Roster Tracker—22 May
by Andrew Podnieks|22 MAY 2023
#94 Kristians RUBINS from team Latvia
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Latvia brought in two injury replacements today:

#94 Kristians Rubins (replacing Roberts Mamcics), Latvia
#39 Georgs Golovkovs (replacing Andris Dzerins), Latvia

Rubins will be playing in hs fourth Men's World Championship (2018, 2021, 2022) and he also played at the 2015 U18 and 2017 World Juniors.

The 27-year-old Golovkovs will be making his senior debut with Latvia. He played at two U18s way back in 2012 and '13.

Germany, Denmark, and Hungary all added players to their active roster list today:

#37 Maximilian Franzreb, Germany
#32 Mathias Seldrup, Denmark
#24 Kristof Nemeth (replacing Kriztian Nagy), Hungary

Goaltender Franzreb has played for many years in the German leage and is making his senior debut with the national team.

The 25-year-old Seldrup was the third goalie last year and had previously played at the U18 and U20 for the Danes.

Nemeth turned 21 a week ago and has played for several years in the Hungarian league. This is his first taste of top-level competition with Hungary.

Two more roster additons today, one for Latvia, one for Czechia:

#65 Arvils Bergmanis, Latvia
#53 Radim Zohorna, Czechia

Bergmanis, 22, played in last year's Men's World Championship as well as the 2017 U18 tournament.

Zohorna, 27, joins Czechia as an injury replacement for Filip Chytil. Zohorna became available after the AHL Toronto Marlies were eliminated from the Calder Cup playoffs. Zohorna also played a few games this season with the Maple Leafs and, previously, the Calgary Flames.


Injuries have forced two teams to bring in replacements:

#96 Loic Farnier (replacing Jordann Perret), France
#25 Radan Lenc (replacing Lukas Sedlak), Czechia

Farnier is a 27-year-old forward who has played the last decade in the French league. This is his first taste of IIHF competition.

The 31-year-old Lenc has played mostly in the Czech league since 2007 and has two previous tournaments with the national team. He played at the 2022 Olympics and the 2021 Men's Worlds.

Slovakia is adding two players and Germany one as rosters get fine-tuned mid-tournament:

#47 Mario Lunter, Slovakia
#11 Andrej Kudrna, Slovakia
#97 Filip Varejcka

Lunter had two assists in six games at last year's Men's Worlds and also played in 2019. Previously, he played at the 2014 World Juniors.

Kudrna turned 32 last week and last played for Slovakia in 2018, at both the Olympics and later the Men's Worlds. He also played at the 2017 WM and the 2011 World Juniors.

The 22-year-old Varejcka has played in Germany and Austria but is making his senior debut with the German team.

Teams are not resting on their roster laurels, as it were, as today brings another eight players into the fold for five teams:

17 May

#45 Luca Maver, Slovenia
#97 Jonas Siegenthaler, Switzerland
#13 Nico Hischier, Switzerland
#43 Tyler Kleven, United States
#38 Patrick Brown, United States
#13 Peter Valier, France
#35 Jakob Johansson, Sweden
#37 Timothy Liljegren, Sweden

Maver, 25, has played in the lower divisions for Slovenia but this will be his first appearance at the top level.

Siegenthaler will be playing in his third straight WM and has also extensive experience in the junior level, having played three U18s and three more World Juniors.

Hischier, 24, is a massive addition for the Swiss. The 1st overall draft choice by New Jersey in 2017, he had a career year with the New Jersey Devils, scoring 31 goals and finishing with 80 points. A strong team just got a lot stronger.

Kleven, 21, is another young player on the youngest roster in the tournament. He played at the 2021, 21/22, and 2022 World Juniors.

The 30-year-old Brown is a two-way forward who finished this past NHL season with Ottawa. He is making his internatinal debut with the U.S.

Valier is another veteran of the game but at 30 making only his second apprearance for France. The first came at the 2019 Men's World Championship.

Johansson is the only goalie being added today. The 29-year-old has played the last few seasons with Timra and has never played at an IIHF event for Tre Kronor.

Liljegren is a significant addition for Sweden. The 24-year-old has played his entire NHL career with the Maple Leafs and has played at three junior events for Sweden--2016 (silver) and 2017 U18, and 2018 World Juniors (silver). 

Four teams have added players today:

16 May

#19 Waltteri Merela, Finland
#14 Jacob Gammelgaard, Denmark
#19 Matthias Asperup, Denmark
#21 Kevin Fiala, Switzerland
#9 Damien Riat, Switzerland
#74 Thomas Thiry, France

Merela, 24, will be making his debut with Finland. He has played his entire caeer in the Finnish league, this past season with Tappara.

Gammelgaard will also be making his debut, with Denmark. The 27-year-old defender has been playing in Denmark the last three seasons.

Asperup, meanwhile, will be playing in his third consecutive Men's Worlds. He also played at the 2012 U18 and the 2015 World Juniors.

Fiala is now ifficially registered although it was known yesterday that he would be joining the Swiss. He will be accompanied by Riat, who has played at two U18s (2014, 2015), two World Juniors (2016, 2017), and two previous Men's Worlds (2018, 2022). The 26-year-old from Geneva has one goal in 9 previous WM games.

Lastly, the French will add Thiry, a defender who will be playing in his fourth WM (2018, 2019, 2022).
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Several teams have been busy augmenting their tournament rosters. Today’s announcements include:

15 May
#5     Simon Nemec, Slovakia
#12   Noah Steen, Norway
#16   Ole Einar Engeland Andersen, Norway
         Kevin Fiala, Switzerland
#56 Manuel Weiderer, Germany
#9, Leon Gawanke, Germany
#49 Fabian Zetterlund, Sweden
#59 Linus Johansson, Sweden
 
Nemec, the 19-year-old who was drafted 2nd overall by New Jersey last year, is coming off a rookie season in North America which saw him play for Utica in the AHL. The defender also played at the 2023 World Junior Championship in Halifax to cap a busy two seasons internationally. He also played at the senior World Championship last year and was part of Slovakia’s team that surprised many by winning bronze at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Previously, he had played the World Juniors and senior Worlds in 2021 and was on the 21/22 World Junior team when the tournament was postponed.

Just 18, Steen has been playing in Sweden and also appeared at the U20 Division I-A for Norway this past season. This will be his senior debut with Norge.

Engeland Andersen, 24, played in Canada as a teenager, but in 2020 he returned home to play. This will be his first IIHF tournament with the national team.

The 26-year-old Fiala is coming off a 72-point season with the Los Angeles Kings and has been an NHL regular since 2015. He is playing for Switzerland for the first time since 2019. This will be his fifth World Championship, the most famous of which was 2018 when he helped La Suisse win silver. He also played at the World Juniors in 2014 and 2014 and the U18 in 2014 as well. 

Wiederer last represented Germany at the 2018 World Championship. The 26-year-old had previously appeared in the U18 in 2014 and the World Juniors a year later.

Gawanke will be playing in his thrid straight WM for Germany, having previously skated in 2021 and 2022.

Zetterlund in representing Tre Kronor for the first time. He had played three junior events before this--2017 U18 and 2018 (silver) and 2019 World Juniors. 

Johansson, at 29, is proving to be a late bloomer for Sweden. His only other experience is the 2022 Olympics when he played five games for Tre Kronor (no points). 
 
The Swiss have also announced the additions of Nico Hischier and Jonas Siegenthaler. Details to follow.