At the 2024 Men’s Final Olympic Ice Hockey Qualification, 12 teams will be competing for three coveted spots in the 2026 Winter Olympics. The teams will be split amongst three European cities with four in each group.
Flyers fans should have their eyes on Latvia as offseason signee Rodrigo Abols will be trying to help his country qualify for their second-ever Olympic Games. They earned their first back in 2021 at this same event.
Latvia is off to a good start, in part thanks to the play of Abols in their opening game.
Rodrigo Abols records three points in Latvia’s win
Abols was on the Latvian squad that made it to the Winter Games in 2022. During qualifying play, he posted three goals and one assist as Latvia went 3-0 to sweep play in Group E. They outscored opponents by a massive 17-1 in the three games. Unfortunately, they couldn’t carry that play into the Olympics, losing all three games to Sweden, Finland, and Slovakia.
Abols did pick up two points, one goal, and one assist, during his time at the Olympics. Abols has typically put up strong numbers whenever he dons the Latvian jersey. They didn’t stop on Thursday.
In Latvia’s 4-2 win over Slovenia, Abols had a team-high three points. His goal gave Latvia their two-goal advantage in the second. He grabbed assists on both first-period goals.
🇱🇻🔥 Sākam ar uzvaru pret Slovēniju! Paldies faniem par fantastisko atbalstu🙏 Tiekamies jau rītdien! pic.twitter.com/4421jTgCia
— LV Hokeja federācija (@lhf_lv) August 29, 2024
Latvia will take on the Ukraine, who lost their opening game, later today. They will finish up play against France on Sunday.
After hopefully helping Latvia qualify for the next Winter Games, Abols will gear up for Flyers training camp, which will be just over two weeks later. Philadelphia took a flier on him, signing him to a one-year deal after a strong showing at the World Championship. Abols is likely destined for the Phantoms but he will be fighting to be a part of the Flyers’ bottom six as well.