With this being the last World Champs before the Olympics, there's going to be a lot at stake for bubble players. This is probably the last chance for both our younger and O30 players alike to make that 2026 shortlist.
I would love to have a look at Vilmanis, Ravinskis, Prohorenkovs, Mateiko, Osmanis at forward.
This is going to be a tough one in terms of player selection.
We might not have either of our leading centermen Blueger/Abols/Girgensons available and a bunch of the more intriguing prospects are going to be tied up in North America as well.
However, this only means more opportunities and more spots open for others. So this roster might end up being pretty experimental. If anyone else gets injured at C or is unavailable (Locmelis/Batna/Smirnovs), we actually might end up calling up Murnieks.
Also. Tralmaks has been beasting in Czechia lately. He looks so dominant over there I wouldn't be surprised he gets a contract in North America. We need to take a look at him on the top 6 and on PP1, for some reason he's been buried on the 4th line with the national team his entire career.
I don't have a lot of expectations in terms of making the play-offs, but we need to wait how the roster will actually shape up.
