Victoria, BC ~ The Victoria Grizzlies announced on Wednesday morning that they have acquired Montreal Canadiens draftee goaltender Mikus Vecvanags from the Brooks Bandits in exchange for Future Considerations.
Mikus was born and raised in Riga, Latvia, a city that has produced the NHL likes of Zemgus Girgensons, Teddy Blueger, and well-known goaltender Arturs Irbe. Vecvanags won’t be sporting a Jofa like Irbe, but he will hope that his future will look something like his fellow countryman, who appeared in 568 NHL games. His path to doing so was made all the more possible after being selected 134th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 2024 out of the Latvia2 league with the Tukums program. Vecvanags is now the lone NHL draftee active on a BCHL roster.
Vecvanags began this season in the QMJHL with the Newfoundland Regiment before getting the call to represent his country at the 2026 World Junior Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. He appeared in two games for Latvia and also held eventual Silver medal-winning Czechia to three goals on 29 shots in pre-tournament action. The season of 2024-25 was spent split between the Brooks Bandits and the Acadie-Bathurst Titan (now Regiment) of the QMJHL.
In late December 2024, Vecvanags committed to play at the University of Maine in the NCAA, further displaying an impressive resume to come to Victoria with.
The Grizzlies would like to welcome Mikus and the whole Vecvanags family to Bear Country!
