2026 World Juniors: Top standouts from Czechia vs. Latvia
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – It wasn’t the world’s most exciting game, but Czechia won’t mind after finishing the round robin with a 4-2 victory on Wednesday.
Czechia has moved into second place in Group B ahead of Canada and Finland’s battle later tonight. Latvia, meanwhile, will finish in fourth place in Group B after beating the Danes on Tuesday.
The Czechs dominated the shot count 14-3 in the first period, but it was actually Latvia who opened the scoring. At 6:00, Kristers Ansons took Bruno Osmanis’ feed and scored on the man advantage to make it 1-0. From there, though, the Czechs easily dominated puck posession. Tomas Poletin, Adam Jiricek and Max Psenicka all scored before the halfway point to take any momentum away from the Latvians.
Osmanis has really turned heads in this tournament – and if Latvia was going to pull off an upset, they needed him to show up in the third. At 46:39, the Latvians brought the game within one, with Osmanis setting up Markuss Sieradzkis for the one-timer to make it 3-2 despite taking just eight shots total at that point. Latvia continued to pressure the Czechs, but Vaclav Nestrasil tallied an empty netter to finish off the night.
Here’s a look at the top performers on Wednesday night:
Czechia
#5 Adam Jiricek, D: Jiříček entered tonight’s game riding the high of his game-winner against Finland and he did that again with the 2-1 goal on the power play. He has such an excellent shot, wasting no time releasing it as hard as humanly possible. Jiříček has consistently been a standout for the Czechs – he has such a high hockey IQ, and he has the raw puck skills to pull off some high-end plays.
#23 Tomáš Galvas, D: Jump scare, he’s back! Galvas continues to establish himself as one of the best WJC players in recent Czech hockey history with his attempt at challenging Jiricek for tournament MVP honors. Galvas is as good a skater as you’ll find at this tournament, using his quick footwork to pivot on a dime. He also makes quick, accurate backhand passes that seem to throw off opponents quite frequently.
#12 Max Curran, C (Colorado Avalanche): Curran has been excellent for the Edmonton Oil Kings this year, and I was expecting big things from him in Minnesota. But it took a while – he finally registered his first two points of the tournament today while playing on Czechia’s second line. Curran is a big, smart forward who will beat opponents with his stick skills more so than his size, but he can definitely knock someone down with ease.
#18 Tomas Poletin, LW (Utah Mammoth): I loved Poletin before he scored in the first period – but that didn’t hurt either. I don’t know what he was saying to the Latvians, but they kept wantign a piece of him all game long. He loves to get to the net and take space away from the goaltender, and he has the hands to pull off some solid moves, too.
Latvia
#19 Bruno Osmanis, RW: Latvia has so little skill up front, with Osmanis being one of the few who has consistently made things happen. I loved his pass on the 1-0 goal – he probably could have shot it, but saw Ansons and his huge frame in front and wanted to take advantage. Osmanis is the team’s best skater because he’s not only quick, but he pivots well and can be really shifty. Overall, I’ve loved his tournament.
#17 Kristers Ansons, LW: Ansons is a big, big dude. He was getting shoved hard on the power play early in the game but still battled to knock in a pass to make it 1-0. His ice time continued to creep up, and it felt like he played his most energetic hockey after that. I used to really like him as a prospect, and it was nice to see him thrive in his power forward role today.
#18 Roberts Naudiņš, LW (2027 NHL Draft): Naudiņš was leaned on a lot down the stretch. The 6-foot-6 forward plays such a mature game for his age as a recently turned 17-year-old. Naudiņš struggled against the Finns but it feels like his last two games have been a bit faster, engaged and more consistent overall.
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