George Richards, FHN Publisher
Sandis Vilmanis is having a year to remember. Not only did he make his NHL debut with the Florida Panthers back in January, but he played for Latvia at the Winter Olympics and is currently one of the top scorers at the IIHF World Championship.
On Tuesday, Vilmanis scored twice in Latvia’s 8-1 win over Hungary.
He now has four goals and 11 points in seven games for Latvia which ties Macklin Celebrini for second place at the tournament.
Vilmanis, a 22-year-old who was a fifth-round pick by the Panthers in 2022, is likely going to be part of the NHL club next season.
The Panthers got a pretty good taste of what he could do earlier this season, with Vilmanis scoring three goals with five points in 19 games.
Florida sent Vilmanis back to AHL Charlotte in March and decided to keep him there to continue growing his game.
With the Checkers, Vilmanis got to play big minutes in all sorts of situations.
Although the Panthers were tempted to bring him back when the injuries started piling up in the final weeks, coach Paul Maurice said they thought it would be better for Vilmanis to keep doing what he was doing in Charlotte.
Vilmanis ended his second pro season with the Checkers by scoring 17 goals with 38 points in 48 games.
The Panthers are extremely high on Vilmanis and he is a player they have in their plans for the upcoming season.
Although Florida would like to give him the opportunity to play top-6 minutes, that may not be an option at least at the start.
But, as things appear now, there does seem to be a place for him on the team come October.
Especially if he keeps showing off in Switzerland.
Latvia, by the way, moved into the quarterfinal round and will open against Norway on Thursday.
Speaking of the quarterfinals, Matthew Tkachuk helped Team USA move out of the group stage by scoring in a 4-1 win over Austria.
Tkachuk has four goals and seven points in seven games in the tournament.
Team USA plays Canada in the quarters on Thursday.
Sasha Barkov and Anton Lundell are also through to the quarterfinals with Team Finland. They take on Czechia on Thursday.
Barkov has two goals and eight points in his seven games back from knee surgery.
ON DECK: FLORIDA PANTHERS OFFSEASON
- IIHF World Championship, Switzerland: Through May 31
- NHL Draft (9th in First Round, Seven Overall): June 26-27; KeyBank Center, Buffalo
- NHL Free Agency: Opens July 1
- Panthers Development Camp: Late June/Early July; IcePlex, Fort Lauderdale
- Panthers Rookie Camp/Tournament: Late August/Early Sept.; Site TBA
- Panthers Training Camp: Early/Mid September; Fort Lauderdale
- 2026-27 NHL Season Opens: Late September; Site, Opponent TBA