Eduards Tralmaks brought a big personality and NHL ambitions to Grand Rapids.

Going all the way back to when he first laced up his skates while growing up in Riga, Latvia, Eduards Tralmaks has wanted to play hockey at the sport’s highest level.

As a result, Tralmaks has chased that dream all over the world. And now, he’s in Michigan, representing the Grand Rapids Griffins after signing a one-year, two-way contract with the Detroit Red Wings last March.

“The bottom line is, my whole life, I’ve been battling to get an opportunity to play in the NHL,” Tralmaks said. “After last year, I thought that I had the best season of my life when I led all scorers in Czech Extraliga and was one of the leaders on my team. My next step, because I’m only getting older, was to give it another shot. Detroit was one of the organizations that I talked to and felt like a place where I could develop. Obviously, Grand Rapids was a big push too, because it’s a great city with great fans and a great arena. 

“At the end of the day, the goal is to play at least one game in the NHL. I had a feeling this organization could give me potentially an opportunity to do that, if everything goes well.”

Tralmaks, 28, is fresh off a strong 2024-25 campaign with Rytíři Kladno in the Czech Extraliga, when he led the team in goals (23), assists (28) and points (51) in 48 games. In fact, his 51 points were the most of any skater in Czechia’s top professional league.

“I had good teammates next to me,” Tralmaks said. “We had a very good young line. Overall, it was a season where I felt way different. I had way more confidence in my shot and felt like everything was going in. I thought that was, let’s say, my breakout year. Some might say it was a little bit too late because of my age, but that doesn’t matter. If you look at the Latvians that have made it in the NHL, there are plenty of guys who are examples of that. Even though I’m at this point of my career at my age, you still have a chance.”

Tralmaks said his play last season was a continuation of the strides he took in 2023-24, when he tallied 32 points (21 goals, 11 assists) in 52 regular-season games for Rytíři Kladno in addition to five points (three goals, two assists) in four postseason contests.

“With Rytíři Kladno, I scored 20 goals for the first time in my life, and that confidence translated to the year after,” Tralmaks said. “The biggest thing is confidence. Once you get rolling and you become one of the guys that coaches trust to send out in those big moments, it helps everything.”

Before recording 41 points (22 goals, 19 assists) in 87 games over parts of three seasons (2020-23) with the Providence Bruins, Tralmaks compiled 82 points in 119 games across four seasons (2017-21) at the University of Maine, and he notched 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in 46 contests with the United States Hockey League’s Chicago Steel in 2016-17.

“My time at the University of Maine was big step in my career, probably the best time of my life both in and out of hockey,” he said. “When I went there, the coaches helped me learn about my role on the team. After my time in the USHL, where I was MVP, I thought I was more of a skills guy. I thought I was the kind of guy who dangles, scores beautiful goals and dishes out assists. I can still do that, but the coaches told me if I want to make it far, I must play more of a grinder role while also making the plays that I know I can make.”

Tralmaks has evolved into the type of player he is today because of his experiences, especially as he was first adjusting his game to the North American rink. And as he’s put in the work over the years, Tralmaks said having a strong sense of belief and self-trust is an underappreciated component of the game that can “make an average player a great player, and a great player a superstar.”

“The way I see confidence, it’s the only superpower a player can have,” Tralmaks said. “It’s really a superpower because when we are confident, not even hockey-wise or sports-wise, it’s everywhere in life. When people are confident, like in a sales job, they can sell anything. It’s the same in sports. When you are confident, you can do things you never thought you could do.”

To build and keep confidence, however, is a mental battle that Tralmaks said can be won by using the power of perseverance.

“The thing with confidence is, it’s so good when you have it and is really hard to get it when you don’t have it,” Tralmaks said. “You must work for it. For some, it helps when you do certain things in practice, but ultimately, it starts with having good plays during games or scoring goals. The confidence from a coach also plays a big role into it.”

Continuing to look back on his winding journey up to this point, Tralmaks feels he’s done a good job of holding himself accountable and understanding where his strengths ultimately lie.

