānis Balinskis (Florida Panthers), Oskars Cibuļskis (Herning Blue Fox, Denmark), Alberts Šmits (Jukurit Mikkeli, Finland), Ralfs Freibergs (HC Vítkovice Ridera, Czechia), Roberts Mamčics (HC Energie Karlovy Vary, Czechia), Jānis Jaks (HC Energie Karlovy Vary, Czechia), Kristaps Zīle (Bílí Tygři Liberec, Czechia), Kristiāns Rubīns (HC Škoda Plzeň, Czechia).
Forwards: Renārs Krastenbergs (HC Olomouc, Czechia), Dans Ločmelis (Providence Bruins, AHL), Kaspars Daugaviņš (Kassel Huskies, Germany), Mārtiņš Dzierkals (Sparta Prague, Czechia), Rodrigo Ābols (Philadelphia Flyers, NHL), Rūdolfs Balcers (ZSC Lions Zurich, Switzerland), Zemgus Girgensons (Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL), Eduards Tralmaks (Grand Rapids Griffins, AHL), Teodors Bļugers (Vancouver Canucks, NHL), Roberts Bukarts (Pioneers Vorarlberg, Austria), Oskars Batņa (Pelicans Lahti, Finland), Haralds Egle (HC Energie Karlovy Vary, Czechia), Sandis Vilmanis (Charlotte Checkers, AHL), Ēriks Mateiko (Hershey Bears, AHL).
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