CRANBERRY — Goaltending and a depth chart that is more crowded than the Parkway West outbound on a Friday afternoon have not yet taken center stage in the uptempo Pittsburgh Penguins training camp. Still, when it does, the drama and competition will be fierce.

There are five goalies vying for the two nets in Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Advertisement

Goaltending will soon take center stage as preseason games begin Monday when the Penguins visit the Montreal Canadiens. While the Penguins have not yet released the roster for the first preseason game, sooner or later, the Arty Party–Arturs Silovs–will make his first Penguins appearance.

Despite the nickname given to him by Vancouver Canucks fans as he was the underdog third goalie who rescued the team from a 2-1 Round One playoff series deficit against the Nashville Predators in 2024, Silovs is a quiet, soft-spoken netminder.

However, he will need to be assertive in preseason because Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas has promised an open competition in training camp, though he gave Tristan Jarry and Silovs the starter’s edge because of their advanced experience.

Silovs, 24, is putting a great emphasis on his chance with the Penguins. It’s been four years since he turned pro, and he has not yet claimed a regular spot in the NHL. The Latvian native does, however, have a couple of memorable playoff runs.

Advertisement

He led Vancouver back from the brink in 2024 and pushed the eventual Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers to seven games in Round Two.

However, he faltered at the beginning of last season, and the Canucks primary goalies got healthy, so he spent most of last season in the AHL.

And again, Silovs shone the brightest in the biggest games. The Abbotsford Canucks of the AHL marched through the playoffs to claim the Calder Cup, and Silovs was the playoffs’ MVP.

The goalie himself didn’t seem too phased by the cult-hero status Canucks bestowed upon him, even as they shared PHN’s tweet of his first day on the ice in Penguins gear.

Advertisement

“Sure, I mean (the Arty Party name), it happened like two, maybe three years ago. And yeah, if it carries on, it’s great,” Silovs said softly.

Despite better offers from division rivals, Vancouver chose to trade Silovs out of conference to the Penguins for faded prospect Chase Stillman and a 2027 fourth-round pick.

For Silovs, the trade was a gift. He was blocked by Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen in the Canucks crease, and Vancouver is far from a youth movement. So, former Penguins general managers Jim Rutherford (now the president of hockey operations for Vancouver) and Patrik Allvin (GM) reportedly eschewed a greater offer by the Edmonton Oilers to trade Silovs to a spot in which he will get the best opportunity to play, but also improve.

“I thought (the trade) was a great thing for me–having an opportunity to play–because it’s been tough,” Silovs said. “It has been tough rotating with the three goalies (in Abbotsford), and I think it’s the final opportunity to play in the NHL. And yeah, I just want to seize it and do my best.”

At only 24 years old, Silovs might be overly dramatic, thinking it is his last shot to play in the NHL. After all, there have been plenty of goalies who didn’t find their best game until their mid, or even later 20s.

Advertisement

Former Penguins goalie Ty Conklin comes to mind amongst older goalies hitting their stride. So, too, does current St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, who burst onto the Blues’ scene at 26 years old.

“I think it’s always adjusting your game, you know, adjusting the way the other teams play (you),” Silovs said. “So always, for a goaltender, it’s an adjustment game. It never ends. You try to build every single day. And yeah, you just do it one day at a time.”

The post The Arty Party; Penguins Goalie Silov’s ‘Final Opportunity’ appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now.

Related Headlines