Mateiko to wear an 'A' for Team Latvia

Eriks Mateiko will have a letter on his jersey when Latvia begins play at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship on Friday.

The Saint John Sea Dogs forward was, unsurprisingly, named an assistant captain for Team Latvia on Wednesday. The 19-year-old, who will be playing in his second world junior tournament, previously captained Latvia's under-18 squad.

Latvia will be in tough when they open the tournament on Friday, facing Canada at 8:30 p.m. Atlantic. They'll then face the United States on Saturday before taking on Germany and Finland on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. All of Latvia's preliminary round games will be played at Ottawa's Canadian Tire Centre.

Latvijas 🇱🇻 izlases kapteinis Pasaules čempionātā būs Pēteris Bulāns, bet viņam asistēs Ēriks Mateiko un Viktors Kurbaka pic.twitter.com/5rTY0HjYk7

— LV Hokeja federācija (@lhf_lv) December 25, 2024

The Latvians are expected to be in a fight with Germany to see who gets the final quarterfinal spot from Group A and who is forced to play in the relegation round.

The Latvians played a pair of pre-tournament games in Ontario over the past week, falling 5-1 to both Czechia and Switzerland. Mateiko scored in last Friday's game contest against Czechia.

Latvia announced its official roster for the 2025 @WorldJuniors earlier today. In it, there are four current @CHLHockey players, plus one alumnus:

(G) Linards Feldbergs (@PhoenixSherbroo / @QMJHL)
(G) Aksels Ozols (@QMJHL alumnus / @IslandersHKY)
(D) Peteris Bulans… https://t.co/97dPfVRZA8

— Christopher Séguin (@chrisseguin_) December 26, 2024

Mateiko had one goal in five games at last year's tournament.

The Washington Capitals prospect has 14 goals and five assists in 23 games with Saint John this season. He is expected to be traded prior to the QMJHL trade deadline on Jan. 6.