Darels Uljankis was the only Ducks prospect in action on day two of the World Junior Championship
Darels Uljankis was the only Ducks prospect in action on day two of the World Junior Championship
Now, two days into the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, every nation has at least one game under their belt.
Ducks World Junior Recap Day 1: Terrance, Burnevik, Port Contribute to Wins
The Anaheim Ducks have four prospects participating in the tournament, representing three nations.
Latvia: 3 Canada: 2 (SO)
On the second day of the annual end-of-the-year tournament, defenseman Darels Uljanskis was the only Ducks prospect in action. His Latvia took on tournament favorite Canada, who was coming off a 4-0 win over Finland one day prior.
Though Latvia was outshot 57 to 27, they managed to pull out an unlikely shootout victory over the supremely talented Canadian squad.
Latvia executed their game plan to a T: bending but not breaking defensively, protecting the home plate area of the defensive zone, getting pucks out of the d-zone by any means necessary, and relying on sound positional goaltending from starter Linards Feldbergs.
From a Ducks perspective, one can't help but wonder if Canada could have used an instant offense winger with the ability to shift momentum on a dime with dazzling offensive skill. A winger like 2024 third-overall pick Beckett Sennecke, perhaps.
Darels Uljanskis
Uljanskis was selected in the seventh round (214th overall) by the Ducks in the 2024 NHL Draft. He is one of just two drafted players on Latvia's roster (Eriks Mateiko).
Uljanskis played 17:20 through three periods and overtime in Latvia's opening game, good enough for third among defensemen on his team.
He featured on the second power play and penalty kill units, managed to notch two shots on goal, and was an integral piece to Latvia head coach Artis Abols' game plan.
Uljanskis played within Lativa's system perfectly, protecting the top of the crease with quality box-out sequences, getting pucks out of the zone with high flips when necessary, and joining rushes when the play required without surrendering defensive position.
His gap against rush attacks was a bit larger than traditional defensive fundamentals would encourage. However, that could have been due to tactics to maintain a defensive position at all costs.
Retrieving pucks and when he had time, Uljanskis evaded F1 forecheckers nicely with shoulder fakes and quick edges. He settled for rims and chips when under pressure and had some difficulty pulling pucks off the base of the wall when under duress.
Offensively, he showed flashes of panache when afforded the opportunity. At the offensive blueline, he activated and switched with forwards to give himself a better angle and shift the defensive structure in front of him.
He joined and led rushes at times, not displaying dazzling foot speed but choosing his lanes advantageously to get to the middle with cutbacks and head fakes.
It was an encouraging performance from Uljanskis in what was a remarkable opportunistic victory from Latvia in their tournament-opening game against a powerhouse.