The Acadie-Bathurst Titan announced today the signing of 20-year-old forward Rodrigo Ābols (rod-ree-go – ah-bols). A native of Riga, Latvia, the six-foot-five, left-handed centreman comes to the Titan following a stint with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League. Drafted in the first round of the 2015 CHL Import Draft, Ābols suited up for 64 regular season games, scoring 20 goals and adding 30 assists.

Ābols, the son of Latvian hockey superstar and current Lada Togliatti (KHL) head coach Artis Ābols has a wealth of European and International experience having represented Latvia at the Under-18, Under-20 and Senior Men’s level as well as splitting the 2014-2015 season between the Kontinental Hockey League’s Dinamo Riga and their junior-league affiliate HK Riga where in 49 combined games he scored 21 goals to go with 22 assists.

Invited to Vancouver Canucks training camp in the fall of 2015, Ābols would impress their management staff enough that he would later be taken in the following 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Most recently, Ābols represented his country at the 2018 Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Rodrigo will wear the number 24 for your Titan and will be in uniform Wednesday night as your Titan travels to Halifax to take on the Mooseheads and will make his debut at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre this Friday night against the Charlottetown Islanders. Tickets are available for purchase at the arena box office, by phone at 549-3200 (local) or 1-877-549-3200 (toll free) and online at admission.com.