Eriks Mateiko was named to Latvia’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics on Tuesday. The Games will be held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, from February 6 through 22.
Mateiko, a six-foot-six forward, is playing in his rookie season with the Hershey Bears, recording five points (1g, 4a) in 25 AHL games.
Mateiko will join six NHLers on the Latvian roster, including Rodrigo Abols (Philadelphia Flyers), Uvis Balinskis (Florida Panthers), Teddy Blueger (Vancouver Canucks), Zemgus Girgensons (Tampa Bay Lightning), Elvis Merzlikins (Columbus Blue Jackets), and Arturs Silovs (Pittsburgh Penguins).
Latvia’s Olympic roster
Forwards
Rodrigo Abols
Rudolfs Balcers
Oskars Batna
Teddy Blueger
Roberts Bukarts
Kaspars Daugavins
Martins Dzierkals
Haralds Egle
Zemgus Girgensons
Renars Krastenbergs
Dans Locmelis
Eriks Mateiko
Eduards Tralmaks
Sandis Vilmanis
Defensemen
Uvis Balinskis
Oskars Cibulskis
Ralfs Freibergs
Janis Jaks
Roberts Mamcics
Kristians Rubins
Alberts Smits
Kristaps Zile
Goaltenders
Kristers Gudlevskis
Elvis Merzlikins
Arturs Silvos
Mateiko is now the fifth player, who either plays with or has ties to the current Capitals organization, that will participate in the Olympics next month, including Logan Thompson (Canada), Tom Wilson (Canada), Martin Fehervary (Slovakia), and Antoine Keller (France).
This will mark the fifth time Mateiko has played for his national team and the first time he’ll do so on Latvia’s senior team. He previously suited up twice on Latvia’s U-20 World Junior Championship team and twice on their U-18 World Juniors club.
Mateiko was Latvia’s top player at the 2025 World Junior Championship, where he led them to an upset victory over Canada. He scored the team’s first goal of the game and the game-winning shootout goal.
He also scored twice, including the overtime game-winner, in a 4-3 win over Germany and briefly led the entire tournament in goals after scoring twice against Sweden. He served as an alternate captain and scored five goals in five games, ultimately helping Latvia reach the quarterfinals.
A Capitals’ third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, Mateiko has suited up as both a center and winger with the Bears during the 2025-26 campaign. He lives with Bogdan Trineyev and Ilya Protas in Hershey.
