Latvia unveils men’s roster for 2026 Winter Olympics

Lativa is hoping for a much stronger showing at the 2026 Winter Olympics than the 11th-place finish four years ago, and they’ll have players with NHL experience on their side to make it happen.

Latvia released its 25-player lineup for the Winter Olympics on Tuesday, naming 10 players with NHL experience.

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🇱🇻 Team Latvia men’s roster for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games just dropped!➡️ Athlete participation requires confirmation by their respective NOC. @lhf_lv @olympics @nhl @nhlpa #Olympics #NHL #IIHF

8:11 AM · Jan 6, 2026

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Tampa Bay’s Zemgus Girgensons leads the way with 201 points in 804 career NHL games. The team’s biggest export is goaltenders, with all three having played at least one game. Columbus’ Elvis Merzlikins is the most notable of the three, but many expect Artūrs Šilovs, Pittsburgh Penguins netminder, to own the crease based off the season he is having. Šilovs took home top goalie honors after helping Latvia to its first-ever bronze at the 2023 World Championship on home ice. Kristers Gudļevskis, meanwhile, is known for nearly leading Latvia to a shocking victory over Canada in 2014.

On defense, all eyes will be on Alberts Šmits, who just finished as one of the top 2026 NHL Draft prospects at the World Junior Championship. Uvis Balinskis is the only current NHL player in the group, having spent the past three years in the Florida Panthers organization. Of note, former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Kristians Rubins hasn’t played a single game this season, but was named to the group.

The Latvians have eight forwards either with or affiliated with NHL teams: Girgensons, Rodrigo Abols (Philadelphia), Teddy Blugers (Vancouver), Martins Dzierkals (Vegas), Dans Locmelis (Boston), Eriks Mateiko (Washington), Eduards Traimaks (Detroit), and Sandis Vilmanis (Florida).

This will be Latvia’s seventh Olympic tournament and its sixth in the past seven editions, after missing the 2018 event. Latvia will play in Group C alongside USA, Germany and Denmark. Lativa will open the tournament on Feb. 12 against the United States at 3:10 PM ET.

Here is the full roster:

Goaltenders: Elvis Merzļikins, Kristers Gudļevskis, Artūrs Šilovs

Defensemen: Uvis Balinskis, Oskars Cibuļskis, Ralfs Freibergs, Jānis Jaks, Roberts Mamčics, Kristiāns Rubīns, Alberts Šmits, Kristaps Zīle

Forwards: Rodrigo Ābols, Rūdolfs Balcers, Oskars Batņa, Teodors Bļugers, Roberts Bukarts, Kaspars Daugaviņš, Mārtiņš Dzierkals, Haralds Egle, Zemgus Girgensons, Renārs Krastenbergs, Ēriks Mateiko, Dans Ločmelis, Eduards Tralmaks, Sandis Vilmanis