“I had an injury, but I still made the comeback to the main camp and I had the conditioning skates and everything, so I feel good,” Vilmanis said after the win. “The first period was a little bit nervous for me and just coming back, but in the end I think I kind of adapted to the game more and that helped me to score. Also a great pass from Footy (Nolan Foote), so I just had it end up in the net.”
In 14:06 minutes of ice time, Vilmanis recorded a goal, two shots on goal a blocked shot and three hits.
Using his strong camp and preseason a year ago as momentum for his first year pro with the Charlotte Checkers, the 2022 fifth-round pick (157th overall) notched 27 points (9G, 18A) in 61 regular season games in the AHL in 2024-25.
Vilmanis also logged seven points (3G, 4A) in 11 games during the team’s run to the Calder Cup Final.
“I had good preseason games and I went to Charlotte full of confidence and just tried to be more consistent every game and earn the coaches trust and play as well as I can.”
Surrounded by Stanley Cup champions, the young forward is trying to take it all in ahead of the upcoming season.
“It's so great to be around these players and it's just like a dream, a dream for everyone, for every hockey player to be around players like them. It's just thought everything - it's just every pass in practice is on tape, every skating drill is everyone's going as hard as they can and just that professional attitude towards the hockey and towards the sport that they're in the gym before the practice, after the practice, is just everything you can take from them and learn.”
Hoping to jumpstart his season once again with a spark early on, Vilmanis doesn’t just have his eyes on the pro stage, but the international one as well.
With prior experience with Latvia’s World Junior team – including most recently in 2023-24 where he recorded four points (2G, 2A) in five games and was named one of the team’s top-three players – Vilmanis now could have the chance to represent his home country at the 2026 Winter Olympics alongside fellow Panther Uvis Balinskis.
“Hockey is all over there,” Vilmanis said of the hockey vibe in Latvia. “Since we won that bronze medal, I think everyone's now become a hockey fan. Everyone's really excited for every exhibition game, every world championship game, every World Juniors game. Everyone's watching at home and just trying to help how they can. That's pretty awesome. Hopefully I think I have a pretty good chance to make the team, but still I have a lot of work in front of me.”
A lot of work and a bright future.
