We’re getting closer to the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC). The tournament, which takes place in Gothenburg, Sweden, this year, has become a staple of the holiday season for hockey fans. While there are certainly the favorite teams, such as the United States and Canada, some of the most interesting stories can come from some of the dark horse teams. Team Latvia has had a lot of turnover with their roster this year, and it looks like one of the strongest teams they’ve ever brought to the tournament. Latvia has already had a major upset in the last 12 months, as they defeated the Americans during the World Championship.
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There are a few names that will be familiar to North American hockey fans and some that they’ll be seeing for the first time. Latvia is looking to build on their performance from last year, where they placed ninth out of the 10 teams and avoided relegation by defeating Austria in back-to-back games.
Their best performance in recent memory was in 2022, when they were able to finish seventh. Defeating Czechia and Slovakia in Group A was a massive feat considering they were freshly promoted from Division I A. The Latvians face a similarly difficult group this time around as they’ll be alongside Canada, Sweden, Finland, and Germany in Group A.
Goaltenders
Linards Feldbergs (HS Riga 2, Junioru Attistibas Hokeja liga), Aksels Ozols (Charlottetown Islanders, QMJHL) & Deivs Rolovs (Lone Star Brahmas, NAHL)
All three goaltenders on the Latvian team are newcomers to the WJC. Patriks Berzins, who was their goaltender in last year’s tournament, is now ineligible, as are both of the other goaltenders he played with. Dievs Rolovs seems the most likely to start the first game against Sweden. He played in both pre-tournament fixtures against Czechia and Norway. At 19 years old, he’s the oldest of the three netminders and this will be his only opportunity to play in the U-20s. He’s represented Latvia at the 2022 U-18 WJC but didn’t perform very well. During that stint, he went 1-3-0 and had a save percentage (SV%) of .845 while his goals-against average (GAA) was very high at 4.98. This season with the Brahmas, he’s played well, though. In 21 games, he’s 14-5-1 with a SV% of .922 and a GAA of 1.62.
So far, it appears that Linards Feldbergs will be the secondary goaltender, as he came into the first pre-tournament game in relief of Rolovs. Feldbergs is a name that likely won’t be familiar to most fans, as he’s been playing in the second tier of Latvian hockey, the Junioru Attistibas Hokeja Liga (JAHL) with HS Riga’s second team. He made some appearances in the Optibet Hokeja Liga with the main team, however his SV% of .898 and GAA of 3.52 weren’t enough to keep him in the league and they opted to send him back down despite him starting the majority of HS Riga’s games. Aksels Ozols will be the most familiar goaltender on the roster for Canadian Hockey League (CHL) fans, as he’s the starting goaltender of the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). None of the goaltenders have been drafted by an NHL team, yet they’re eligible for the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
Defensemen
Renarts Berzins (HS Falcons, JAHL), Peteris Bulans (Chicoutimi Sagueneens, QMJHL), Niks Fenenko (Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL), Viktors Kurbaka (HC Ocelari Trinec U20, Czechia), Elvis Laskovs(Nordic U20 Hockey Academy, Austria), Ingus Locmelis (Fairbanks Ice Dogs, NAHL), Darels Uljanskis (AIK J20, J20 Nationell), Kristers Urbanovics (Karpat U20s, U20 SM-Sarja)
Team Latvia brings some decent size to their blue line. Elvis Laskovs is returning from last year’s team and will be the largest member of the defensive core at 6-foot-4. He’s added a bit more offense to his game over the last 12 months, increasing his point total from 10 in 20 games to 29 in 22 with the Nordic Hockey Academy. Eighteen-year-old Kristers Urbanovics will be making his U20 debut for Latvia and has been training in the Finnish hockey ranks with the Karpat organization. The 6-foot-3 defenseman will help clog up passing lanes and block some shots. He didn’t find himself on the scoresheet in the pre-tournament matchups but finished with a plus-two against Norway.
Defense was one of the biggest strengths for Team Latvia during the 2023 tournament as they finished fifth in goals against. Unfortunately, they only have two players from that defense corps returning to this year’s tournament. Niks Fenenko is the other player returning alongside the aforementioned Laskovs. He’s seemed to improve considerably in the QMJHL this season and should be one of Latvia’s difference-makers on the blue line.
The youngest player on the roster will be 17-year-old Darels Uljanskis who is currently working his way up the Swedish youth system with AIK. So far in the J20 Nationell, he has 16 points in 25 games, which puts him third overall on his team. He’s eligible for this year’s NHL draft, so he has the opportunity to make quite a name for himself on a big stage. He performed well defensively in both of the pre-tournament games, which should bode well for him moving forward.
Forwards
Kristers Ansons(Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, QMJHL), Davis Borozinskis(Des Moines Buccaneers, USHL), Rodzers Bukarts(Wenatchee Wild, WHL), Rainers Darzins (Skellefteå AIK J20, J20 Nationell), Kristofers Krumins(New Jersey Jr Titans, NAHL), Dans Locmelis (UMass, NCAA), Eriks Mateiko (St. Johns Sea Dogs, QMJHL), Toms Mots (HC Kometa Brno U20, Czechia), Rauls Ozollapa (HC Zubr Prerov U20), Otto Polakovs (Philadelphia Rebels, NAHL), Rainers Rullers (Madison Capitols, USHL), Kevins Stradnieks (Zemgale, Optibet Hokeja Liga), Emils Veckaktins (HC Lugano U20s, U-20 Elit), Sandis Vilmanis(Sarnia Sting, OHL) Rinalds Vutkevics (Zemgale, Optibet Hokeja Liga)
The Latvians are also going to be bringing a much different forward group this year. They have only six players returning from last year’s team, including the captain Dans Locmelis. Locmelis is currently playing in the NCAA with the UMass Minutemen but also is one of the two drafted players on this roster. He was a fourth-round pick by the Boston Bruins in 2022. The other drafted player is Sandis Vilmanis who was a fifth-round pick by the Florida Panthers in the same year. He’s currently playing in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Sarnia Sting and is playing at a much better pace than we’ve seen from him in the past.
The other players who will be most recognizable for North American hockey fans are Kristers Ansons and Eriks Mateiko who are playing in the QMJHL, Rodzers Bukarts of the WHL, and Davis Borozinskis of the USHL. Ansons is the most interesting player of the three entering the tournament, as he’s struggled offensively during his first season in North America. So far through 23 games, he has only three points, which is strange to see in the QMJHL. It’ll be worth seeing if a return to the international style of ice will allow him to play at a higher level or not.
A Large Amount of Turnover Leads to Uncertainty
There’s a chance that this ends up being the best team that Latvia has ever taken to the WJC. Given the lack of experience at the tournament up and down the lineup, though, there’s a lot of uncertainty moving forward. Countries like Canada will have a lot of turnover as well, but there’s no doubt that they can bring a similarly talented lineup every year. Latvia’s hockey program doesn’t have that luxury, unfortunately. A single bad year could lead to relegation and a major step backward for a country that seems to be growing its program in some effective ways. Luckily, they only need to outplay one other country this year and they’ve consistently avoided finishing last in the overall standings.
Related: 2024 Guide to the World Junior Championship
Last year, Latvia was considerably better than Austria and this year, if things end up going badly, they’ll only need to outplay Norway when all is said and done. This will be an interesting tournament for them as the pressure is mostly off the players and they have a good chance of making some waves in a tough group.
