Saint John’s Murnieks helps lead Latvia to quarterfinal berth
Photo credit: Tim Austen – IIHF
Once again, Latvia are off to the World Juniors quarterfinals.
The 2026 tournament marks the third straight year it has happened for the country with a population of 1.9 million and the fourth time in five years.
“It’s just growing,” said the Saint John Sea Dogs’ Olivers Murnieks. “We have more talent and more kids playing. I’m happy to see we’re growing especially as a small country.”
This afternoon, Latvia will face the powerhouse Swedes for the second year in a row; last year, they erased a 3-0 deficit but ultimately fell 3-2. But there will no fear from a nation that this year took Canada to overtime and in 2025 defeated the 20-time gold medallists as well as Germany to win two games in the round-robin for the first time in program history.
“It went up-and-down,” Murnieks said of Latvia’s 2026 round-robin. “First game was pretty good [against Canada] but we didn’t play good against Finland but the last two games were pretty good. I think we did better than last year but we can do a lot better.”
After an overtime loss to Canada, they fell 8-0 to Finland. They then beat Denmark 6-3 and narrowly lost 4-2 to Czechia on New Year’s Eve. In four games, the Riga native has three assists.
For Murnieks, a prospect for the 2026 NHL Draft, this marks his second World Juniors and the honour to represent his country isn’t lost on him.
“It is such an honour especially playing against guys two years older than me,” he said. “It’s fun representing my country again. I’m not with my family but at least I am with my friends.”
The 17-year-old is in his first season in the QMJHL with the Sea Dogs where in 22 games, he has three goals and 13 points. Murnieks was the sixth overall pick in the 2025 CHL Import Draft.
“It’s been pretty good,” he said of his time in Saint John. “The season hasn’t been the best for us but we’re going to keep improving and at the end of the season we’re going to do some incredible things.”
