List of Latvians in the NHL

This is a list of Latvian ice hockey players who have played in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Apart from the players listed below, there have been several NHL players of Latvian descent. Harold Snepsts, Mike Knuble as well as Aris Brimanis and Jarrod Skalde are among such examples.

Players

This is a list of players drafted in the NHL Amateur and Entry Draft. In 1975 Viktor Khatulev became the first Latvian and also the first Soviet hockey player to be drafted.

Name	Position	Draft Year	Club	Round	No.
Klavs Veinbergs	F	2022	Tampa Bay Lightning	7	224
Sandis Vilmanis	F	2022	Florida Panthers	5	157
Dans Locmelis	F	2022	Boston Bruins	4	119
Raivis Ansons	F	2020	Pittsburgh Penguins	5	149
Artūrs Šilovs	G	2019	Vancouver Canucks	6	156
Rodrigo Ābols	F	2016	Vancouver Canucks	7	184
Mārtiņš Dzierkals	F	2015	Toronto Maple Leafs	3	68
Kārlis Čukste	D	2015	San Jose Sharks	5	130
Rūdolfs Balcers	F	2015	Ottawa Senators	5	142
Elvis Merzļikins	G	2014	Columbus Blue Jackets	3	76
Edgars Kulda	F	2014	Arizona Coyotes	7	193
Kristers Gudļevskis	G	2013	Tampa Bay Lightning	5	124
Zemgus Girgensons	F	2012	Buffalo Sabres	1	14
Teodors Bļugers	F	2012	Vancouver Canucks	2	52
Kristiāns Pelšs	F	2010	Edmonton Oilers	7	181
Kaspars Daugaviņš	F	2006	Ottawa Senators	3	91
Artūrs Kulda	D	2006	Atlanta Thrashers	7	200
Oskars Bārtulis	D	2005	Philadelphia Flyers	3	91
Mārtiņš Karsums	F	2004	Boston Bruins	2	64
Raimonds Daņiličs	F	2003	Tampa Bay Lightning	8	255
Lauris Dārziņš	F	2003	Nashville Predators	9	268
Jēkabs Rēdlihs	D	2002	Columbus Blue Jackets	4	119
Krišjānis Rēdlihs	D	2002	New Jersey Devils	5	154
Armands Bērziņš	F	2002	Minnesota Wild	5	155
Juris Štāls	F	2001	New York Rangers	9	269
Agris Saviels	D	2000	Colorado Avalanche	2	63
Jānis Sprukts	F	2000	Florida Panthers	8	234
Kaspars Astašenko	D	1999	Tampa Bay Lightning	5	127
Georgijs Pujacs	D	1999	Boston Bruins	9	264
Kārlis Skrastiņš	D	1998	Nashville Predators	8	230
Aleksandrs Andrejevs	D	1997	Phoenix Coyotes	8	207
Aleksandrs Kerčs	F	1993	Edmonton Oilers	3	60
Harijs Vītoliņš	F	1993	Winnipeg Jets	9	228
Sergejs Žoltoks	F	1992	Boston Bruins	3	55
Grigorijs Panteļejevs	F	1992	Boston Bruins	6	136
Viktors Ignatjevs	D	1992	San Jose Sharks	11	243
Sandis Ozoliņš	D	1991	San Jose Sharks	2	30
Artūrs Irbe	G	1989	Minnesota North Stars	10	196
Helmuts Balderis	F	1989	Minnesota North Stars	12	238
Harijs Vītoliņš	F	1988	Montreal Canadiens	9	228
Viktors Hatuļevs	F	1975	Philadelphia Flyers	9	160

Red players have not played in the NHL.

There have also been 5 undrafted Latvian NHL players - Herberts Vasiļjevs, Pēteris Skudra, Matīss Kivlenieks, Kristiāns Rubīns, and Uvis Balinskis.

Statistics

Sandis Ozoliņš is the record-holder in all categories, while Kārlis Skrastiņš owned the NHL record for most consecutive games by a defenceman.

Regular season

Skaters

Players marked in green are currently still active as of the 2023-24 NHL Season

GP - Games Played; G - Goals A - Assists P - Points

PIM - Penalty Minutes

Name	Position	GP	G	A	P	PIM
Sandis Ozoliņš	D	875	167	397	564	638
Sergejs Žoltoks	F	588	111	147	258	166
Zemgus Girgensons	F	688	89	99	188	192
Kārlis Skrastiņš	D	832	32	104	136	375
Teodors Bļugers	F	336	41	85	126	127
Rūdolfs Balcers	F	170	28	34	62	50
Raitis Ivanāns	F	282	12	6	18	569
Herberts Vasiļjevs	F	51	8	7	15	22
Kaspars Daugaviņš	F	91	6	9	15	21
Grigorijs Panteļejevs	F	54	8	6	14	12
Ronalds Ķēniņš	F	38	4	8	12	14
Helmuts Balderis	F	26	3	6	9	2
Oskars Bārtulis	D	66	1	8	9	32
Mārtiņš Karsums	F	24	1	5	6	6
Jānis Sprukts	F	14	1	2	3	2
Kaspars Astašenko	D	23	1	2	3	8
Uvis Balinskis	D	26	1	2	3	8
Artūrs Kulda	D	15	0	2	2	8
Viktors Ignatjevs	D	11	0	1	1	6
Harijs Vītoliņš	F	8	0	0	0	4
Aleksandrs Kerčs	F	5	0	0	0	2
Kristians Rubins	D	3	0	0	0	4

Goaltenders

Players marked in green are currently still active as of the 2023-24 NHL Season

GP - Games Played Mins - Minutes Played A - Assists PIM - Penalty Minutes GA - Goals Against GAA - Goals Against Average W - Wins L - Losses T - Ties (Overtime Loss since 2005-06) SO - Shutouts Saves - Shots Saved

Save% - Percentage of Shots Saved

Name	GP	Mins	A	PIM	GA	GAA	W	L	T	SO	Saves	Save%
Artūrs Irbe	568	32,066	9	90	1,513	2.83	218	236	79	33	14,092	0.899
Elvis Merzļikins	191	10,451	4	16	558	3.20	68	79	30	10	5,261	0.904
Pēteris Skudra	146	7,163	2	6	326	2.73	51	47	20	6	3,078	0.894
Artūrs Šilovs	9	549	0	0	24	2.77	6	2	1	0	212	0.898
Matīss Kivlenieks	6	285	0	0	14	2.95	1	1	2	0	137	0.898
Kristers Gudļevskis	3	132	0	0	3	1.37	1	0	1	0	73	0.959

Playoffs

Scoring

Name	Pos	GP	G	A	P	PIM
Sandis Ozoliņš	D	137	23	67	90	131
Sergejs Žoltoks	F	45	4	14	18	0
Teodors Bļugers	F	37	2	4	6	10
Kārlis Skrastiņš	D	20	0	3	3	12
Ronalds Ķēniņš	F	5	1	1	2	4
Oskars Bārtulis	D	7	0	0	0	4
Kaspars Daugaviņš	F	7	0	0	0	2
Viktors Ignatjevs	D	1	0	0	0	2

Goaltenders

Name	GP	Mins	GA	GAA	W	L	SO	Saves	Save Pct.
Artūrs Irbe	51	2,981	142	2.86	23	27	0	1,439	0.901
Artūrs Šilovs	10	598	29	2.91	5	4	1	254	0.898
Pēteris Skudra	3	116	6	2	0	1	0	51	0.895
Kristers Gudļevskis	2	40	2	3.02	0	1	0	18	0.900
Elvis Merzļikins	2	123	4	1.96	1	1	0	70	0.946

See also

• List of Latvians in the Kontinental Hockey League