Elvis Merzļikins

Elvis Merzļikins (Latvian pronunciation: [ɛlːvis mɛrzˈʎikins]; born 13 April 1994) is a Latvian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Elvis Merzļikins
Merzļikins with HC Lugano in 2014
Born (1994-04-13) 13 April 1994
Riga, Latvia
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 181 lb (82 kg; 12 st 13 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Columbus Blue Jackets
HC Lugano
National team  Latvia
NHL Draft 76th overall, 2014
Columbus Blue Jackets
Playing career 2013–present

Merzļikins spent several years playing hockey in Switzerland for HC Lugano, and was awarded the Jacques Plante Trophy as best goaltender in the National League in both 2016 and 2018. Drafted 76th overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Merzļikins moved to North America in 2019 and made his NHL debut that year.

Internationally Merzļikins has represented Latvia at the junior and senior level at multiple tournaments.

Playing career

Switzerland

Merzļikins played his junior hockey in Switzerland with HC Lugano, which allowed him to play in the NL with a Swiss player license and not count as an import player.

Throughout the 2012–13 season, Merzļikins spent several games on the bench as the backup goaltender of HC Lugano. Merzļikins would eventually make his NL debut on 28 September 2013 in a 2–1 victory over Lausanne HC.

At the end of the 2013–14 season, Merzļikins was voted off as NL Media Most Improved Player and NL Youngster of the Year. Touted by the scouting services, Merzļikins as a result was selected in the third round, 76th overall, of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

In the 2015–16 season, Merzļikins enjoyed a breakout year after leading the league in saves (1,484) and ranking second in SV% and fifth in wins with a 23–13–4 record in 44 contests. In the 2016 NLA playoffs, Merzļikins led Lugano to the NL final which they would eventually lose in 5 games to SC Bern. He posted a .937 save % and 2.32 goal average in 15 playoffs games. His standout season was acknowledged by claiming the Jacques Plante Trophy as the League's best goalie.

On 22 June 2016, he agreed to a three-year contract extension with Lugano, without an NHL out-clause.[1] At the 2016 Spengler Cup, he was named to the tournament's all-star team.[2]

In the 2017–18 season, Merzļikins captured his second Jacques Plante Trophy as the league's Goaltender of the Year after finishing fourth in wins and fifth in saver percentage with a 19–15–1 record in 40 contests.

Merzļikins returned for his sixth and last season under contract with HC Lugano in the 2018–19 campaign. He posted a 22–18–0 record with a 2.44 goals against average (GAA), .921 save percentage (SV%) and a career-high five shutouts in 43 games. He was unable to prevent Lugano being swept in the first-round of the playoffs against EV Zug.

NHL

At the conclusion of the season with Lugano, Merzļikins left Switzerland and agreed to immediately join the Columbus Blue Jackets for the remainder of their season, signing a one-year, entry-level contract, on 20 March 2019.[3]

His NHL debut came on 5 October 2019 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Merzļikins allowed seven goals in the game, earning the loss.[4] He was sent down to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL on 6 November, later making one appearance with the Monsters before returning to the Blue Jackets.[5][6] Towards the end of 2019, Merzļikins was not getting many starts, as he had yet to win a game in the NHL. Due to an injury to Joonas Korpisalo on 30 December, Merzļikins started the 31 December game and earned his first NHL win against the Florida Panthers, where he allowed one goal on 37 shots and helped Columbus to a 4–1 victory.[7] On 11 January 2020, Merzļikins recorded his first career NHL shutout in a 3–0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.[8]

In 23 April 2020, the Blue Jackets signed Merzļikins to a two-year contract extension.[9]

International play

Merzļikins participated in the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships as a member of the Latvia men's national junior ice hockey team. He was selected to the national team for the 2016 World Championship, and made his debut in the opening game against Sweden in a 2–1 overtime loss.[10] Merzļikins also played in the 2017 World Championship and in the 2018 World Championship. In the 2018 tournament, he posted a 1.50 goals against average and .940 save percentage in six contests.

