Arturs Silovs recently returned to the Pittsburgh Penguins after representing Latvia at the Winter Olympics in Italy. Although Team Latvia did not secure a medal, Silovs reflected positively on his Olympic experience.
“I think it’s what a lot of athletes are trying for,” Silovs said. “Not a lot of guys get an opportunity like that, and you have to be grateful for it and the country that you play for. For sure, you want to play more games, make the quarterfinals, and see what’s going to happen there, but it didn’t happen this time for us.
“It’s just taking pride in playing every single game with the national team jersey and showing some enjoyment to the fans.”
Silovs played a key role in helping Latvia achieve its fourth-ever win at the Olympics with NHL players participating. In the Preliminary Round, he made 26 saves during a 4-3 victory over Germany.
“You want to win games,” Silovs said. “It’s a great feeling, beating Germany, because it’s not an easy task. They have great players, and for us, I think it was a good accomplishment.”
During that game against Germany, Silovs stopped all ten shots from Leon Draisaitl, one of the league’s top players.
“I think he had a lot of opportunities,” Silovs said. “I just tried to play the best as I can, and it doesn’t matter who is in front of or against me, I just want to stop the puck.”
He appeared in three out of four games for Latvia during the tournament. His performance against Germany was noted as another example of his ability to perform under pressure.
“It’s just another experience for him,” Head Coach Dan Muse said. “He’s had a lot of them. Just from talking with him before he went over, just hearing his excitement, how proud he was to be representing his country. It was awesome to get the chance to see him over there and see him compete.”
Due to tight schedules at the Olympics—three games in four days and nightly team meetings—Silovs had limited free time.
“It was hard to go for dinner, because all of the places were opening at 7:30,” Silovs said. “If you wanted to go somewhere, it was going to be really tight time-wise. I didn’t really go, I usually just had food after the meetings, so I didn’t have to rush.
“I was just kind of in a hockey bubble. For us, it ramps up pretty quick.”
Despite these challenges and results on ice, Silovs emphasized how meaningful it was for him and his teammates.
“You don’t see them too often, and I think that it’s nice to be around them and just have some talks, have some fun, and play with each other,” Silovs said. “I think it’s a great time.”
“Even taking away the win, I think it’s a great memory to have, and I think that it’s just something to build from.”
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