Latvia vs Canada. What will the Canadians show in the opening game of the tournament?
The 46th Youth Ice Hockey World Championship starts on August 9 in Edmonton, Canada. The hosts of the tournament, the Canadian team, will play the opening match of the championship on August 11 against peers from Latvia.
The Latvian team was not supposed to take part in the current championship, but the exclusion from participation in international tournaments of the teams of Russia and Belarus allowed the Balts to return to the world youth hockey elite five years later. The last time the Latvians took part in the 2017 World Championship was also in Canada, and that tournament turned out to be a failure for them. Six games - six losses, with a horrendous 8-35 goal difference, which led to a natural last place and relegation to the lower division.
There is a high probability that the Latvians will again repeat the fate of that championship, because there are no special prerequisites for a successful result yet. Each of the rivals in Group A, and here the national teams of Canada, Finland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are assembled, significantly surpasses the Latvians both in terms of names and in terms of playing skills. The composition of the Latvian national team is mainly formed from the players of the local championship, which is far in its level even from European tournaments. Before the start of the world championship, the Latvians had two control fights with their peers from Austria and Germany. The Latvian team lost to the Austrians 2-4, but the Germans were sensationally beaten 3-1.
Canada
The Canadian team is the most titled at the youth level, finishing in prizes 33 times out of 45 championships. 18 times Canadians became the strongest on the planet, and the last success of the founders of hockey dates back to 2020, when peers from Russia were beaten in the final. A year ago, the Canadians also made it to the final, where in a bitter struggle they gave the gold to the US team, losing in the decisive match with a score of 0-2.
Now Canadians are filled with the desire to take revenge for last year's fiasco, fortunately, there is everything for this. The national team is coached by the venerable Dave Cameron, who led the Canadians in the epic final for Russian hockey in 2011. The Canadians include a whole scattering of student-level stars, among which 17-year-old Connor Bedard stands out, whom all experts call the main hockey talent of his generation. With almost the same squad, the Canadians went through their rivals in the group stage of the interrupted December World Championship, when the Maple Leaves defeated the German team 16-2, Switzerland 10-0, Finland 4-1.
Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Latvia vs Canada
LatviaThe Latvian team was not supposed to take part in the current championship, but the exclusion from participation in international tournaments of the teams of Russia and Belarus allowed the Balts to return to the world youth hockey elite five years later. The last time the Latvians took part in the 2017 World Championship was also in Canada, and that tournament turned out to be a failure for them. Six games - six losses, with a horrendous 8-35 goal difference, which led to a natural last place and relegation to the lower division.
There is a high probability that the Latvians will again repeat the fate of that championship, because there are no special prerequisites for a successful result yet. Each of the rivals in Group A, and here the national teams of Canada, Finland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are assembled, significantly surpasses the Latvians both in terms of names and in terms of playing skills. The composition of the Latvian national team is mainly formed from the players of the local championship, which is far in its level even from European tournaments. Before the start of the world championship, the Latvians had two control fights with their peers from Austria and Germany. The Latvian team lost to the Austrians 2-4, but the Germans were sensationally beaten 3-1.
Canada
The Canadian team is the most titled at the youth level, finishing in prizes 33 times out of 45 championships. 18 times Canadians became the strongest on the planet, and the last success of the founders of hockey dates back to 2020, when peers from Russia were beaten in the final. A year ago, the Canadians also made it to the final, where in a bitter struggle they gave the gold to the US team, losing in the decisive match with a score of 0-2.
Now Canadians are filled with the desire to take revenge for last year's fiasco, fortunately, there is everything for this. The national team is coached by the venerable Dave Cameron, who led the Canadians in the epic final for Russian hockey in 2011. The Canadians include a whole scattering of student-level stars, among which 17-year-old Connor Bedard stands out, whom all experts call the main hockey talent of his generation. With almost the same squad, the Canadians went through their rivals in the group stage of the interrupted December World Championship, when the Maple Leaves defeated the German team 16-2, Switzerland 10-0, Finland 4-1.
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