RIGA - Every Latvian hockey fan's mind is currently focused on one of two things: either how he or she is going to get to Prague to watch Latvia play in the hockey world championship, or which bar has the comfiest stools to watch all the action from.
But despite all the usual excitement that the hockey world championship generates, there are also serious concerns about the future of the national team. A losing team always consoles itself that: "We'll get'em next year." But a new team and new players have to come from somewhere. And that's the question that's bugging everyone right now.
For many that future hopefully rests with the Latvian national junior hockey team, which will be traveling to Austria this summer to compete in the junior world championship. But some are concerned with what they see as serious flaws in the team's selection procedure, which explains, they say, the fact that the Latvian junior team has only risen in the world rankings from 18th to 17th place over the course of the last year.
Maybe it's because the world championships for national and junior teams are so close together, but more attention needs to be paid toward the development of the national junior team if the future of Latvian hockey is to reap any rewards.
Unlike the senior team, the juniors are not hand selected by a coach who picks out the best players in the junior league. Instead, a base team from the junior league, usually with the best record, is picked to represent Latvia. Last year that team was Riga/Prisma 86. It's because of this system that players like Kaspars Daugavins, who is the highest scoring player in the junior league this season, isn't on the national team.
Another procedural flaw is the fact that these base teams don't practice and learn from their older club team counterparts, as is the case in many other countries. The Latvian team only prepares by traveling abroad and playing in international tournaments against more experienced countries, where it usually gets beaten anyway and sinks slightly further in the rankings.
According to an article in the Latvian daily Diena, a possible way of improving the junior team could be by playing in the Eastern European League's B Group, where the skill level is a little higher than that of the standard domestic level.
In the meantime the Latvian junior league goes on as usual and there are some encouraging signs. The big teams this year are Riga/Prisma 86 and Dinamo 87. Their next game is April 18 at the Siemens Ice Hall in Pinki, Riga.
But there is serious uncertainty surrounding the continuing participation of Riga 2000 and Liepajas Metalurgs in the professional hockey league, as both clubs have publicly declared their wish to play in the Belarusian league next year. Hopefully, though, their junior teams will be persuaded to stay in Latvia for at least another season.
As in all the other sporting leagues in Latvia, there is always a team that dominates. Riga/Prisima 86 has won the last five Latvian junior championships.
Oh, and in case you're wondering about the number behind the name, it simply signifies the year in which all the players for Prisma 86 were born. O