“I might not be the prettiest player or have the best hands, but the way I want to position myself is by showing that I am the hardest worker,” Tralmaks said. “For example, when it comes to shooting, there might be guys who are better than me. But when it comes to a puck in the corner and it’s me versus someone else, even if it’s the best player in the world, that’s the battle that I’m choosing. That’s the type of hockey that I want to play. I’m not going to have highlight-reel goals, but I’ll make sure that puck is in the net.”

Griffins head coach Dan Watson said the 6-foot-4, 225-pound forward has been a great addition to the team. 

“The guys who played with him or knew him before he signed with us last spring all said what a great guy he is,” said Watson. “He keeps the room light and is one of those guys who likes to have fun inside the locker room. A true team guy, and then on the ice he’s got a physical presence. A big guy who has no problem understanding how to get to the net. He has a good shot and is a guy we need offensively, but even his understanding of the defensive side of the game is improving. We need that big, physical presence on the forecheck, around the net, and contributing to our offensive-zone numbers right now.”

Tralmaks also touched on Grand Rapids’ strong chemistry, which he said helped the club get off to its impressive season-opening eight-game winning streak. 

“It definitely starts in the locker room,” Tralmaks said. “We spent so much time together before our first game. I came to Detroit two weeks prior to training camp, so I got to know a lot of the guys. Everyone is so humble and down to earth.”

As so many of his teammates echo, Tralmaks said captain Dominik Shine is the leader of the Griffins’ well-run ship.

“If you need anything or have any questions, that guy knows everything,” said Tralmaks. “Especially around Detroit and Grand Rapids, so we’re very lucky to have him. The veterans are also doing a great job. All of these guys we have, they’re top-notch guys. We have so many borderline NHL players, if not NHL players, and they bring a great playing style as well as positive energy. They know how to act in the locker room and on the ice.”

Tralmaks said he’s already formed several close friendships on the club, especially with netminder Michal Postava and forwards Jakub Rychlovský and Ondrej Becher – all of whom are Czechs.

“We are the closest people to each other on the team,” Tralmaks said. “We come from the same league, and even though I’m Latvian they still treat me like I’m Czech. I understand their language, although I don’t speak back. We know what it’s like in Europe and it bonds us together. We Europeans like to hang out around each other, but that doesn’t mean we don’t hang out around Americans. Honestly, having been in the United States for the past 10 years or so, I’m comfortable with everyone. I’ve been in the United States for so long, before I came back [to Europe], I thought I was slowly becoming American.”

Always radiating positive energy, Tralmaks has high expectations for himself. He knows it’s going to take more than his personality to get to where he wants to go.

“For me, my job as a player on my line is to dig it out, get it to my linemates, and when they get it to me, I shoot the puck,” Tralmaks said. “I just want to keep showing the coach that I am the guy that wants to be on the ice. I want to show that I’m responsible. I want to keep making hits and shooting the puck. [Watson] loves when we put the puck on the net. I want to keep doing all of that and prove to the coaches that I am a gamer. I want them to know that I’m here to play and potentially earn more of those minutes or get up into the lineup. That’s my plan as of now, and I’ll just keep doing my best to succeed.”

According to Tralmaks, he’s considered hanging up his skates a few times over the years. But in those moments, the forward has remembered just how far he’s come and what he still aims to achieve. 

“Sometimes, when I came home after tough games, I would sit there and think to myself, ‘Why am I doing this? It’s so hard to keep doing this,’” Tralmaks said. “If you look at my hockey career, everything I’ve done has been through dedication and hard work. A lot of ups and downs, probably more downs than ups. But the more that you want it, I feel the higher percentage it is that you’ll succeed and the higher likelihood that you’re going to earn it. It just comes down to the person that I am. 

“I want to set an example for Latvians and my family. I want to show my parents that I’m not going to give up, and be some kind of inspiration to somebody. If I look back at [my career], and I know that I did everything I could, then I can look at myself in the mirror when I’m done and know I stayed true to myself.”

Jonathan Mills has served as the Detroit Red Wings’ team reporter since the 2021-22 season. He’s covered a broad array of sports and events, including roles at U.S. Figure Skating and the University of Wisconsin athletics department. He earned his master’s degree in sports media from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications after receiving his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication.