The Florida Panthers selected Latvian foward Sandis Vimanis in the fifth round (157th overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft at Belle Centre in Montreal.
During his draft season, Vilmanis played in 40 games with Luleå HF’s junior team in Sweden’s J20 Nationell, where he tied for the club lead with 18 goals and ranked third in points with 32.
On the international stage, the 6-foot-1, 192-pound Riga native skated in four games with Latvia at the 2022 IIHF U18 World Junior Championship, where he posted three points (1G/2A) and served as an assistant captain. He also appeared in five games with Latvia at the 2022 IIHF U20 D1A World Junior Championship, registering two goals and five points, helping his country to a second-place finish, and had one assist in five games at the World Junior Championship in Edmonton.
Going into the draft, Neutral Zone had Vilmanis graded as a C+ prospect (low probability of playing NHL games, but some NHL potential) and ranked at 217 in its final draft rankings, considerably lower than where he was taken by the Cats, with the following assessment:
C me: He scored 18 goals in 40 J20 Nationell games. He was an assistant captain for Latvia at the U18 World Championships and recorded three points in four games. He had three points in five games at the U20 WJC D1A. He is very strong along the walls and understands how to extend puck possession in the offensive zone.
C me not: He is a 6’1″ 195-pounder who won 39% of his puck battles in J20 competition. Yes, he understands how to extend offensive zone puck possession, but he is very content to keep the puck along the mid-walls.
After being selected by the Panthers, Vilmanis decided to make the move to North America and joined the OHL’s Sarnia Sting for the 2022-23 season. He appeared in 62 out of 68 regular season games and put up a solid 20 goals and 25 assists.
In 14 postseason games, Vilmanis totaled four goals and three assists for the Sting, who were bounced in the Western Conference Final by the London Knights in six games.
He was again part of Latvia’s entry at the 2023 World Junior Championship, playing six games and producing a goal and an assist as the country managed to stay in the top division by sweeping Austria in a best-of-three relegation series.
Vilmanis started the 2023-24 campaign with Sarnia and produced 28 points in 30 games before he was dealt to the North Bay Battalion on January 6. He took his game to another level with North Bay, scoring 28 goals in 30 games while adding 11 assists. Hello!
He was the most productive player on the Battalion in the playoffs by a fair margin, racking up an impressive 27 points in 16 games as his new team came within one win of reaching the final round.
At the 2024 World Junior Championship in Sweden, he scored two goals and added two assists in five games as Latvia finished the tournament in seventh-place.
After inking his entry-level contract in March, Vilmanis attended both development camp and training camp in the fall, and was assigned to the Charlotte Checkers to begin his professional career.
As an AHL rookie with the Checkers, Vilmanis appeared in 61 of 72 regular season games and finished the campaign with a respectable nine goals and 27 points. He scored his first goal (and point) in his third game on October 18, against the Cleveland Monsters and recorded six multi-point performances, including a goal and an assist in the next to last game of the season against the Springfield Thunderbirds.
In the Calder Cup playoffs, Vilmanis was pretty effective when in the lineup, producing three goals and seven points in his 11 postseason appearances.
To call Vilmanis’ second season in North America a smashing success might be an overstatement, but not by much.
His offensive production with the Checkers took a big leap forward as he finished third on the team in goals (17) and points (38), and fourth on the squad in assists (21) while playing just 48 AHL games.
The reason he played so few games in Charlotte is a good one, he had a couple of stints with the Panthers that resulted in him playing his first 19 big-league games, totaling three goals and two assists, and accelerating his development.
Vilmanis made his NHL debut on January 10, logging 11:32 of ice time in a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators. He picked up his first point in the league with the secondary assist on Uvis Balinskis’ goal in a 9-1 loss to Carolina six days later. His first goal came on January 27 against former Cats keeper Vitek Vanecek in a 4-3 victory of the Utah Mammoth. He also scored goals against the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres.
With the Panthers top-nine locked and loaded, Vilmanis’ only path to a roster spot season, other than as an injury call-up, is to excel in training camp and force himself onto the fourth line. But, that’s not the best thing for him as he’d be better off continuing to hone his all-around game while getting gobs off ice time with the Checkers.
We’ve already gottan a sneak peek at Vilmanis with the Panthers and the results were very promising. He moves like an NHL player, he’s in the right spots and his anticipation and hockey translated well. Over the years, he’s quickened hs feet and his acceleration is now NHL grade. He brings good energy and a physical mindset. Vilmanis also has quality offensive tools. His shot is excellent and he gets his release off from multiple angles and body positions. He’s probably not a top-six wing on a championship caliber team, but he has all the necessary skills to firmly plant himself in the middle six and chip in offensively. It’s just a matter of time for Vilmanis, who is the club’s top prospect in Charlotte.