Sandis Vilmanis (Photo courtesy of Sarnia Sting)Sandis Vilmanis (Photo courtesy of Sarnia Sting)
Sarnia

Sting sign two import picks to OHL contracts

The Sarnia Sting have signed import picks Marcus Limpar Lantz and Sandis Vilmanis to Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Standard Player Agreements.

Limpar Lantz was selected by the Sting with the 99th overall pick in the 2021 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Import Draft.

The 19-year old Swedish centre tallied 13 goals and 24 assists through 42 games played with the Örebro HK J20 team in the Swedish J20 Nationell league.

220410 Örebros Marcus Limpar Lantz under bronsmatchen i Junior-SM för J20 mellan Örebro och Rögle den 10 april 2022 i Nyköping. Örebro's Marcus Limpar Lantz 
Photo: Tobias Sterner / BILDBYRÅN / COP 254 / TS0063

Sting General Manager Dylan Seca is excited to welcome Limpar Lantz to the club.

"Marcus is a player we liked heading into the Import Draft a year ago," said Seca. "We saw him play with Sweden in a U17 event and he was one of the top players on his team. He is a smart centre, good puck distributor, great skater and a player we believe has tremendous upside. We want to welcome Marcus and his family to the Sarnia Sting."

Vilmanis is an 18-year-old Riga, Latvia native, who was selected 14th overall by the Sting in the 2022 CHL Import Draft.

He was picked by the Florida Panthers in the 5th round of the NHL draft. He scored 18 goals and had 14 assists in 40 games with the Luleå HF J20 team in Sweden this past season.

This season, Vilmanis also represented Latvia in multiple international tournaments where he recorded three goals and three assists through nine games played.

Seca said Vilmanis was a player who caught their eye early this season.

"He was in a strong league and recorded excellent numbers," he said. "We really like his combination of skill and size, not to mention he’s got a scoring touch to complement both. We’re thrilled he’s coming to Sarnia and expect him to arrive shortly after the Summer World Junior tournament where he will be competing for Latvia."

The Sting will open training camp in late August in preparation for the 2022-23 OHL season.

The season gets underway on Friday, September 30 when the Sting head to the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium to take on the Rangers at 7:30 p.m. The Sting's home opener is scheduled one week later when the Saginaw Spirit come to town at 7:05 p.m. on Friday, October 7.

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