WC: Latvia Roster Talk 2023

[v-man]

The gold medal team will come home to just their friends and family waiting for them at the airport. No parade or rally. The bronze medal team will come home to the biggest party the country has ever seen outside of the Song and Dance Festival, very possibly bigger.

 

[Fledgemyhedge]

Little boys in Latvia seeing all the hype are gonna dream of being hockey heroes now. This is how you grow the game

 

[boxbox]

The gold medal team will come home to just their friends and family waiting for them at the airport. No parade or rally. The bronze medal team will come home to the biggest party the country has ever seen outside of the Song and Dance Festival, very possibly bigger.

This. I am from Slovakia and have witnessed first hand the joy and celebrations that follow any level of international successes in any major sport. For many pro hockey players born in Europe that don't get the chance or choose not to play junior and develop in North America , achieving national success on the international stage is what they consider the ultimate achievement and honor. I am by no means suggesting that in NA they lack pride or honor,to me it just seems selectively applied. One can easily notice how little attention is paid to the WHC in NA because the reoccuring time of the year its traditionally scheduled for is in line with the NHL playoffs being underway. On the other hand if it were the Olympics the country would literally come to a standstill since everyone would be watching. The excuse often used for not caring is the availability, lack of it that is, of certain top players (unvailable to play internationally as they are playing for their NHL team in the NHL playoffs), yet in Europe fans show up and support their national teams the same way regardless of how staked with talent it is or how much of it is is not present.

 

[Albatros]

Someone has been kind enough to report the Latvian team to the police in Finland for advertising a foreign sports betting company in their jerseys which is against the law, so they are now potentially facing a criminal investigation in the country.

 

[GX]

Someone has been kind enough to report the Latvian team to the police in Finland for advertising a foreign sports betting company in their jerseys which is against the law, so they are now potentially facing a criminal investigation in the country.

It's illegal in Latvia too. So, if you will look closely, you will see that the sponsor on the jersey is a '..bet sports bar', which is a separate legal entity and, well, a sports bar. That's how they've circumvented the rule here. Let's see, how the Finnish legal system will deal with it.

 

[Vikz]

So, anyone here thinks that someone on the team deserved a promotion with his play and we will see a change of scenery for them?
Rihards Bukarts who, quite obviously plays well below his level in Austria? To Czechia with his brother, maybe?
Maybe Jaks, who has outplayed Balinskis, gets a similar NHL two way deal that Uvis got?
Balcers actually earning another NHL contract and delaying his return to Europe?
Rubins traded to a team that sees at least some NHL potential in him?
Locmelis deciding that he is ready for pro hockey and skipping college to go to AHL?

Or none of what happened really matters and once the hangover passes, life will be back to normal and nothing will come of it except the great memories?

 

[ozo]

I don't really want to write this after boys bought home the bronze, but Jaks was not good, he has at minimum one bad mistake in him per game. His level of giving a shit made up for it though. There is not an NHL player in him.

Also I hope that Locmelis sticks the plan and goes to college. Imo it is much safer path to solid pro career than jumping from junior league into 82 game meatgrinder.

 

[Namejs]

I don't really want to write this after boys bought home the bronze, but Jaks was not good, he has at minimum one bad mistake in him per game. His level of giving a shit made up for it though. There is not an NHL player in him.

Also I hope that Locmelis sticks the plan and goes to college. Imo it is much safer path to solid pro career than jumping from junior league into 82 game meatgrinder.

Yeah, Jaks is good offensively, but there were some lapses in his game that makes me think his ceiling is a top pairing D in Europe.

Locmelis was surprisingly good. But he needs that extra year to fill out his frame. He needs to gain several kilos of muscle before moving on to the NHL.

Ri. Bukarts ceiling is clearly not ICEHL, but he might not be good enough for a top 6 role in SHL either.

Abols should have a go at North America one more time. He could be an excellent 4C and a decent 3C in most NHL teams. He's clearly better than Girgensons and the way he dominates the puck with his frame in the O zone is almost Jagr-esque. His shot is top notch as well. Honestly, it's probably his own choice not to go to the AHL meat grinder, and he's probably looking for a one-way contract. I see no other reason he's not in North America right now.

Daugavins powder is still dry and he can easily play at the top level in Europe anywhere.

Balcers clearly has NHL skill and game vision/IQ, but he needs to play in the top 6. He's not great defensively, his frame is pretty small. He should be moved to a weaker team or he should just move to SHL/NLA, where he could easily rack up PPG+ and become one of the leading forwards in Europe.

