The most prominent Latvia-born players to reach the NHL are defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh, who helped the Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 1996 and played 875 games in 15 NHL seasons, and goalie Arturs Irbe, who had 218 wins and 33 shutouts in 13 seasons.

The 2026 Olympic men's hockey tournament officially begins on Wednesday, Feb. 11, with the preliminary rounds, and it's shaping up to be an intense run of games between 12 teams. What makes the 2026 Olympics stand of is that it brings the return of NHL players,

In January, Vilmanis, 21, earned a spot on Latvia's Olympic team. Days later, he reached another milestone with his NHL debut for the Panthers. Now he's preparing to showcase Latvia's maroon and white jersey on the world's biggest stage.

The NHL not participating in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing opened the door for players outside the league to step up, and the standout turned out to be a 17-year-old prospect. Juraj Slafkovsky scored seven goals to help Slovakia take home the bronze medal — its first of any color in the country's history at the Games.

The 2024 Summer Olympics introduced the world to that pistol-packing dude from Turkey who couldn’t have been more chill as he shot the lights out with one hand in his pocket, and the naturally enhanced pole vaulter from France who knocked the bar off with his own pole,