Vilmanis Joins Latvia Olympic Hockey Team After Call-Up From Checkers

Sandis Vilmanis is skating for Latvia in the Winter Olympics. The call came through while he played for the Charlotte Checkers on New Year's Eve. At 21 years old, Vilmanis joins nine other ex-Checkers players in this year's games.

Vilmanis appeared in 31 games with the Checkers this season. Then came his call-up to the NHL's Florida Panthers last month. He netted 8 goals. He added 11 assists during his stint at Bojangles Coliseum.

"I was super excited..at the time I was out of words," Vilmanis said, according to WCNC.

The other nine ex-Checkers participants include Uvis Balinskis for Latvia, Michael Fora for Switzerland, Gustav Forsling and Elias Lindholm for Sweden, Eetu Luostarinen for Finland, Martin Necas for Czechia, Oliver Okuliar for Slovakia, Jaccob Slavin for the United States, and Alexander True for Denmark. None have laced up their skates at Bojangles Coliseum this season.

Latvia faces steep odds to win gold. The nation has fewer people than the Charlotte metro area.

"We are not a big country, but we feel like hockey is in our blood. We have big hearts," said Vilmanis to WCNC.

Vilmanis will rejoin the Panthers once the Olympic break wraps up. He spoke about what it means to wear his national team jersey in Italy.

"To wear that jersey makes me super proud," said Vilmanis to WCNC. "Representing your own national team is a dream."

Current Checkers player Nate Smith competed for Team USA in the 2022 Olympics in China. Assistant coach Bobby Sanguinetti played for Team USA in 2018 in South Korea when NHL players did not participate.

"That'll definitely top my hockey experiences in my career and I'll hold on to that forever," Smith said.

Sanguinetti described the weight of Olympic competition. "Just taking a quick look over at the Olympic rings on the wall, it's pride," he said. "Being able to represent your country is really cool."