Elvis Merzlikins

Elvis Merzlikins did not arrive in Columbus as a polished NHL product — he arrived as a 25-year-old who had spent years proving himself in the Swiss National League before the Blue Jackets finally called him north. Born in Riga, Latvia, on April 13, 1994, Merzlikins was selected by Columbus in the third round of the 2014 NHL Draft, 76th overall, and spent the next five years with HC Lugano in Switzerland, where he won the Jacques Plante Trophy as the league's best goaltender in both 2016 and 2018. When he finally made his NHL debut in 2019, the road was anything but smooth.

His rookie season, 2019-20, tested him early and then reversed itself dramatically. Merzlikins did not record his first NHL win until December 29, but he closed the shortened season with a 12-2-0 run that included five shutouts and a .953 save percentage in that stretch — finishing the full campaign with 13 wins, a 2.35 goals-against average, a .923 save percentage, and 5 shutouts across 33 games. InGoal Magazine published a video interview with Merzlikins ahead of his InGoal Radio Podcast appearance, with the video made available to InGoal members as he reflected on that roller-coaster first season, discussing topics ranging from his mental approach during the difficult start to the goalie coaches and lessons that shaped his development ^[1]. The full podcast conversation, Episode 94 of InGoal Radio, was presented by The Hockey Shop Source for Sports alongside Brian's Optik2 Upper Body gear ^[2].

The COVID-shortened 2020-21 season saw Merzlikins play 28 games, going 8-12 with a 2.77 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage, and 2 shutouts. He reached a career high in appearances the following year, suiting up for 59 games in 2021-22 — posting 27 wins, a 3.22 GAA, a .907 save percentage, and 2 shutouts. That in-person film session with InGoal Magazine that season led to a three-part Pro Reads series. In the first installment, Merzlikins broke down a one-on-one rush with speed against the Nashville Predators and a behind-the-net play, including the calculated decision to deploy a poke check and the precise moments he looked away from the puck to identify a backdoor threat ^[3]. The second Pro Read examined a 2-on-1 against the Vegas Golden Knights, where Merzlikins detailed his backwards flow, how he reads an opposing player's hands, and the importance of knowing his own defenseman's tendencies — noting "you can't cheat" when loading the push leg on a rush ^[4]. The third installment returned to an in-zone sequence against the Dallas Stars, where Merzlikins discussed reading threats before and after a Columbus turnover and shared his view on positioning: "It's better to be low and stay on your feet than to slide out" ^[5].

The 2022-23 season brought the most difficult stretch of his Columbus tenure. In 30 games, Merzlikins went 7-18 with a 4.23 GAA and a .876 save percentage, recording no shutouts. He rebounded the following year, appearing in 41 games in 2023-24 with a 3.45 GAA, a .897 save percentage, and 1 shutout, finishing 13-17. In 2024-25, Merzlikins appeared in 53 games — the second-highest total of his career — going 26-21 with a 3.18 GAA, a .892 save percentage, and 1 shutout.

Through the 2025-26 season, Merzlikins has appeared in 274 NHL games, all with Columbus, accumulating 108 wins, 111 losses, 38 overtime losses, a career 3.22 GAA, a .900 save percentage, and 12 shutouts across 15,300:28 minutes of ice time. He wears No. 90 for the Blue Jackets, catches left, stands 6'3", and weighs 190 pounds. He has also represented Latvia internationally at both the junior and senior levels across multiple tournaments.

InGoal Magazine has covered Elvis Merzlikins in two podcast appearances, three Pro Reads, and one InGoal article. The Pro Reads series — conducted in person during a film session in Columbus — is available to InGoal members ^[5][4][3], and the video of the InGoal Radio interview is also available to subscribers ^[1]. An earlier podcast appearance placed Merzlikins in an episode alongside Clint Malarchuk, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Thomas Greiss in March 2019, just as his NHL debut was approaching ^[6].