Team Latvia’s journey at the 2025 World Junior Championship ended on Thursday with a 3-2 loss to Sweden in the quarterfinals. The memories, though, from Latvia’s showing at this year’s tournament are likely to persist beyond the 2025 calendar for hockey fans in Latvia and beyond.
Latvia pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament—and perhaps the biggest in World Junior Championship history—by beating Canada 3-2 in a shootout on Dec. 27.
Latvia goalie Linards Feldbergs made 53 saves between regulation and overtime before stopping all eight shots he faced in the shootout against Canada.
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Zemgus Girgensons made sure not to miss the tournament’s game of the year. Girgensons, 30, was born in Riga, Latvia.
“I was doing some other errands, but I watched,” Girgensons said of the win over Canada. “It was huge for Latvia to get that. Good on the guys for making the quarterfinals. That’s huge, very proud of the kids. That’s a big accomplishment for our country.”
Girgensons is one of three Latvian skaters currently in the NHL, joining Vancouver forward Teddy Blueger and Florida defenseman Uvis Balinskis.
Latvia also defeated Germany 4-3 in overtime on Dec. 30. Their tournament ended with Thursday’s loss, but even that game earned Latvia global props. Sweden jumped to a 3-0 lead before forward Erik Mateiko scored twice to help Latvia fight back and cut Sweden’s lead to 3-2.
Tampa Bay defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who played for the U.S. World Junior team in 2009, said plenty of Girgensons’ teammates were “pumped” for the Latvia native.
“We were pumped when Latvia upset Canada for Girgensons,” McDonagh said. “There was a lot of guys congratulating him then.”
Last week’s upset resurfaced memories of Girgensons’ own World Juniors experience in 2012. He smiled from the Lightning locker room on Tuesday before admitting his team got “waxed” 13 years ago.
Girgensons scored two goals and was plus-six across six games at the 2012 World Junior event.
This year’s win marked the first time Latvia has beaten Canada in the World Junior Championship. The accomplishment was worth a few jabs from Girgensons—and some Americans on the Lightning—to Canadian teammates.
Girgensons took center stage at last Saturday’s morning skate to lead Tampa Bay’s team stretch one day after the upset.
Latvia’s population of 1.9 million people pales in comparison to the oft-referenced hockey kingdom of Canada, which had 40.1 million residents in 2023.
Girgensons has watched Latvian hockey grow firsthand, and he makes sure to tune in whenever his home country takes the ice.
He reiterated his pride in Latvian hockey this week.
“Hockey’s always been the number one sport in my mind back home. We have great fans. For how small our country is, how many good players we produce, I think it’s pretty impressive,” Girgensons said. “Having the World Junior team now where the talent level is kind of aging in one little group, it’s pretty impressive to be in the quarterfinals.”
