by Eldon MacDonald (edited by @ChrisRalphTHW)

Elvis Merzlikins

THW’s NHL Draft War Room Rankings (E-Mac): #83 (June 2014)

THW’s NHL Draft Rankings – The Next Ones Edition (aka Chris’s List):#182 (June 2014)

Hashtag: #TheLatvianElvis

Team: #30, HC Lugano, NLA

#30, HC Lugano, NLA Position: Goalie

Goalie Shoots: Left

Left Height: 6’3

6’3 Weight: 187 lb.

187 lb. Born: Riga, Latvia, 13-Apr-94

Riga, Latvia, 13-Apr-94 Twitter: @merzly30

[Your quintessential free draft resource: 2014 NHL Draft Guide: The Next Ones]

Stats

Other Rankings

96 – NHL Combined, Final, Apr-14

Worth Retweeting

If u thought Gudlevskis was good, you haven't seen Elvis Merzlikins, 19, playing for Swiss HC Lugano. Pencil him in for Pyeongchang2018. — Szymon Szemberg (@Sz1909_Szemberg) February 19, 2014

Congrats to @merzly30 for winning the Rookie of the year award! The guy is going to be a monster in the net for many years! #proudcoach — Lassi Laakso (@Lassi_Laakso) March 6, 2014

[The 2014 NHL Draft War Room: Prospect Profile Index Contains All the Prospects Profiled in This Series]

Profiles

Profile 1: Pro Puck Prospects – Mike Repertorio

– Profile 2: Firesidechat.ca

Interviews

Interview 1: HockeyInWorld.Wordpress.com – In Latvian – Use Google translate

– In Latvian – Use Google translate Interview 2: Teletcino – In Italian (Video)

– In Italian (Video) Interview 3: Sporta Studija– In Latvian (Video)

Quotable

Quote 1: USAToday – Kyle Woodlief, “One netminder we think was overlooked is Elvis Merzlikins, a smooth ’94-born Latvian who, as a third year draft-eligible, is a classic case of a late bloomer.Merzlikins came out of nowhere with his long, athletic frame (6-3. 187), and plays a very mature, advanced game. In fact, he was so advanced that as a teenager this year he occasionally dominated against men playing for Lugano’s senior team in the top Swiss league.”

– Kyle Woodlief, “One netminder we think was overlooked is Elvis Merzlikins, a smooth ’94-born Latvian who, as a third year draft-eligible, is a classic case of a late bloomer.Merzlikins came out of nowhere with his long, athletic frame (6-3. 187), and plays a very mature, advanced game. In fact, he was so advanced that as a teenager this year he occasionally dominated against men playing for Lugano’s senior team in the top Swiss league.” Quote 2: Leonid Tambijevs , Head Coach of Team Latvia, on beating Team Switzerland on Elvis’ birthday, “We played like one team and we were supported by (an) amazing goalkeeper Elvis Merzlikins who gives himself the birthday gift by this win. Above that it’s the first time when some Latvian team has beaten Switzerland at world championship. Next time, we are going to clash with Team Sweden, favorite of the whole championship but our preparation will be equally thorough like it was on Team Switzerland.”

, Head Coach of Team Latvia, on beating Team Switzerland on Elvis’ birthday, “We played like one team and we were supported by (an) amazing goalkeeper Elvis Merzlikins who gives himself the birthday gift by this win. Above that it’s the first time when some Latvian team has beaten Switzerland at world championship. Next time, we are going to clash with Team Sweden, favorite of the whole championship but our preparation will be equally thorough like it was on Team Switzerland.” Quote 3: HockeyFans.ch– Maurizio Urech, “Certainly, the shooting star of the Bianconeri. The native Latvian was thrown into the deep and showed us (what he was made of) from the first play to when he decided his first game on a penalty shot. Also, in his first playoff game (on Thursday), he showed a class performance. If he continues to work hard and keep both feet on the ground, he can be one of the best goalies in the league.” – with assistance from Google translate

From the War Room

Eldon MacDonald, THW: A few words on Elvis Merzlikins:

Video