High-Flying Forward: Nikolai Vahmistrovs Is A Two-Sport Athlete

As a bantam minor a few years ago, Nikolai Vahmistrovs and his Chicago Phantoms team fell behind 1-0 in the state championship game, but ultimately fought back for the 2-1 victory.

The memory is still strong today, especially spraying “fake champagne” on the team’s coach.

It was one of his favorite seasons, without question.

“I’ve never been around a group of guys who just wanted to win everything they could,” said Vahmistrovs, who treasured the locker room celebration, spraying the team’s head coach who, well, also is his dad.

Sergejs Vahmistrovs was the coach.

“That will be a memory, for sure. I’ve never felt joy and saw my dad that happy after we had won,” said the younger Vahmistrovs, whose name now appears on a state championship banner hanging inside the West Dundee Ice Rink.

“One of my career highlights was winning state with the West Dundee Leafs and scoring in that game (during the) 2021-22 season.”

Now 17, Vahmistrovs is a left-handed shooting left wing for the Chicago Phantoms 18U team – with Sergejs Vahmistrovs leading the troops.

Coach Vahmistrovs is originally from Latvia and he played for both the Junior and Senior Latvian National Teams. He represented Latvia in numerous international tournaments, earning a bronze medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship and a gold medal at the IIHF European Championship. Coach Sergei’s playing experience extends across junior, college and minor pro leagues in both North America and Europe. 

For the past 17 years, Coach Vahmistrovs has led youth hockey at the AAA and CSDHL/AA levels. His experience includes serving as the Geneva Cyclones director of hockey and as the bantam/peewee director for the Leafs Hockey Club, where he celebrated multiple state championships. 

Before moving to Illinois, Vahmistrovs coached at the AA and AAA levels in Las Vegas, adding to his record of state championship wins.

“It’s fun having him as a coach because we relate and communicate about the game to improve our team and what we need to do to win games,” said the teenage Vahmistrovs.

Vahmistrovs lives in St. Charles and is a senior at St. Charles East High School. He is a physical forward with playmaking skills. “I do the dirty work in puck battles,” he said. Vahmistrovs scored the game-winning goal in the CCM Chicago Championship Game during the 2021-22 season. During a game last season in West Dundee against the Chesterfield Hawks, he got the puck short-handed and went 2-on-1 with teammate Mason Bedow-Belski, “saucing the puck over to him and him scoring that goal, (which) was very special because there were a lot of scouts and AAA coaches at that game.” 

In Pittsburgh this season, Vahmistrovs tallied nine points over four games in a showcase event.

Off the ice, Vahmistrovs is a multi-year varsity baseball player, manning first- and third-base at the varsity level.

“(Baseball) teaches me how to be a teammate and how to use my energy to power through,” he said. “(Hockey) gets me conditioned and strong.”

In addition, Vahmistrovs is an aviation aficionado. “It’s my dream to become a pilot and I’m working on getting my license so I can stay in the air,” he said. “There’s nothing like flying, seeing the town you live in from above because that’s when I feel like I’ve made it, even though it’s just the beginning.”

Vahmistrovs is working on obtaining a private license and flies a Cessna 172 Skyhawk and a Piper Cherokee P28A.

And yes, aviation helps him on the ice, he said – “because it’s critical thinking and teaches you to be agile.”

Slapshots With … Chicago Phantoms Forward Nikolai Vahmistrovs

Jersey Number: 88
Off The Ice: “I love to golf, fish and hang out with friends.”
It Helps: Lifting weights and running
Superstitions: “Always put my water bottle in the same spot on the bench and be the first to knock the pucks down.”
Long-term Goals: Become a pilot 
Hobbies: Fishing, golfing, baseball, hockey and hanging out with friends 
Favorite NHL Teams: Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals 
Favorite NHL Player: Alexander Ovechkin
Favorite Sports-themed Movie: Rocky 4 
Favorite TV Show: Tulsa King
Motivational Song: Run This Town by Jay-Z
Favorite Pre-game Meal: Chicken or shrimp alfredo 
Favorite app: Instagram or Snapchat
Celebrity You’d Like To Meet: Bryson Dechambeau