SUNRISE, Fla. – Florida Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Bill Zito announced today that the club has agreed to terms with forward Sandis Vilmanis on a two-year contract extension commencing with the 2027-28 season.
“Sandis is a skilled, competitive young player whose positive attitude and strong work ethic have allowed him to succeed at every opportunity he has earned,” said Zito. “He continues to take real strides in his game and we’re proud that he has committed to a further two years in South Florida.”
Vilmanis, 22, skated in 19 games with Florida in 2025-26, producing five points (3-2-5). He also appeared in 48 contests with Florida’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Charlotte Checkers, ranking third on the team with 38 points (17-21-38) while pacing the club’s forwards with a plus-17 rating.
The 6-foot-2, 192-pound native of Riga, Latvia has posted 65 points (26-39-65) in 109 AHL games over two seasons with Charlotte (2024-25 to 2025-26). In Charlotte’s run to the 2025 Calder Cup Final, Vilmanis logged seven points (3-4-7) over 11 postseason contests.
On the international stage, Vilmanis represented Latvia at the 2021 and 2022 IIHF World U18 Championship, the 2022, 2023 and 2024 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship, the 2026 IIHF World Championship and the 2026 Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina. He paced all Latvian skaters with 11 points (4-7-11) over eight games at the 2026 IIHF World Championship and was named a Top Three Player on Latvia at the 2024 U20 WJC.
Originally selected by the Panthers in the fifth round (157th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft, Vilmanis competed in two Ontario Hockey League (OHL) seasons with the Sarnia Sting (2022-23 to 2023-24) and North Bay Battalion (2023-24), recording 112 points (58-54-112).
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