Artūrs Šilovs

Lore & Background

Šilovs began his career with HS Rīga of the Optibet Hockey League. After being drafted by Vancouver in 2019, he was also selected 11th overall by the Barrie Colts in the 2019 CHL Import Draft and signed with Vancouver later that year. He spent the 2019–20 season with Barrie. In the 2020–21 season, he played for HS Rīga and HK Mogo before being assigned to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL, making his AHL debut on 27 February 2021. He joined the Abbotsford Canucks for the 2021–22 season, recording a .888 save percentage in 10 games.

Šilovs made his NHL debut on 15 February 2023 against the New York Rangers. He finished the 2022–23 season with five games for Vancouver and 44 for Abbotsford, where he was named team MVP. During the 2023–24 season, he was called up for the Stanley Cup playoffs after injuries to Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith. He started his first playoff game on 28 April 2024, stopping 27 of 30 shots in a 4–3 win, and recorded his first playoff shutout on 3 May in a series-clinching 1–0 victory, becoming the youngest goaltender in franchise history to earn a playoff shutout. In July 2024, he signed a two-year contract extension with the Canucks. As the starting goaltender for Abbotsford in the 2025 AHL playoffs, he led the team to a Calder Cup championship and won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as playoffs MVP.

Prior to the 2025–26 season, Šilovs was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was named the starting goaltender by head coach Dan Muse and earned his first regular-season shutout in a 3–0 win over the New York Rangers, joining Maxime Lagacé as the only Penguins goaltenders to earn a shutout in their Pittsburgh debut and Marc-André Fleury as the second-ever to earn an opening-night shutout for the team. On 5 July 2026, as a restricted free agent, he signed a one-year, $2.8 million contract to avoid arbitration.

Reader's Guide

Šilovs' significance lies in his role as a key figure in Latvian hockey history. At the 2023 World Championship, jointly hosted by Latvia and Finland, he started every game after relieving Ivars Punnenovs early in the tournament, leading Latvia to an unexpected bronze medal—the country's first-ever medal at an IIHF World Championship. He played 60 minutes more than any other goaltender in the tournament and was named best goaltender and MVP by the IIHF directorate, as well as to the Media All-Star Team. The Latvian Saeima declared a public holiday following the result, and public art was placed in downtown Riga in his name. He later finished second in voting for the inaugural IIHF Male Player of the Year award, behind Connor Bedard. At the 2026 Winter Olympics, he played in three of four games for Latvia, leading the nation to its fourth all-time win in Olympic tournaments with NHL players participating, in a game against Germany. His NHL career, while beginning with limited regular-season opportunities in Vancouver, included a memorable playoff debut and a Calder Cup championship with Abbotsford before he became the starting goaltender for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Did You Know?

• Šilovs was drafted 156th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in 2019 and also selected 11th overall by the Barrie Colts in the 2019 CHL Import Draft.
• He became the youngest goaltender in Vancouver Canucks franchise history to earn a playoff shutout on 3 May 2024.
• He led the Abbotsford Canucks to a Calder Cup championship in 2025 and won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as playoffs MVP.
• Šilovs married Vendija on 23 August 2019, when he was 18; the pair divorced in 2023.