Sioux City's Olivers Murnieks In Elite Company With WJC Performance
Sioux City's Olivers Murnieks In Elite Company With WJC Performance
Latvian forward Olivers Murnieks is one of just seven 16-year-olds to notch four or more points at the WJC.
If you’re a hockey fan that’s active on social media, there’s a good chance you’ve seen this list this week.
Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Connor Bedard, Aleksander Barkov, Michael Frolik, Simon Nemec and… Olivers Murnieks.
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It’s a small, yet elite group of 16-year-olds who have put up four or more points at the World Junior Championships this century, and Murnieks did exactly that in Ottawa. The Latvian forward scored once and added three assists over his five games as Latvia (2-3-0) ultimately fell to Sweden in the quarter-finals.
It’s no easy task as a young player in such a talented field and if the previous names on that list are any indication, Murnieks could have a successful NHL career ahead of him too.
Murnieks put himself in elite company 👀 #SCMusketeers | #USHL | #SiouxCity | #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/hhHAaqMUoY
— Sioux City Musketeers (@Musketeerhockey) January 3, 2025
None of Crosby, Barkov, Bedard or McDavid need an introduction. The four have combined for five Stanley Cups, four Hart Trophies and three of the four – Barkov being the exception – were No. 1 overall picks. Barkov went second overall in 2013.
As for the other two, Frolik played 858 games over a 13-year NHL career while Nemec is still an up-and-coming defenseman in the New Jersey Devils organization. He was the second overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and has already played 69 NHL games.
Make no mistake, it’s far from a guarantee that Murnieks ever sniffs the NHL or blossoms into a generational superstar, but the 16-year-old forward is quickly making a name for himself.
Murnieks is currently playing with the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers and has 15 points (9-6-15) through his first 25 USHL games, and he’s not draft-eligible until 2026. He doesn’t turn 17 until July 31 either as a rather young member of the 2008 class.
Murnieks wasn’t the only current USHL player to perform well in Ottawa too, as Dubuque’s Heikki Ruohonen helped Finland win a silver medal and Sioux City teammate Samuel Urban posted a .871 save percentage and 3.16 GAA for Slovakia.
Olivers Murnieks (@Musketeerhockey) really impressed as a 16 year old at #WorldJuniors 🤩 🇱🇻
— USHL (@USHL) January 3, 2025
Stat reported by @DidzisRudmanis.#USHL pic.twitter.com/r7wJofJgCi
However, both Murnieks and Latvia's WJC performance garnered plenty of attention, especially after their stunning win over Canada. It was also just the third time Latvia has ever advanced to the quarterfinals.
Murnieks became the youngest Latvian player to ever score a goal at the U18 level and will forever be known for one of the best 16-year-old performances at the WJC.
Don’t be surprised if this isn’t the last you hear of the young forward either.
You can catch Murnieks and the Musketeers live on FloHockey Friday as they take on the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.
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