Latvia’s most recent international outing, at the Beijing Olympics, represented the end of an era for the Baltic nation. Veterans Lauris Darzins and Kaspars Daugavins announced their retirement from international hockey, paving the way for head coach Harijs Vitolins to introduce new faces in Finland.

In addition, experienced forward Miks Indrasis misses out for the first time since 2011 as he struggles with a shoulder problem – something Vitolins described as “a big loss” after the 31-year-old looked sharp in warm-up action against Switzerland recently.

On the plus side, though, Latvia can call on some of its North American-based players, with Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins and San Jose forward Rudolfs Balcers joining the national team in Tampere. Teodors Blugers is still in NHL playoff action with Pittsburgh and looks poised to advance to the second round, ruling him out of the World Championship.

Goaltending

Head coach Vitolins has already confirmed that Merzlikins will get the start when Latvia begins its campaign against Team USA on Friday. The 28-year-old is very much the senior partner in a netminding stable that spent the season in North America. The Riga native played 59 games for the Blue Jackets this term, establishing himself as the clear first choice ahead of Finland’s Joonas Korpisalo, and is appearing at his fifth World Championship.

Back-up comes from two youngsters. Gustavs Davis Grigals, 23, captained University of Alaska-Fairbanks in the NCAA this season and earned his second World Championship call-up. In 2019 he was an unused cover goalie behind Merzlikins and Kristers Gudlevskis. Arturs Silovs, 21, is part of the Canucks organization and made his AHL debut this term in Abbotsford. This is his first World Championship call.

Latvia’s goaltending tandem from Beijing, Janis Kalnins and Ivars Punnenovs, were not selected here.

Defence

On defence, too, Latvia is looking to give youth a chance. Yes, the veterans Kristaps Sotnieks, 35, and Arturs Kulda, 33, are back in action, heading for their 13th and eighth Worlds respectively. No shortage of big tournament know-how there, then. 

However, there are also World Championship rookies aplenty: Arvils Bergmanis, like goaltender Grigals, spent the season playing college hockey in Alaska; Sandis Smols, another 22-year-old, also steps up for his first taste of play at this level after spending the bulk of his career to date in Switzerland. Karlis Cukste, 24, is another first-timer in senior IIHF play; he returned to Europe this season, playing for Dinamo Riga and Pelicans in Finland and earned himself a move to Czech champion Ocelari Trinec for next term. Cukste was close to an Olympic call back in February and now has a chance to impress on the big stage. Finally, 27-year-old Roberts Mamcics gets his World Championship debut after featuring at the Games. This season saw him move on from Dinamo Riga, taking in spells at Berani Zlin and Linkoping on his way to the national team.

There’s also a chance to check out the development of some of Latvia’s emerging D-men from recent years. Kristaps Zile is only 24, but he’s been appearing at World Championships since 2018 and can anticipate a bigger role this time around. Janis Jaks, 26, made his debut in 2014 when he was still a junior. Since then, he’s won NCAA honours and garnered AHL and KHL experience. He also went to Beijing in February.

Forwards

Latvia’s offence will look very different this time. With three stalwarts missing, Vitolins will doubtless rely heavily on the experience of 30-somethings Andris Dzerins, Ronalds Kenins and Roberts Bukarts. All three are more than familiar with hockey at this level and will be expected to make big contributions.

Meanwhile, Balcers is the highest-profile option on the team. A regular for San Jose this term (23 points in 61 games), he played a big role in firing Latvia to Beijing in the pre-season qualification tourney but was unable to join his compatriots at the Games. In his last two World Championship appearances, he’s led the Latvians in scoring. Balcers will wear the ‘A’ in Tampere, while Rodrigo Abols has been named as captain.

Elsewhere on the roster, rising star Renars Krastenbergs is back for his second Worlds. He was top scorer for Latvia at the Olympics and, at the age of 23, the Villacher forward could develop into a key component of the country’s attack for several seasons to come. 

And what of the new faces? First timers include Klavs Veinbergs, a 19-year-old who helped Zemgale win the Latvian championship this season. Oskars Lapinskis, 20, made his senior debut in Switzerland for the Lions this term after progressing through the juniors at Langnau; this tournament promises to be another important stage of his development, particularly after the pandemic impacted his chances of playing U20 IIHF hockey in recent years. In addition, 23-year-old centre Deniss Smirnovs takes his World Championship bow after playing at the Olympics earlier in the year.

Coaching

Harijs Vitolins continues as head coach after replacing Bob Hartley and successfully taking Latvia to the Olympics. The 54-year-old has vast experience – and an enviable list of honours – from his years as assistant to Oleg Znarok. In that time he picked up Olympic and World gold, plus three Gagarin Cups and all shades of World Championship medals. As a player, Vitolins was part of Latvia’s rise to the top division in the 1990s; as a coach he was an assistant when the Latvians reached the knock-out stage in 2009. However, this season is his first year as head coach of his homeland, having spent the bulk of his career to date as an assistant.

Projected results

As tournament host last season, Latvia was a little disappointed to go out in the group stage. This time, with its noisy army of travelling fans back in the building, there are hopes that the Baltic nation can return to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2018.

However, Vitolins and his team face a tough start, with back-to-back games against the USA and host nation Finland to kick things off on Friday and Saturday. Picking up points from those would have the Latvians well placed to advance, but starting with two losses could put a huge amount of pressure on the meeting with Norway on May 16. In a group including Austria and Great Britain, it is difficult to imagine Latvia getting sucked into relegation trouble. However, the schedule could have been kinder in terms of helping the team break into the top four. It feels like a fifth-place finish in Group B could be the most likely outcome.