After being selected by the Panthers, Vilmanis decided to make the move to North America and joined the OHL’s Sarnia Sting for the 2022-23 season. He appeared in 62 out of 68 regular season games and put up a solid 20 goals and 25 assists. In 14 postseason games, Vilmanis totaled four goals and three assists for the Sting, who were bounced in the Western Conference Final by the London Knights in six games. To call Vilmanis’ second season in North America a smashing success might be an overstatement, but not by much. We’ve already gottan a sneak peek at Vilmanis with the Panthers and the results were very promising.