WJC: 2025 Team Latvia Roster Talk
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Eye of Ra
Grandmaster General of the International boards
The Latvian Locomotive ain't stopping, baby.
I don't want to derail (pun intended) the WJC thread with U18 talk too much, but we are facing Slovakia, Norway and Finland in our group, so a top 2 finish is realistic and 3rd place is likely. If we're lucky, that means facing Czechia or even Switzerland in the quarters.
kudla
Registered User
Yeah, I am not sure if facing Czechia is "lucky" for either Latvia or Slovakia. The way groups are shaped, I am afraid it is over. Good thing is that Latvia will at least get to play opponents on their level and actually prove that they can be better than them and get some points.
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Could you elaborate on that? I see two 2025 draft eligible players and three players for 2026 on EP draft center. None of them are marked as top prospects. Not that it's something different from previous years.
Yeah, it's going to be an exciting round robin. Obviously, the QF matchups can go either way, you can get lucky or unlucky, but the point remains - they can make the semis.
Yeah, kind of a slump year for us. After 2004 graduated, 2005 has little to offer to replace Locmelis, Vilmanis and Fenenko.
Bulans will be a fine 1st D, but he is worse than Fenenko is almost every aspect;
Mateiko is a good scorer, but he wont conduct the offence.
Other guys starting with Uljanskis and Osmanis are signifficantly younger. I hope we dont get demoted this year, because we sure as hell not getting demoted in the next ones, and it will be a shame if a weak 2005 class will cost our future guys an entire year.
Bulans will be a fine 1st D, but he is worse than Fenenko is almost every aspect;
Mateiko is a good scorer, but he wont conduct the offence.
Other guys starting with Uljanskis and Osmanis are signifficantly younger. I hope we dont get demoted this year, because we sure as hell not getting demoted in the next ones, and it will be a shame if a weak 2005 class will cost our future guys an entire year.
Whats wrong with having just three players listed for 2026? Czechia has 4, Slovakia has 4, Finland has 3 Switzerland has 2. Even USA has just 9. Only ten players are marked as "top prospect".
Being listed 2 years prior to the draft indicates notable talent. Those aren't just 3 potential draft picks. Those are 3 potential top two round picks.
There's nothing wrong with it but nothing new either. I doubt it's the first time Latvian players are listed on EP's prospect list two year prior to the draft. But I might have missed some other extremely talented Latvian generations recent years so I'm just curious.
Sure. I love how you view a list of 2026 prospects combined by eliteprospects as an actual reflection of reality.
2025:
Osmanis, W (top-to-mid round prospect, currently the most productive U18 player in Allsvenskan and is scoring at a higher rate than Victor Eklund who is a 1st round prospect. Extremely soft touch, great hands and hockey IQ)
Serkins, C (late round prospect, scoring at a PPG rate at the Swiss top juniors, had 4 points in 5 games at the U18 Worlds this year as a 16 yo, his major drawback is his smallish frame and he should probably move to wing)
2026:
Murnieks, C (1st round prospect, most points scored by a 15 yo in the Latvian league, YOG MVP with 27 goals in 4 games, productive at the 2024 U18 Worlds at the age of 15, USHL after just turning 16)
Berzkalns, C (mid round prospect, USHL tender as a 15 yo, he was dominating the Latvian U17s together with Murnieks, but Berzkalns still has to prove he can elevate his game at the international level)
Naudins, W (top-to-mid round prospect, NCAA-commit. at 15 yo, drafted at 15yo by Muskegon in USHL, 2nd highest scoring player currently at USHS-Prep, a massive 2-meter frame, was the highest scoring player the Latvian U20 dev. camp this summer)
Klaucans, C (mid-round prospect, just turned 16 and he's currently the only 16 yo playing in NAHL, made the Latvian U18 roster at the 2024 U18 Worlds and was productive, expecting him to move to major junior hockey during or after this season)
Flugins, W (mid-to-late round prospect, played at J20 Nationell and was relatively productive at 16 yo, made the U18 Worlds roster last year as well. Since he's a skill-player/dangler type with a smaller frame, he's more of a late round prospect unless he can really improve this season which is going to be tough for him as he decided to move to CHL from a comfy spot in Sweden)
There's a bunch of other prospects, but these should get drafted. The breadth and depth of the Latvian program has improved with the current generation of junior players in general, as this is the point when hockey reached a peak after Riga hosted the Worlds in 2006 and several ice rinks were built afterwards.
So the entire team is solid and well-rounded and there's about 150 U18 kids playing in top tier junior leagues in Sweden, Finland (Riga plays in the Finnish junior system with several teams), Switzerland, Czechia, Germany, US, Canada. So the depth has improved as well.
Many are going the NCAA way through USHS, USHL or NAHL and we currently have 18 NCAA Div 1 players, with the number set to increase even further.
There hasn't been a point in history with that many draft prospects and such depth, so you're completely wrong on both counts.
SoundAndFury
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- May 28, 2012
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It's obviously still early but Murnieks easily carries the highest pre-draft pedigree since Girgensons and Osmanis is as good as anything Latvia has produced in recent years. So this generation is more or less as good as the 2012 draft only with a decent supporting cast too, this time.
It's not earth-shattering but certainly very strong by Latvian standards.
Pretty much on point, but:
1. Doubt that Serkins will be drafted. No one knows that swiss juniors exist. He may be drafted after one of the WJC, especially if he makes the U20 team and is productive there.
2. Im higher on Berzkalns and, especially, Flugins. Berzkalns might be another top prospect, and Flugins is almost guaranteed a middle round selection if he progresses on a steady trajectory. OHL in D-1 year is no joke;
3. I dont know what to make of this USHS-prep, so I would ease a little with the top-mid round projection for Naudins until he plays at a higher level.
Serkins was the 6th highest scoring 16yo at the U18 Worlds. He can definitely get drafted, but you are right that it is entirely dependent on his international showing, which was my point as well.
I guess you're on the younger side yourself. Not to worry young padawan, Blueger was drafted straight out of the same USHS-Prep team as Naudins plays for currently. He does not have to move to a better league at all, he's already NCAA-committed
SoundAndFury
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- May 28, 2012
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It's a story as old as hills but with Serkins size, no way he is getting drafted out of Switzerland unless he does something truly spectacular which I don't think he is capable of. Your typical high-risk, no-reward kind of pick.
Considering his birthday, he has a better chance to be drafted as an overager (much like his club mate Benny Baumgartner if he gets to that level) than this summer.
Considering his birthday, he has a better chance to be drafted as an overager (much like his club mate Benny Baumgartner if he gets to that level) than this summer.
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