Artūrs Šilovs (born 22 March 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 |
22 March 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
editŠilovs 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 five games for Vancouver and 44 games for Abbotsford, being named the team MVP for Abbotsford.[5]
Continuing to play primarily in Abbotsford through the 2023–24 season, Šilovs was called up to make his Stanley Cup playoff debut following injuries to Vancouver's regular goaltenders, Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith, three games into the Canucks' first-round series against the Nashville Predators. On 28 April 2024, he started his first playoff game, stopping 27 of 30 shots and helping the Canucks to a 4–3 win.[6] Šilovs retained the net even after DeSmith's return to the roster, and on May 3 he recorded his first playoff shutout in Vancouver's series-clinching Game 6, a 1–0 win. He became the youngest goaltender in franchise history to earn a playoff shutout.[7] In July 2024, Šilovs signed a 2-year extension with the Canucks.[8]
International play
edit| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| Representing Latvia
| ||
| World Championships | ||
 |
2023 Finland/Latvia | |
Šilovs made his international debut with Latvia 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 Championship, 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.[9]
After his strong showing at the 2022 championships, Šilovs rejoined the national team for the 2023 World Championship, 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 unexpectedly deep run to the bronze medal game. There they defeated the heavily-favoured United States national team, winning the bronze medal, the first of any medals for Latvia at an IIHF World Championship.[10][11] Šilovs played 60 minutes more than any other goaltender in the tournament.[10] In recognition of his pivotal role in the team's success, he was named the championship's best goaltender and most valuable player (MVP) by the IIHF directorate, as well as to the Media All-Star Team.[12] Following the historic result, the Latvian Saeima declared a public holiday.[13] Šilovs later finished second in the voting for the inaugural IIHF Male Player of the Year award, behind Connor Bedard.[14]
Personal life
editŠilovs was born in Ventspils, Latvia. He learned to skate when he was three years old, playing forward at that time.[15][16] When he was six years old, he became a goaltender.[16] When he was ten years old, he moved to Riga.[16]
He got married in 2019 at age 18,[17] and divorced in 2023.[18]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Abbotsford Canucks | AHL | 34 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 2,015 | 92 | 4 | 2.74 | .907 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 243 | 10 | 0 | 2.47 | .881 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 598 | 29 | 1 | 2.91 | .898 | ||
| NHL totals | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 549 | 24 | 0 | 2.62 | .898 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 598 | 29 | 1 | 2.91 | .898 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Latvia | U18-IA | 11th | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 2 | 0 | 1.00 | .960 | |
| 2019 | Latvia | U18 | 8th | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 271 | 15 | 1 | 3.32 | .918 | |
| 2022 | Latvia | WC | 10th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 196 | 4 | 0 | 1.22 | .952 | |
| 2023 | Latvia | WC | 
|
10 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 601 | 22 | 1 | 2.20 | .921 | |
| Junior totals | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 391 | 17 | 1 | 2.61 | .932 | ||||
| Senior totals | 14 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 797 | 26 | 1 | 1.96 | .929 | ||||
Awards and honours
edit| Award | Year | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|
| International | |||
| World Championship Best Goaltender | 2023 | [12] | |
| World Championship Media All-Star Team | 2023 | [12] | |
| World Championship MVP | 2023 | [12] | |
References
edit- ^ a b "Arturs Silovs at eliteprospects.com". Eliteprospects. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ^ a b "Canucks Sign Arturs Silovs to Entry Level Contract". NHL.com. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ "Colts Sign Arturs Silovs – Barrie Colts". Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ^ Aykroyd, Lucas (17 February 2023). "Latvia's Silovs makes Vancouver debut". IIHF.com. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ "Canucks goalie prospect Arturs Silovs named IIHF World Championship MVP". Sportsnet.ca. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ Kierszenblat, Adam (28 April 2024). "Canucks mount historic comeback in Game 4 win over the Predators". The Hockey News. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
- ^ "Arturs Silovs becomes youngest goalie in Canucks history to record playoff shutout". Sportsnet.ca. 3 May 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ "Silovs signs 2-year contract with Canucks". NHL. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
- ^ Wagner, Daniel (22 May 2023). "Arturs Silovs finishes World Championship with .952 save percentage". Vancouver Is Awesome. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ a b Kennedy, Ian (29 May 2023). "Top 10 players at the World Championship: Arturs Silovs sealed the door". The Hockey News. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ Aykroyd, Lucas (28 May 2023). "Latvia wins historic bronze in OT". IIHF.com. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d O'Brien, Derek (28 May 2023). "Silovs MVP, All-Stars named". IIHF. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ Hernandez, Victoria (29 May 2023). "Latvia beat US hockey, so parliament met in jerseys to declare national holiday at midnight". USA Today. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ Podnieks, Andrew (19 June 2023). "Bedard named IIHF Male Player of the Year". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 19 June 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. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ a b c Kuzma, Ben (29 April 2024). "Stanley Cup Canucks Coffee: How Arturs Silovs became the talk of any town, at any time". The Province.
- ^ "Jau trīsarpus gadus precējušies. NHL debitanta Šilova sieva Vendija atklāj pāra skaisto mīlasstāstu". tv3.lv (in Latvian). 22 February 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ "Hokejists Artūrs Šilovs izšķīries no sievas". tv3.lv (in Latvian). 5 September 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
External links
edit
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database