Latvia men's national junior ice hockey team

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Latvia
AssociationLatvian Ice Hockey Federation
Head coachLatvia Artis Ābols
AssistantsLatvia Kārlis Zirnis
Latvia Edgars Masaļskis
CaptainDans Ločmelis
Most pointsAleksandrs Ņiživijs (45)
IIHF codeLAT
First international
 Latvia 47 – 1 Greece 
(Riga, Latvia; November 10, 1992)
Biggest win
 Latvia 47 – 1 Greece 
(Riga, Latvia; November 10, 1992)
Biggest defeat
 Canada 16 – 0 Latvia 
(Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; December 26, 2009)
IIHF World Junior Championship
Appearances31 (first in 1993)
Best result7th (2022 (August))

The Latvian men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team in Latvia. The team represents Latvia at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World Junior Championship.

They have played at the top division of the tournament seven times; it has been at the top division since the 2022 tournament, where Latvia was called up to replace Russia in the rescheduled tournament due to the country being banned from international ice hockey (Latvia had originally been promoted for 2023). During the tournament, Latvia won its first-ever preliminary round game in the top division.[1]

History[edit]

Graph shows Latvian results in IIHF World Championship since 1993.
Division Championship Coach Captain Finish Rank
Pool C Belarus 1993 Minsk Qualified 25th (1st in Pool C Qualification)
Pool C Denmark 1994 Odense/Esbjerg Promoted 18th (2nd in Pool C)
Pool C1 Spain 1995 Puigcerda Promoted 17th (1st in Pool C1)
Pool B Poland 1996 Sosnowiec/Tychy Final round 12th (2nd in Pool B)
Pool B Ukraine 1997 Kyiv Group round 12th (2nd in Pool B)
Pool B Poland 1998 Sosnowiec/Tychy Final round 14th (4th in Pool B)
Pool B Hungary 1999 Dunaújváros Final round 15th (5th in Pool B)
Pool B Belarus 2000 Minsk Relegation round 17th (7th in Pool B)
Division I Germany 2001 Landsberg/Füssen relegated 18th (8th in Division I)
Division II Croatia 2002 Zagreb Promoted 21st (2nd in Division IIA)
Division I Slovenia 2003 Bled Group stage 18th (4th in Division IB)
Division I Germany 2004 Berlin Group stage 14th (4th in Division IA)
Division I Estonia 2005 Narva Promoted 12th (1st in Division IB)
Top Division Canada 2006 British Columbia relegated 9th
Division I Denmark 2007 Odense Group stage 13th (2nd in Division IA)
Division I Latvia 2008 Riga Promoted 12th (1st in Division IB)
Top Division Canada 2009 Ottawa Relegation round 8th
Top Division Canada 2010 Saskatchewan relegated 9th
Division I Belarus 2011 Babruysk Promoted 11th (1st in Division IA)
Top Division Canada 2012 Calgary/Edmonton Relegation round 9th
Top Division Russia 2013 Ufa relegated 10th
Division I Poland 2014 Sanok Group stage 12th (2nd in Division IA)
Division I Italy 2015 Asiago Group stage 13th (3rd in Division IA)
Division I Austria 2016 Vienna Promoted 11th (1st in Division IA)
Top Division Canada 2017 Montreal/Toronto relegated 10th
Division I France 2018 Courchevel/Meribel Group stage 12th (2nd in Division IA)
Division I Germany 2019 Füssen Group stage 14th (4th in Division IA)
Division I Belarus 2020 Minsk Group stage 12th (2nd in Division IA)
Division I Denmark 2021 Hørsholm Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[2]
Division I Denmark 2022 Hørsholm Promoted 12th (2nd in Division IA)
Top Division Canada 2022 Edmonton Quarterfinals 7th
Top Division Canada 2023 Halifax/Moncton Relegation Round 9th
Top Division Sweden 2024 Gothenburg Quarterfinals 8th
Top Division Canada 2025 Ottawa

References[edit]

  1. ^ Ellis, Steven. "Latvia is the Little Team that Could at World Juniors". The Hockey News. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  2. ^ "IIHF cancels Division I tournaments". iihf.com. 17 March 2019.