Personal life

Merzļikins was born in Riga, Latvia.[11] Merzlikins was named after Elvis Presley, of whom his father was a fan.[12] Merzlikins speaks Latvian, English, Russian and Italian.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2011–12 HC Lugano Elite. A 8 — — — — — — 3.52 — 3 — — — — — 5.07 —
2012–13 HC Lugano Elite. A 30 — — — — — — 2.76 — 4 — — — — — 3.84 —
2013–14 HC Lugano Elite. A 12 — — — — — — 2.07 — 10 — — — — — 1.68 —
2013–14 HC Lugano NLA 22 11 10 0 1269 45 1 2.13 .925 1 0 1 80 1 0 0.75 .976
2014–15 HC Lugano NLA 21 11 7 1 1309 57 1 2.61 .913 1 0 1 38 2 0 3.33 .857
2015–16 HC Lugano NLA 44 23 13 4 2713 125 1 2.76 .922 15 9 6 930 36 0 2.32 .937
2016–17 HC Lugano NLA 40 19 16 1 2408 116 3 2.89 .916 11 5 6 654 25 0 2.29 .933
2017–18 HC Lugano NL 40 19 15 1 2431 110 4 2.72 .921 18 11 7 1104 40 0 2.17 .935
2018–19 HC Lugano NL 43 22 18 0 2559 104 5 2.44 .921 4 0 4 273 18 0 3.95 .872
2019–20 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 33 13 9 8 1816 71 5 2.35 .923
2019–20 Cleveland Monsters AHL 2 1 1 0 119 3 0 1.52 .949 — — — — — — — —
NL totals 210 105 79 7 12,689 557 15 2.63 .920 50 25 25 3,078 122 0 2.38 .930
NHL totals 33 13 9 8 1,816 71 5 2.35 .923

International
Year Team Event Result GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2011 Latvia WJC18-D1 12th 2 — — — — — — 0.50 .978
2012 Latvia WJC18 9th 4 1 2 0 — 15 0 4.88 .885
2012 Latvia WJC 9th 1 0 1 0 60 14 0 14.00 .720
2013 Latvia WJC 10th 3 0 3 0 133 13 0 5.85 .860
2014 Latvia WJC-D1 13th 3 1 1 0 127 5 1 2.36 .900
2016 Latvia WC 13th 5 1 2 2 268 13 0 2.91 .912
2016 Latvia OGQ DNQ 2 1 1 0 91 2 0 1.32 .931
2017 Latvia WC 10th 6 3 2 1 364 12 1 1.98 .934
2018 Latvia WC 8th 7 4 1 1 360 9 2 1.50 .940
2019 Latvia WC 10th 5 1 4 0 237 11 0 2.78 .914
Senior totals 25 10 10 4 1320 47 3 2.13 .922

Awards and honours
Award Year
NL
Youngster of the Year 2014
Jacques Plante Trophy 2016, 2018
International
Latvian Player of the Year 2018 [13]
gollark: *42
gollark: 52.
gollark: And I don't use vim.
gollark: _likes VS Code_
gollark: Exactly; that's why I think we should all write code in Assembly.

References
  1. "Surprise – Elvis Merzlikins extends contract with HC Lugano prematurely". swisshockeynews.ch. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  2. "14th triumph for Team Canada | Spengler Cup". www.spenglercup.ch. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  3. "Blue Jackets sign 2014 draft pick Elvis Merzlikins". Columbus Blue Jackets. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  4. Svoboda, Jeff (6 October 2019). "Blue Jackets rally around Merzlikins after tough NHL debut". NHL.com. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  5. "Blue Jackets Recall Adam Clendening & Matiss Kivlenieks, Assign Elvis Merzlikins to Monsters". www.clevelandmonsters.com. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  6. "Blue Jackets announce several roster moves". NHL.com. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  7. "Werenski's hat trick lifts Blue Jackets over Panthers 4-1". ESPN. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  8. "Merzlikins gets first shutout, Blue Jackets beat Vegas 3-0". ESPN. 11 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  9. "Blue Jackets sign G Elvis Merzlikins to two-year contract extension". Columbus Blue Jackets. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  10. "Game lineup". International Ice Hockey Federation. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  11. "Elvis Merzlikins".
  12. "WATCH GOALIE ELVIS MERZLIKINS' FIRST PRESS CONFERENCE IN COLUMBUS". 4 April 2019.
  13. "Elvis Merzlikins named Latvian Hockey Player of the Year". Columbus Blue Jackets. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
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