
The 29-year-old from Riga had five points (two goals, three assists) in 22 games for the Philadelphia Flyers this season, his first in the NHL. Abols had two points (one goal, one assist) in four games for Latvia at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and has competed in the IIHF World Championship eight times, including six straight from 2018-24.
A 28-year-old from Ventspils, Balinskis has 21 points (five goals, 16 assists) in 102 NHL games with the Florida Panthers the past two seasons. He played for Latvia at the 2022 Olympics with three assists in four games and has competed at the World Championship five times, most recently with two assists in 10 games in 2023.
The 30-year-old has 152 points (49 goals, 103 assists) in 418 games across seven NHL seasons since being drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round (No. 52) in 2012 and had 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists) in 82 games for the Vancouver Canucks this season. From Riga, Blueger competed at the World Championship from 2017-19 and had eight points (three goals, five assists) in 19 games.
An NHL All-Star in 2014-15, the 31-year-old has 194 points (91 goals, 103 assists) in 770 games, playing his first 10 seasons with the Buffalo Sabres before having six points (two goals, four assists) in 82 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2024-25. A native of Riga, Girgensons had two points (one goal, one assist) in five games for Latvia in the 2014 Sochi Olympics and hasn’t competed internationally since the 2017 World Championship.
A 31-year-old from Riga, Merzlikins is 94-100-35 with a 3.20 goals-against average, a .902 save percentage and 11 shutouts in 244 NHL games for the Columbus Blue Jackets since 2019, including 26-21-5 with a 3.18 GAA and an .892 save percentage this season. He was 4-2 with a 1.49 GAA and a .940 save percentage for Latvia at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and has represented it at the World Championship six times.
The 24-year-old is 8-8-2 with a 3.13 GAA and an .880 save percentage in 19 NHL games (18 starts) with the Canucks the past three seasons. A native of Ventspils, Silovs was 2-2-0 with a 1.22 GAA and a .952 save percentage at the 2022 World Championship and 7-2-0 with a 2.20 GAA and .921 save percentage in the 2023 tournament.
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