Rubins surprised me with his offensive touch, I had already written him down as a defensive D. It really looks like he's improved and gained confidence lately.

 

[ozo]

Yeah, Jaks is good offensively, but there were some lapses in his game that makes me think his ceiling is a top pairing D in Europe.

Locmelis was surprisingly good. But he needs that extra year to fill out his frame. He needs to gain several kilos of muscle before moving on to the NHL.

Ri. Bukarts ceiling is clearly not ICEHL, but he might not be good enough for a top 6 role in SHL either.

Abols should have a go at North America one more time. He could be an excellent 4C and a decent 3C in most NHL teams. He's clearly better than Girgensons and the way he dominates the puck with his frame in the O zone is almost Jagr-esque. His shot is top notch as well. Honestly, it's probably his own choice not to go to the AHL meat grinder, and he's probably looking for a one-way contract. I see no other reason he's not in North America right now.

Daugavins powder is still dry and he can easily play at the top level in Europe anywhere.

Balcers clearly has NHL skill and game vision/IQ, but he needs to play in the top 6. He's not great defensively, his frame is pretty small. He should be moved to a weaker team or he should just move to SHL/NLA, where he could easily rack up PPG+ and become one of the leading forwards in Europe.

Rubins surprised me with his offensive touch, I had already written him down as a defensive D. It really looks like he's improved and gained confidence lately.

Generally, I agree with everything you write here, but I think Abols will have exactly the same problem Balcers has, it it top6 or nothing for him at NHL level. He will simply be grinded into oblivion by the players of Girgensons mold. Yes, he protects puck well, but NHL physicality is real and punishing. Better players than him fail, just like he did once already and I think signing with with Swedish team long term signalizes he agrees with me (and you too).

 

[jcbio11]

So is anyone off of this team going to get some serious NHL looks now?

 

[ozo]

So is anyone off of this team going to get some serious NHL looks now?

If above posts are not sufficient, then in short - no, nobody new will get a look in. Silovs at minimum will be called up for a cup of coffee, but that probably was certain anyway.

 

[Dofs]

So is anyone off of this team going to get some serious NHL looks now?

People that played well are either too old to get a serious NHL look or have already tried before. So I don't think it's going to happen for anyone apart from the obvious Silovs.
---
In terms of who played well and can hope for better contracts, Rihards Bukarts is the obvious example. What are you doing in Austria, pal? It should change after this championship.

Jaks is an amazing skater and I think it makes him seem better than he actually is right now.

 

[Namejs]

Generally, I agree with everything you write here, but I think Abols will have exactly the same problem Balcers has, it it top6 or nothing for him at NHL level. He will simply be grinded into oblivion by the players of Girgensons mold. Yes, he protects puck well, but NHL physicality is real and punishing. Better players than him fail, just like he did once already and I think signing with with Swedish team long term signalizes he agrees with me (and you too).

Balcers and Abols are two entirely different type of players, so I don't agree with you at all.

Abols with his *current* style of play fits the 3C/4C role perfectly. He's not soft, nor is he offensively-slated, he's in no way going to experience the issues Balcers is facing, so your assessment of Abols quite frankly does not make any sense to me.

Why on Earth would it be top 6 or nothing for Abols?

He quite literally was placed on the 3rd line in Örebro in the deciding play-off matches to even out the lines.

He's great at puck possession, dominates at face-offs, has great reach/wingspan, uses his body well, wins most of the puck battles due to his upper body strength and he can easily provide secondary scoring. He's pretty much the definition of your textbook bottom 6 NHL forward.

He has never failed at the NHL level, he bailed out of AHL due to having to play bottom 6 minutes there, which would be entirely redundant with his numbers in SHL and his showing at the World Champs, where he's had the chance to play against all-NHL teams without any effect on the efficiency of his game.

Can you name a few examples of similar players (big bodied, puck-dominant, with similar rates of scoring) failing at the NHL level?

 

[ozo]

Now I disagree with almost everything you wrote He isn't Indrasis big body soft, but he surely isn't using his body the way Girgensons is throwing himself around as a bottom six player, also he doesn't have that mean streak plenty of NHLers have in his supposed role. Dominant at faceoffs? I'm curious, what's your definition of dominant? He is ok with playing on the third line to ''round out'' lines in SHL, but can't do it in AHL in way that convinces the org to promote him up the roster?


We can just agree that he isn't willing to play in AHL to get those couple of games NHL.

