The Boston Bruins are one of the most represented teams at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. While many of the team’s active NHL players are seeing action for their countries on the global level, another name making headlines is prospect and Providence Bruins’ forward Dans Locmelis. The 22-year-old forward is currently representing his home country of Latvia at the Olympic Games and he hasn’t looked the least bit out of place.
Locmelis isn’t the only player to make the trip from an NHL or AHL team to represent Latvia. The Bruins’ 2022 fourth-round pick is joined by Sandis Vilmanis and Uvis Balinskis of the Florida Panthers, Elvis Merzlikins of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Arturs Silovs of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Zemgus Girgensons of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Teodors Blugers of the Vancouver Canucks, Anri Ravinskis of the Abbotsford Canucks and Eduards Tralmaks of the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Locmelis started the tournament unremarkably with one shot and a 38% faceoff percentage in 14:18 of ice time against the United States. He would follow that up with a very impressive two goals on two shots with a 50% faceoff percentage in 14:57 of ice time against Germany. His most recent game featured two shots on goal and a 60% faceoff winning percentage in 18:30 of ice time against Denmark.
After his match against Germany, Locmelis said the following:
“It definitely feels good,” said Locmelis. “It feels good to get the first one. It was nice to play the last game against the USA to get the feeling, at NHL level or even better than NHL level. So it was much easier today. We almost got used to the fast, fast pace.”
It was encouraging to see Locmelis hold his own alongside and against another talent at the NHL level in such a high-profile tournament. He has also gained the trust of the Latvian coaching staff and has seen a gradual bump in ice time in all three games.
Locmelis plays well with Providence
In the AHL, Locmelis has made the transition from the collegiate level to the professional level almost seamless. In his first six games for Providence last season, he scored three goals and 12 points in the regular season, while adding just one assist in four postseason games. This season, Locmelis has scored 15 goals and 28 points in 43 games and appears to have legitimate NHL potential.
Evaluating talent in the NHL Draft is a difficult endeavor and finding a player who seems capable of making the jump to the NHL in the fourth round one day should always be appreciated and celebrated. Locmelis is a name Bruins fans should keep an eye on at the Olympic level, but also in Providence, as he could make the jump to Boston one day in the not-so-distant future.
Related: Bruins GM Don Sweeney’s 5 best draft picks
Now that it appears the Bruins are headed for a much quicker reshuffle than anyone expected, the jump to the NHL roster won’t be easy. This is especially true as some of the team’s other prospects continue to make an impact and push for a spot in the near future. Players like Matt Poitras, Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov are already pushing for spots on Providence’s roster, not to mention players like Dean Letourneau, James Hagens and Will Zellers, who are all having great collegiate seasons.
Still, Locmelis has as good a chance as any player in the system to be part of the Bruins roster in the future. If he can continue to refine his skills and do his best, he should be able to build a nice career for himself.
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