LD Martins Kruklitis - HS Riga, Latvia (2022 Draft)

[Frk It]

6'6" defenseman who had 3 points in 4 games for a Latvian team that did better than expected at the U18s. He had a nice assist on Latvia's 2nd goal against Sweden.

Haven't seen him ranked, curious to see if he gets drafted or not.

Martins Kruklitis at eliteprospects.com

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Martins Kruklitis, 2004-05-21 Jelgava, LAT Latvia. Most recently in the NAHL with Amarillo Wranglers. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

Click to read more...

 

[Vikz]

Doubt he will be drafted. Maybe if there were 9 rounds. Yes, sometimes players are drafted based on their performance in a single tournament or even a single game, but it should at least be suplemented by some other factors, like playing in a major junior league, or making an appearance with the big club in Europe.
Kruklitis was playing in the Latvian league, which, Im not sure a single scout is aware of. He may be good enough for a late round pick, which teams historiacally spent even just for laughs, marketing purposes or drafting some club legend's relative, but I dont think that any player has been ever drafted from the Latvian league, and I doubt Kruklitis is the best draft eligible player in history of Latvian league. Teams would rather take someone completely underperforming in the CHL just because they at least played against future superstars, and not semi-amateurs.