WC: Team Latvia

[BalticWarrior]

Pavlovs is there only because we're lacking Cs, as for Meija/Skvorcovs, there's not a lot between them. I'm sure both are going to get ice time.

Ri. Bukarts does have potential, but who are you going to drop down a line? Balcers, Indrasis, Karsums, Redlihs, Kenins, his older brother? They all have an edge over him. You could try putting him on the 2nd PP unit though.

Rihards seem to jive really well with his older brother in the last WC. Both of them together made some slick passing and had no problems entering the offensive zone and generating chances.

 

[Namejs]

Why would you have Abols over Blueger? Seems like you're trying too hard to have even lines. And I know you don't have a thing for Girgensons, I respect that, but he wouldn't be on the 4th line, that is silly.

Abols and Indrasis have been developing some chemistry throughout the exhibition games, but I would love to try Blueger out on the top line as well.

Girgensons is basically Abols with worse hands and a stronger core. He's more suited to a shutdown role. His only strong point is killing the puck along the boards, that's it. He would be pointless on a line with Roberts Bukarts and he's got chemistry with Dzerins anyway. Blueger has more of a scoring touch, softer hands and he's a much better playmaker. So the only spot left is 4C or 3W.

 

[Namejs]

Hartley seems to like Pavlovs for some odd reason. In my eyes he is an untalented, slow waste of a roster space, besides having decent size he brings nothing to the table. Guy has the hockey iq of a napkin.

He's not there to score goals, he's there to make it harder for the other guys to score while resting our top lines.

 

[Namejs]

Welp, the Pens want to keep Blueger in case every single player gets injured, I guess.

Ridiculous.

 

[BalticWarrior]

Welp, the Pens want to keep Blueger in case every single player gets injured, I guess.

Ridiculous.

And now theres also doubt about Sharks letting Balcers. God f***ing damnit.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Well as long as Pens and Sharks are in PO they will stay in NA for sure. Chances to see Blugers are next to none, Balcers will join at some point, I think.

He was being called up during regular season so there is a chance Pittsburgh needs him. Even if it's ever so slight, there is no way NHL team releases the player they might actually need.

Some expert here predicted it, insightful guy

 

[BalticWarrior]

Some expert here predicted it, insightful guy

I understand where Pens are coming from, but i hate their decision. I really wish there some way he could go.

 

[Namejs]

Balcers will join the team in Denmark.

 

[habsrule4eva3089]

What is the name of the anthem singer in today's game? She sung the Canadian anthem in English and French, that was so beautiful!

 

[Matteo]

Have Latvia announced their final roster for the WC?

 

[Namejs]

Just saw the game live.

Karsums has lost a gear or two. He's slow. I was kind of stunned at first. No way he's a top 6 guy even on this team. And I'm not even talking about the missed chances.

Our D-men suck. Apart from a couple of guys, it seems as if they have absolutely no confidence, no poise. Hasty decisions, lots of mistakes. It's painfully obvious we lack experience at the blueline.

Pavlovs on the other hand is a real nice puck possession guy. He's basically Girgensons. Real nice wingspan, uses his body well, works hard. Great shutdown line C.

Overall I don't see a lot of team chemistry either. That used to be our strongpoint.

I've never ever been that guy, but if we don't get any points vs. Norway in the opening game, we might be in trouble.

 

[kabidjan18]

Just saw the game live.

Karsums has lost a gear or two. He's slow. I was kind of stunned at first. No way he's a top 6 guy even on this team. And I'm not even talking about the missed chances.

Our D-men suck. Apart from a couple of guys, it seems as if they have absolutely no confidence, no poise. Hasty decisions, lots of mistakes. It's painfully obvious we lack experience at the blueline.

Pavlovs on the other hand is a real nice puck possession guy. He's basically Girgensons. Real nice wingspan, uses his body well, works hard. Great shutdown line C.

Overall I don't see a lot of team chemistry either. That used to be our strongpoint.

I've never ever been that guy, but if we don't get any points vs. Norway in the opening game, we might be in trouble.

Keep in mind, they were playing against Canada. Slow vs. Canada isn't slow generally speaking.

 

[Namejs]

Keep in mind, they were playing against Canada. Slow vs. Canada isn't slow generally speaking.

Almost everyone was slow relative to the Canadians, I'm not talking about that.

 

[GX]

What is the name of the anthem singer in today's game? She sung the Canadian anthem in English and French, that was so beautiful!

It was Linda Garanča. Couldn't say she is well known in Latvia, but she did her job very well yesterday.

 

[Namejs]

-Cipulis (he actually retired)
-Bicevskis
-Kalns (so no semi-pros on the team afterall)
-Sevcenko
-Salija

Makes perfect sense.

So that leaves:

G
Merzlikins (NLA)
Gudlevskis (AHL)
Kivlenieks (AHL)

D
Galvins (KHL)
Freibergs (CZE)
Sotnieks (KHL)
Cibulskis (CZE)
Zile (KHL)
Balinskis (KHL)
Rubins (WHL)
Siksna (VHL)

F
Roberts Bukarts (CZE)
Dzerins (CZE)
Indrasis (KHL)
Balcers (AHL)
Abols (SHL/Allsvenskan)
Redlihs (KHL)
Karsums (KHL)
Kenins (NLA)
Pavlovs (KHL)
Meija (KHL)
Skvorcovs (KHL)
Jevpalovs (KHL)
Rihards Bukarts (DEL)
Razgals (KHL)
Batna (KHL)

I'm guessing there's going to be two more cuts among the forwards since we're probably going to leave a spot for Blueger open.

 

[Eye of Ra]

too bad with karsums. i always enjoyed watching his energy ad hitting, he could have played in nhl.

