WC: Team Latvia 2025 Roster Talk

[Namejs]

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.

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[Kegs]

Does Dans Locmelis make the cut?

 

[Namejs]

Does Dans Locmelis make the cut?

With 2 NHL and 1 AHL-based centermen likely unavailable, Locmelis is not only making the cut, he's going to be a core part of the team with a top 6 role, maybe even 1C.

In the Olympics he's probably going to be 3C/4C, unless he goes pro and plays lights out in the AHL.

 

[Namejs]

Actually, scratch that, Abols was called up to the Flyers just now, so we're missing 3 NHL centermen. Sounds more impressive immediately.

 

[Kegs]

With 2 NHL and 1 AHL-based centermen likely unavailable, Locmelis is not only making the cut, he's going to be a core part of the team with a top 6 role, maybe even 1C.

In the Olympics he's probably going to be 3C/4C, unless he goes pro and plays lights out in the AHL.

I’m a pretty big fan of Locmelis. I hope he makes it.

 

[SoundAndFury]

I don't really understand the speculation about missing players. Tampa, Canucks, Philly or Phantoms are all unlikely to make 2nd round of the playoffs. Canucks chances to make the playoffs altogether have plummeted to 28.1% by this point, Philly at 9%. The contract situation also isn't likely to restrict either of those players.

So why are we supposed to discuss under the assumption that none of them is going to be there? Do you know something I don't?

 

[Namejs]

I don't really understand the speculation about missing players. Tampa, Canucks, Philly or Phantoms are all unlikely to make 2nd round of the playoffs. Canucks chances to make the playoffs altogether have plummeted to 28.1% by this point, Philly at 9%. The contract situation also isn't likely to restrict either of those players.

So why are we supposed to discuss under the assumption that none of them is going to be there? Do you know something I don't?

In short, it's a gut feeling I have. Just reading the proverbial tea leaves.

Blueger hasn't played at the World Champs since 2019, Girgensons since 2017, while Abols is currently making his last attempt at making the NHL. Even if neither of his two teams make the play-offs, there's a good chance he skips the Worlds to prepare for the next season.

There was an interview in Latvian with Abols Sr. about Rodrigo with a couple of interesting tidbits. He suggested his son not to take part in the Olympic qualifiers, as that would impede his chances of cracking the Flyers roster. Abols Jr. pretty much agreed with that as the season went along, making some very frank observations about life in the AHL.

Abols is very intelligent and hard working, so unless he clearly gets the boot and is off to Europe next season, I believe he ain't playing.

But this is obviously subject to change, there's a bunch of factors in play.

Vitolins could potentially double down and ask them to play at the Worlds if they wish to make the Olympic roster, etc.

 

[SoundAndFury]

I think it requires very wishful/hopeful thinking to assume Abols isn't done in the NHL considering what he has shown this season and the fact he is 29.

Girgensons seems least likely to participate given his age, role and the fact that Tampa might play a reasonably high amount of games in the playoffs.

Blugers, on the other hand, while it's true that he hasn't played for NT much this is very likely the first time his team isn't going to make the PO coupled with this being his healthiest season so far. Even if he was to have some minor injuries there is enough time to heal between the end of the regular season and the WC.

 

[Namejs]

I think it requires very wishful/hopeful thinking to assume Abols isn't done in the NHL considering what he has shown this season and the fact he is 29.

Girgensons seems least likely to participate given his age, role and the fact that Tampa might play a reasonably high amount of games in the playoffs.

Blugers, on the other hand, while it's true that he hasn't played for NT much this is very likely the first time his team isn't going to make the PO coupled with this being his healthiest season so far. Even if he was to have some minor injuries there is enough time to heal between the end of the regular season and the WC.

Done? He just made his debut last night and looked pretty good to me.

If Girgensons could somehow land a 3 year contract, I can't exactly see how Abols is 'very hopeless'. It is pointless to argue about it in January. We just have to wait and see.

Also, I'm not saying it's a given he gets a one-way contract or whatever, the compounding probabilities just stack up and make it somewhat unlikely he makes the Worlds. The AHL play-offs start late and there's a good chance Lehigh makes the 2nd round which overlaps with the round-robin of the World Champs.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Done? He just made his debut last night and looked pretty good to me.

Exactly, he made his debut as an injury replacement in the 48th game of the season and played the least time on the team being firmly behind Olle Lycksell in the callup chart. That's in addition to the fact that he is one of the most expensive players in the AHL, with a salary that stars the league make.

For what he brings he isn't worth it for the AHL team. Nobody is going to give him this kind of contract without very concrete hopes he can contribute in the NHL. So while his contract isn't one-way, it isn't your usual run-of-the-mill two-way contract either. Before-mentioned Lyckesell gets half that, for example.

So I don't know how can one summon hope from him making the NHL debut past the midway of the season. He has to do something borderline spectacular (within reason) to make it during this call-up. He started by winning 20% of the faceoffs as a 4th line center... His chances are tiny.

Regarding Phantom's playoff chances I also don't see it all, they are 5th in the division and the team in the 4th place has played 7 fewer games.

 

[Namejs]

Exactly, he made his debut as an injury replacement in the 48th game of the season and played the least time on the team being firmly behind Olle Lycksell in the callup chart. That's in addition to the fact that he is one of the most expensive players in the AHL, with a salary that stars the league make.

For what he brings he isn't worth it for the AHL team. Nobody is going to give him this kind of contract without very concrete hopes he can contribute in the NHL. So while his contract isn't one-way, it isn't your usual run-of-the-mill two-way contract either. Before-mentioned Lyckesell gets half that, for example.

So I don't know how can one summon hope from him making the NHL debut past the midway of the season. He has to do something borderline spectacular (within reason) to make it during this call-up. He started by winning 20% of the faceoffs as a 4th line center... His chances are tiny.

Regarding Phantom's playoff chances I also don't see it all, they are 5th in the division and the team in the 4th place has played 7 fewer games.

Lycksell was just sent down instead of Abols. Not sure about the firmly behind part.

You are numerically illiterate if you cite 20% FOW with n=5. Abols is literally a face-off specialist and he was amongst FO% leaders in SHL.

The top 6 teams in the Atlantic division make the play-offs and the #5 seed faces the #4 seed. Their head-to-heads are a toss-up.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Lycksell got sent down because the Flyers need a center with Poehling injured.

He better hope Tortorella is numerically literate when he sees him losing one faceoff after another or that he puts a lot of weight in the SHL reputation of his players. On a more serious note, it has been said countless times by countless people that the jump in the faceoff circle moving from a lower level to the NHL is as big as anywhere else on the ice. Blugers was also considered to be a faceoff specialist in college (and eventually became one in the NHL too) yet won less than 45% of his NHL faceoffs over the first 2 seasons. The difference is, he had time to learn on a job, and Abols is 29. But, again, it's not even the point. The point is he has a very limited number of games to make an impression on whoever is going to decide his future and literally every faceoff counts. Especially when you are trusted to take 5 per game.

Anyway, I see you have your mind stuck on this (which is to be expected when the whole premise of the discussion is "gut feeling") so I might as well let it go but if Abols weren't Latvian you would be the first to shout and prove anyone willing to listen how unlikely a player like that is to make the NHL for a whole plethora of reasons. It's the "Merzlikins is good, you just don't see it" discussion all over again.