Artūrs Šilovs
Artūrs Šilovs (born March 22, 2001) is a Latvian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Šilovs was selected by the Canucks in the sixth round, 156th overall, in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and made his NHL debut with the team in 2023.
| Artūrs Šilovs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Artūrs Šilovs in 2023 | |||
| Born |
March 22, 2001 Ventspils, Latvia | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Catches | Left | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team Former teams |
Vancouver Canucks Abbotsford Canucks (AHL) HS Rīga HK Mogo | ||
| National team |
 Latvia | ||
| NHL Draft |
156th overall, 2019 Vancouver Canucks | ||
| Playing career | 2021–present | ||
Playing with the Latvian national team, Šilovs played a central role in the country's first-ever medal at Ice Hockey World Championships in 2023.
Playing career
Šilovs started his hockey career with HS Riga of the Optibet Hockey League.[1] At the 2019 NHL Entry Draft he was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the sixth round, 156th overall.[2] He was subsequently selected by the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League in the 2019 CHL Import Draft, 11th overall, and joined them for the 2019–20 season.[3] Šilovs signed a contract with Vancouver on 23 August 2019.[2]
In 2021, he started playing for the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League, recording a .888 save percentage for the team in 10 games in the 2021–22 season.[1] Šilovs made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks on 15 February 2023, against the New York Rangers.[4] He finished the season playing 5 games for Vancouver and 44 games for Abbotsford, being named the team MVP for Abbotsford.[5]
International play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
| Representing Latvia | ||
| World Championships | ||
.svg.png.webp){kind=icon} | 2023 Finland/Latvia | |
Šilovs made his international debut with the Latvian men's under-18 team at the 2019 World U18 Championships, where his team placed eighth. Three years later, he accepted his first invitation to join the senior national team at the 2022 World Championships, where he played four games and recorded a .952 save percentage. He began the tournament as backup goaltender to Columbus Blue Jackets starter Elvis Merzļikins, but was judged to have significantly outperformed Merzļikins during the tournament, and was given the start in the team's final game in the group stage. Latvia did not advance to the knockout rounds.[6]
After his strong showing at the 2022 championships, Šilovs rejoined the national team for the 2023 World Championships, which was jointly hosted by Latvia and Finland. Šilovs relieved goaltender Ivars Punnenovs early in the team's first game of the tournament, and thereafter started every game for Latvia, leading them on an unexpected deep run to the bronze medal game. There they defeated the heavily-favoured Team USA, winning the bronze medal, the first of any colour for Latvia at an IIHF World Championship.[7][8] Šilovs played more than sixty minutes more than any other goaltender in the tournament.[7] In recognition of his pivotal role in the team's success, he was named the championship's best goaltender and MVP by the IIHF directorate, as well as to the Media All-Star Team.[9] Following the historic result, the Latvian Saeima declared a public holiday.[10] Šilovs later finished second in the voting for the inaugural IIHF Male Player of the Year award, behind Connor Bedard.[11]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | OTL | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 2017–18 | SK Rīga 17 | LHL.1 | 8 | — | — | — | 447 | 17 | 1 | 2.28 | — | 6 | — | — | 260 | 14 | 0 | 3.22 | — | ||
| 2018–19 | HK Rīga | MHL | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 342 | 14 | 1 | 2.45 | .920 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | HS Rīga | LHL | 20 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 1,103 | 60 | 2 | 3.26 | .914 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Barrie Colts | OHL | 36 | 16 | 13 | 4 | 2,030 | 131 | 1 | 3.87 | .891 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | HS Rīga | LHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 124 | 9 | 0 | 4.34 | .923 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | HK Mogo | LHL | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 234 | 10 | 0 | 2.56 | .899 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 58 | 2 | 0 | 2.07 | .920 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Abbotsford Canucks | AHL | 10 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 542 | 28 | 1 | 3.10 | .888 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Trois-Rivières Lions | ECHL | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 609 | 24 | 1 | 2.37 | .920 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Abbotsford Canucks | AHL | 44 | 26 | 12 | 5 | 2,554 | 104 | 4 | 2.44 | .909 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 126 | 6 | 0 | 2.85 | .914 | ||
| 2022–23 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 306 | 14 | 0 | 2.75 | .908 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 306 | 14 | 0 | 2.75 | .908 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|
| International | |||
| World Championship Best Goaltender | 2023 | [9] | |
| World Championship Media All-Star Team | 2023 | [9] | |
| World Championship MVP | 2023 | [9] | |
References
- "Arturs Silovs at eliteprospects.com". Eliteprospects. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
- "Canucks Sign Arturs Silovs to Entry Level Contract". NHL.com. August 23, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- "Colts Sign Arturs Silovs – Barrie Colts". Retrieved February 16, 2023.
- Aykroyd, Lucas (February 17, 2023). "Latvia's Silovs makes Vancouver debut". IIHF.com. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- "Canucks goalie prospect Arturs Silovs named IIHF World Championship MVP". Sportsnet.ca. May 28, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- Wagner, Daniel (May 22, 2023). "Arturs Silovs finishes World Championship with .952 save percentage". Vancouver Is Awesome. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- Kennedy, Ian (May 29, 2023). "Top 10 players at the World Championship: Arturs Silovs sealed the door". The Hockey News. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- Aykroyd, Lucas (May 28, 2023). "Latvia wins historic bronze in OT". IIHF.com. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- O'Brien, Derek (May 28, 2023). "Silovs MVP, All-Stars named". IIHF. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- Hernandez, Victoria (May 29, 2023). "Latvia beat US hockey, so parliament met in jerseys to declare national holiday at midnight". USA Today. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- Podnieks, Andrew (June 19, 2023). "Bedard named IIHF Male Player of the Year". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- "Latvijas hokeja izlases panākumā artavu dod arī Ventspils un HK "Venta 2002"" [Ventspils and HK "Venta 2002" also contribute to the success of the Latvian hockey team] (in Latvian). ventspilnieks.lv. November 20, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database