Arturs Silovs back on the ice in Latvia ahead of Final Olympic Qualifying event

The final three spots at the 2026 Winter Olympics are up for grabs in the coming weeks with the Final Qualifying Tournament getting underway in three cities across Europe - Riga, Latvia; Bratislava, Slovakia; and Aalborg, Denmark.

While rosters won't officially be set until August 26th, a pair of Vancouver Canucks are expected to represent Latvia in their group on home ice in Riga, with one of them getting some practice in with teammates this week, that being Arturs Silovs. Teddy Blueger is the other Vancouver Canuck that's expected to participate, but he likely won't join up with the team until closer to the start of their training camp next week.

In a post on social media on Monday, Latvian reporter Ulvis Broze shared a video of several members of the national team on the ice practicing before their training camp begins on August 19th. Among those on the ice are Arturs Silovs, Florida Panthers prospect Sandis Vilmanis and former Vancouver Canucks prospect Rodrigo Abols.

After winning the bronze medal at the 2023 IIHF World Championship, Latvia had a bit of a disappointing showing at the 2024 tournament, finishing fifth in Group B and missing out on the playoff round. They'll hope to use the upcoming Olympic Qualifying tournament as a confidence boost that they can carry into the World Championship next May.

If Latvia is able to qualify for the 2026 Olympics, it'll mark the sixth time in the last seven Winter Games that they've been apart of the Men's Hockey tournament. In Beijing in 2022, Latvia finished the tournament with four losses, finishing 11th out of 12 teams, with only the hosts China doing worst than them, based on goal differential.

The Final Qualifying tournament is set to get underway on August 29th with Latvia facing France, Ukraine and Slovenia. The winner of the round robin event will qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics.