could Latvia use him at the upcoming worlds?
I would love to. Its always exciting to see new prospects instead of same old 30-something guys from Denmark or Austria. And Locmelis, who is arguably the same level prospect as Vilmanis, already debuted last year, and had a great WC, BUT:
1) Locmelis is a center, which Latvia always lacks. Vilmanis is a winger, which Latvia has plenty;
2) Current head coach is biased against NA players, unless they are borderline NHLers. 0.5 ppg in AHL wont even get you an invite to the training camp, let alone a roster spot over a guy from the second swiss league;
3) Latvia is historically not known for using teens in WC. Not desperate enough to use any more or less solid prospect, and the prospects are not superstary enough to earn the spot over more experienced guys. Teens who made the team in the previous years almost always were playing pro hockey on one level or another.