Latvia men’s hockey team general manager Rūdolfs Kalvītis doesn’t believe Vancouver Canucks fans have any reason to worry about goaltender Arturs Silovs.
Speaking to Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK Television on Thursday, Kalvitis said the move to pull Silovs out of Latvia’s Olympic qualifying tournament this week was precautionary.
Kalvitis told Dhaliwal that Silovs has a little bit of inflammation in his knee, but is expected to be fine for the start of Canucks camp next month.
Kalvitis said Silovs simply needs rest before he returns to the ice. He signed a two-year extension with the Canucks this summer.
Latvia is hosting a tournament with Ukraine, France and Slovenia this week, with the winner going to the 2026 Olympics. Silovs was on Latvia’s initial roster before the team opted to remove him Thursday ahead of its first game.
Silovs’ status is especially important with Canucks starter Thatcher Demko not expected to be ready for the start of camp as he recovers from his own knee injury.
The Canucks do expect Demko to be ready for the Oct. 9 season opener, Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre reported last week.
In Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this past season, Silovs was called up from AHL Abbotsford after Demko was hurt.
The 23-year-old served as backup to Casey DeSmith for two games, before DeSmith suffered an injury of his own. Silovs stepped in and led the Canucks to their first playoff series victory since 2020, and earned the starter position in Round 2 against the Edmonton Oilers.
Silovs finished the playoffs with a 5-5 record, a 2.91 goals-against average and an .898 save percentage.
Before his post-season call-up, the Latvian had played just nine regular-season NHL games with the Canucks, four of which were last season.
Dhaliwal, speaking on Sportsnet 650’s Halford and Brough show last week, reported that the Canucks have begun “poking around the goalie market,”
Martin Jones, Kevin Lankinen and Antti Raanta are some of the veteran goalies who remain unsigned.