The men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics begins on Wednesday.
There will be no shortage of Florida Panthers players and staffers participating in the games taking place in Milan.
In fact, no NHL team has more players who will be on the ice during the Olympics than the Panthers, who have 10 players suiting up.
That includes a pair of Panthers who will be representing one of the most hockey-crazed nations in the world: Latvia.
Veteran defenseman Uvis Balinskis and young forward Sandis Vilmanis are the two Florida players who will represent their Latvian homeland.
Additionally, Balinskis was recently named an alternate captain on Team Latvia, along with longtime captain Kaspars Daugavins and fellow alternate Zemgus Girgensons.
Both Balinskis and Vilmanis appear poised to see plenty of ice time with Latvia.
During early practices, Balinskis was seen skating on the top Latvian defensive pairing with Kristians Rubins while Vilmanis was placed on the left side of the top forward line, along with winger Eduards Tralmaks and Girgensons at center.
Formace Lotyšska na dnešním tréninkovém zápasu proti Švýcarsku! 🇱🇻
— Vojtěch Tůma (@vojtechtuma7) February 9, 2026
Vilmanis - Girgensons - Tralmaks
Ri. Bukarts - Blugers - Balcers
Krastenbergs - Locmelis - Daugavins
Ro. Bukarts - Batna - Dzierkals
Egle/Ravinskis
Rubins - Balinskis
Zile - Jaks
Mamčics - Šmits
Freibergs -… pic.twitter.com/M7W4iFGR8p
Latvia opens their Olympic schedule on Thursday against the United States at 3:10 p.m. ET, followed by a matchup with Germany on Saturday at 6:10 a.m. ET and then a battle with Denmark on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. ET.
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Photo caption: Jan 16, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Uvis Balinskis (26) celebrates his goal with left wing Sandis Vilmanis (95) against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period at Lenovo Center. (James Guillory-Imagn Images)