We took a look at all 35 players in the system that are aged 25 or younger (as of October 1, 2023) and ranked them. Welcome to the Top 25 Under 25. At #20, meet another big skater, 6’3″ Latvian center Klavs Veinbergs.
Initially, we expected Veinbergs to play for Minnesota State after he committed to that program last November. After an admittedly disappointing final season in the USHL, it appears he got a last minute agreement to join Colorado College in the NCHC. We don’t know what the reason for his first commitment to fall through, all we know is he’ll be in Colorado this year. It’s possible he made this switch to get more playing time and a bigger role.
Bio
Age: 20
Position: Center
Draft: 2022 Round 7 (#224 overall)
2023-24 Team: Colorado College (NCHC)
2022 Ranking: 24th
Stats
Scouting Report
Klavs Veinbergs leaves the Lincoln Stars of the USHL after playing with them for a season following his move to the US from Latvia. In his first season in the American junior league, he mostly played a middle-six center role, but often enough was up on the top line for the Stars. The lineup was changed fairly regularly by coaches, so it was hard to pick up a specific role Veinbergs was given on the ice. He played both special teams and oscillated back and forth between being a checking player and on a scoring line.
The big offensive upside for Veinbergs is his quick hands and shot in tight, especially coming down from the slot for rebounds or short passes from playmaking wingers. He’s able to elevate the puck and muscle his way through on occasions where he scores, and his overall physicality made him a mainstay in front of the net on the power play. Being the size he is, he was able to keep his stick on the ice (not get it lifted) and be there for the chances that came his way.
The big advantage Veinbergs had in the USHL as a 19-year-old was his size. At 6’3″ and nearly 200 lbs, he was able to throw his weight around, which naturally made him a very strong player along the boards and at the faceoff dot. Faceoffs and checking were the two skills his new coach in Colorado laid out in his scouting report for the Lightning prospect. As well, his skating and physicality were brought up by watchers of the Lightning’s Development Camp.
Being physically more mature than his peers helped Veinbergs in a lot of areas of the game, and especially allowed him to get noticed in Latvia playing in their men’s league and on their national team. As he’s gotten older, and is now moving into college hockey, those advantages will be less pronounced. How Veinbergs will be able to adapt will be important for his development.
Unfortunately, seeing as he didn’t score very much in his first USHL season, despite having a good shot in his highlights. Veinbergs frankly has never scored much in his young career up to this point, so it’ll be hard to see a lot of offensive upside in him as a player, despite the tools. It’s all well and good to show the talent you have, but it’s more important to do it consistently or sustainably, and those should show up in the boxscore.
There’s the skills I mentioned above, and that’ll hopefully translate into some complimentary scoring from the middle of the ice, but Veinbergs’ best path to the NHL is building a dominant game off the puck and along the edges of the ice. Being hard to play against, being disruptive with his reach and footspeed, and doing the little things like faceoffs to keep possession are tangible skills and achievements we will hopefully see after a freshman year in college.
“We were excited to get Klavs late in the recruiting process this spring. He is a big center with international experience. His skating for his size is impressive along with his faceoff and shooting ability. His shot can be a threat from anywhere in the offensive zone, but what really impresses me is his ability to get his shot off in difficult situations. Klavs provides more size for us at the center position which will be a benefit as we get into league play.”
– Colorado College Head Coach Kris Mayotte
Being realistic with expectations for this prospect, who was drafted last overall as an overager, he’s been playing in relatively weak leagues so far in his young career and not been the best player wherever he’s been. Unless we witness some lightning in a bottle and a big surge in his play (either as a checking forward or a burst in scoring) it’s hard to project an NHLer here. Most NCAA graduates at 24 are on the bottom half of AHL lineups or in the ECHL, and I don’t see evidence Veinbergs will be near the top of that group.
I’m still hoping for him, he has the physical tools and some offensive instincts that I hope evolve and improve over his time in college, but this prospect is a bit of a longshot. Maybe after a bounceback year I’m speaking a different tune, but for now I have to go based on what the results are and what I’ve seen in his video, lineups, scouting, boxscores.
I should mention one last thing, which is he suffered an injury at the 2023 World Juniors, which hampered his last run with that team. Latvia knocked out Austria to stay in the first tier, but Veinbergs was only able to provide an assist in five games that I don’t think saw him at his best. I was kind of disappointed at that tournament at his lack of chances and didn’t see the injury report until more recently. Luckily, it didn’t seem to affect his USHL season much.
Highlights
Veinbergs also gave Omaha nightmares last season, here’s a compilation of his goals.