 

[Eye of Ra]

I'm guessing there's going to be two more cuts among the forwards since we're probably going to leave a spot for Blueger open.

razgals and batna ?

 

[BalticWarrior]

too bad with karsums. i always enjoyed watching his energy ad hitting, he could have played in nhl.

Well, he did play in the NHL for Boston and Tampa Bay. Not a ton of games, but the fact reamains.

 

[BalticWarrior]

Its looking kind of grim to be honest. Hopefully we dont bounce out of the Elite. Is this the worst year we have had when it comes to injuries and refusals? Definitley feels like it.

 

[Namejs]

too bad with karsums. i always enjoyed watching his energy ad hitting, he could have played in nhl.

He's still built like a tank and he's got plenty of energy left to spend a few years in the KHL/Europe. It's just that he's lost a step. It's probably related to his chronic knee problems. He's had several surgeries, as far as I know.

Batna is likely going to be cut, not sure about Razgals. It might be someone else too.

 

[Namejs]

Its looking kind of grim to be honest. Hopefully we dont bounce out of the Elite. Is this the worst year we have had when it comes to injuries and refusals? Definitley feels like it.

I'm used to it, we're missing about 10-12 players, it's not THAT bad, what worries me is the lack of top tier goalscorers like Daugavins, Darzins and decent Cs like Girgensons or Sprukts. Without them we just don't look very good out there. There's not enough firepower.

Our odds of getting relegated are pretty small, the Norwegian roster is even a bit worse and Korea is even less talented, but it definitely can happen, if we're unlucky.

 

[BalticWarrior]

I'm used to it, we're missing about 10-12 players, it's not THAT bad, what worries me is the lack of top tier goalscorers like Daugavins, Darzins and decent Cs like Girgensons or Sprukts. Without them we just don't look very good out there. There's not enough firepower.

Our odds of getting relegated are pretty small, the Norwegian roster is even a bit worse and Korea is even less talented, but it definitely can happen, if we're unlucky.

The thing is is we have no depth. Its threresult of mismanagment during Lipmans era and the changes implemented by the new federation wont be felt for atleast 5-10 years. Its sad what 20+ years of incompetence can do to a hockey program. Denmark is a nice example of a nation with limited resources squeezing out the maximum profit.

 

[Namejs]

The thing is is we have no depth. Its threresult of mismanagment during Lipmans era and the changes implemented by the new federation wont be felt for atleast 5-10 years. Its sad what 20+ years of incompetence can do to a hockey program. Denmark is a nice example of a nation with limited resources squeezing out the maximum profit.

Oh, please, not this senseless whining again. You are plain wrong. You're literally making things up. What matters is the number of players we have in the country. That number is very low. Very, very low. You can't do a lot with a couple of thousand hockey players. In terms of efficiency, however you measure it, our hockey system is among the best on the planet. We're squeezing a lot of juice out of the resources that we do have.

Changing some of the variables and switching things up a bit is not going to change anything fundamentally. There aren't going to be any major effects post-Lipmans. Nothing has changed. Over the recent years there has been a trend of our leading KHL players refusing to play for the national team. Our current LHF board has strong ties with the KHL, which means that we are going to remain a part of MHL, the Russian junior leagues and so on. I don't see it as an improvement, in fact it's probably making things slightly worse.

The only important thing changing is the pool of available kids due to demographic problems in Latvia, which makes it likely that we are going to become worse in about 10 years, not better. Whoever becomes the head of the federation. It doesn't matter nearly as much as you think.

 

[BalticWarrior]

Oh, please, not this senseless whining again. You are plain wrong. You're literally making things up. What matters is the number of players we have in the country. That number is very low. Very, very low. You can't do a lot with a couple of thousand hockey players. In terms of efficiency, however you measure it, our hockey system is among the best on the planet. We're squeezing a lot of juice out of the resources that we do have.

Changing some of the variables and switching things up a bit is not going to change anything fundamentally. There aren't going to be any major effects post-Lipmans. Nothing has changed. Over the recent years there has been a trend of our leading KHL players refusing to play for the national team. Our current LHF board has strong ties with the KHL, which means that we are going to remain a part of MHL, the Russian junior leagues and so on. I don't see it as an improvement, in fact it's probably making things slightly worse.

The only important thing changing is the pool of available kids due to demographic problems in Latvia, which makes it likely that we are going to become worse in about 10 years, not better. Whoever becomes the head of the federation. It doesn't matter nearly as much as you think.

You totally glossed over my example of Denmark. They have roughly the same numbers we do yet they have like what 6-7? decent NHLers with one superstar in Ehlers and number 1 goalie in Andersen. Now thats efficiency. As opposed to us crancking out nobodies like Razgals and Skvorcovs- these guys should be nowhere near our NT and yet here we are.

As for demographics- those things can change as the average income grows we will probably see increased immigration from poorer countries like Ukraine and Moldova(which is already happening and will only increase) aswell as some of our compatriots living abroad will probably return aswell, so im personally not that worried.

 

[kabidjan18]

You totally glossed over my example of Denmark. They have roughly the same numbers we do yet they have like what 6-7? decent NHLers with one superstar in Ehlers and number 1 goalie in Andersen. Now thats efficiency. As opposed to us crancking out nobodies like Razgals and Skvorcovs- these guys should be nowhere near our NT and yet here we are.

As for demographics- those things can change as the average income grows we will probably see increased immigration from poorer countries like Ukraine and Moldova(which is already happening and will only increase) aswell as some of our compatriots living abroad will probably return aswell, so im personally not that worried.

Perfection is the enemy of greatness. You may not be doing "the best". You may not be the most efficient country. But you're pretty efficient. A revolving door at the federation has the potential to improve things, but a lot of potential to make things worse, and they can get worse.