 

[Namejs]

Now I disagree with almost everything you wrote He isn't Indrasis big body soft, but he surely isn't using his body the way Girgensons is throwing himself around as a bottom six player, also he doesn't have that mean streak plenty of NHLers have in his supposed role. Dominant at faceoffs? I'm curious, what's your definition of dominant? He is ok with playing on the third line to ''round out'' lines in SHL, but can't do it in AHL in way that convinces the org to promote him up the roster?


We can just agree that he isn't willing to play in AHL to get those couple of games NHL.

Girgensons is terrible offensively, so the only thing he is capable of doing is killing the puck and throwing his body around and trying not to fall down while he's actually with the puck. Seriously, he's got the hands of pinocchio.

Abols is an entirely different player, so to compare him and Girgensons 1:1 and to ask of him to do the same things as a some kind of a prerequisite needed for making it in the NHL is completely ludicrous.

Girgensons as a player is an outlier amd, quite frankly, I would not even offer him an NHL contract if I was the Sabres GM.

 

[kudla]

Girgensons as a player is an outlier amd, quite frankly, I would not even offer him an NHL contract if I was the Sabres GM.

What happened to him? 14th overall pick and I see that he only made some impact in the NHL in 2014. Since that season it was only getting worse. And why hasn't he played more for Latvia? Remember him only once at the WC

 

[Namejs]

Oh, and you probably should spend a little more time following AHL-based prospects to get a better feeling of how the pecking order is usually established there before assuming that everyone gets a fair look and all the best players always make it through. No, they don't.

It depends on how deep the prospect pool is and how many higher draft picks are competing for those 2-3 top 6 spots. It's entirely circumstantial and based on a degree of sheer luck.

What happened to him? 14th overall pick and I see that he only made some impact in the NHL in 2014. Since that season it was only getting worse. And why hasn't he played more for Latvia? Remember him only once at the WC

Nothing happened to him, he's just not a great player. The only thing he's great at is killing the puck. He's a one-dimensional role player.

 

[Vikz]

What happened to him? 14th overall pick and I see that he only made some impact in the NHL in 2014. Since that season it was only getting worse. And why hasn't he played more for Latvia? Remember him only once at the WC

Yeah, nothing really happened. He still plays on one of the most incompetent teams in recent history. He is not a bust by any means - 14th overall pick, he is 9th from this draft in games played, despite never playing a single play off game, and 26th in total points. So, while he may have been picked a few spots earlier than he should have been, it is still a first round pick worthy career. A really weak draft, also.
The sabres might have hoped that he becomes a good two way forward, and Latvian fans probably thought that he would become the next Latvian superstar (only player picked in the first round ever, after all), but in the end, he is just in his place.
And his style of play
a) makes him prone to injuries, especially the small ones than need healing after the season;
and
b) does not make him irreplacable in the national team.
Which results in him rarely coming to the national team - there is just not enough interest from both sides.

 

[RobRayzor]

What happened to him? 14th overall pick and I see that he only made some impact in the NHL in 2014. Since that season it was only getting worse. And why hasn't he played more for Latvia? Remember him only once at the WC

If not for that season ending injury in Columbus...next season Dan Bylsma took over and pretty much ruined him.didnt keep him on same line for long. Got a chance to play with Eichel and Reinhart in same line,when he found success,Bylsma moved him down and up lines again,making unsure what role Gus has in the team.

 

[wintersej]

Locmelis was surprisingly good. But he needs that extra year to fill out his frame. He needs to gain several kilos of muscle before moving on to the NHL.

Dying to see how he looks in Boston's training camp this year. If there is a team that needs to pull a good center prospect out of nowhere, it is Boston.

 

[Eye of Ra]

So is anyone off of this team going to get some serious NHL looks now?

Abols

Ri. Bukarts ceiling is clearly not ICEHL, but he might not be good enough for a top 6 role in SHL either.

Not in a SHL top team, but for sure for a team like my own Malmö. I would gladly take him. He would look good with Pajuniemi and Kuokkanen on the first line,

 

[The Hockey Tonk Man]

Was hoping to never hear of Daugavins again from that brutal missed open net in the Bruins/Hawks cup final. Brought back all the sad memories

Congrats to Latvia though, this is huge for them. Hope the party was a good one.

 

[Eye of Ra]

Whats the deal with Cibulskis going to Herning in the Danish league?

 

[SoundAndFury]

Whats the deal with Cibulskis going to Herning in the Danish league?

That's where you go after mediocre season on the worst team in Czech Extraliga. Probably Dzerins connection and East Europeans having very good results in Denmark (Skvorcovs, Merezhko) have some impact as well.

 

[Dofs]

Whats the deal with Cibulskis going to Herning in the Danish league?

To add to the 'mediocre season' bit, he is also 35 already.