Kristers Gudlevskis

April 2019 – In his return to Europe, Gudlevskis had a solid season statistically. Unfortunately, after spending a couple of seasons in North America where he was pushed out of a spot by other goaltenders, I find it hard to see an avenue that brings him back anytime soon. With an abundance of younger goaltenders who are performing well in all leagues for the Islanders, Gudlevskis is probably low on their priority list. Nate Duffett

June 2018 – The Latvian goalie had a rough year on a forgettable team in 2017-18. Things look bleak for Gudlevskis in North America at this point. He split the season with Christopher Gibson and was out-performed by him to such a degree that Gibson actually got a late look with the big club. Both Gudlevskis and Gibson are UFAs, the Isles have two other younger goalies under entry-level contracts already and one of them is top prospect Linus Soderstrom, it seems unlikely that the soon-to-be 26-year-old fifth round pick will return to the organization. In any case, he is irrelevant from a fantasy standpoint.   Michael Farkas

July 2017 – The New York Islanders acquired goalie Gudlevskis from the Tampa Bay Lightning.He likely falls behind Halak and Greiss on the depth chart and will remain in the AHL. With the prospects the Islanders have coming down the pipe, he also does not have any apparent long term upside with the Islanders either. Peter Harling

June 2017 – Over the past several months there have been plenty of rumblings that Gudlevskis will not be returning to the Crunch next fall. Steve Yzerman has made clear, his plans to allow room for Connor Ingram to earn time with the Crunch next season, as well as partner him up with a more experienced veteran – likely not Gudlevskis. The Latvian struggled at times with the Crunch this season, it will be interesting to see whether or not The Lightning qualify the net-minder in order to retain his rights for trade purposes. It seems evident that the 24-year-old does not fit the Lightning long term plans. Brayden Olafson

September 2016 – Latvia will not be participating in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey; however, Kristers Gudlevskis had Olympic Qualifying Games with his native country from August to September. In his two appearances, he managed to keep a 2.04 GAA and .923 SV%. In this upcoming season, Gudlevskis will be starting the season as the Syracuse Crunch starter once again. If his play is consistent of that at the OQG, more NHL starts are in his near future. Max Marko

January 2016 – Gudlevskis has returned to the AHL for the 2015-16 season, where he currently holds a 2.59 GAA and 0.918 SV% in 18 games. These are notably better numbers than he posted last season with the Crunch (2.81GAA, 0.900SV% in 46 games), showing promising signs of improvement for the athletic netminder. Unfortunately, the strong play of Bishop and the elite pedigree of Vasilevskiy mean that Gudlevskis will likely be anchored in the AHL for quite a while if he remains with the Tampa organization. Hayden Soboleski

October 2014 – After attending Tampa Bay’s training camp, Gudlevskis was assigned to the AHL where he’ll battle first round pick Andrei Vasilevskiy for playing time. Randall Buschmann

February 2014 – Gudlevskis played in two games for Latvia during the Olympics, which included receiving the start for his country’s all-important quarterfinal matchup. He shocked the world by recording a stellar 55 saves against a powerhouse Canadian squad who managed only two goals against the rookie goaltender. Despite losing, Gudlevskis was the talk of the hockey world for at least a day and will no doubt remembered for his very impressive performance. Randall Buschmann

February 2014 – Gudlevskis is a fiery goaltender with excellent size and quickness. After proving himself in Russia’s junior development league (MHL) and a solid outing representing his home country at the World Junior Championship, he went on to play a couple games for KHL’s Dinamo Riga. When Tampa Bay drafted Gudlevskis as a 20-year-old this past June, their Director of Scouting Al Murray stated right from the get go, “We believe [Gudlevskis] has a chance to come in this year and compete for an American Hockey League spot with our team and continue his development.” To date, Gudlevskis has not disappointed. After an impressive showing during Tampa Bay’s development camp in July, he was signed to a three year entry-level contract and the decision was made he’d start his North American pro career in Florida(ECHL). After a dominating performance there, the decision was made to promote Gudlevskis to Syracuse(AHL) where he’s quickly established himself as a reliable starting goaltender. Gudlevskis seems to be slowly taking the starting role away from AHL veteran Cedrick Desjardins. Gudlevskis will represent his country Latvia in the upcoming Olympic games. Gudlevskis has gone from being a relative unknown fifth round draft pick to rising up Tampa Bay’s depth chart and representing his country at the Olympics in short time. Randall Buschmann