Uvis Jānis Balinskis, a two-time NHL champion, has stated in a podcast that he probably will not play for the Latvian national team in the upcoming World Championship scheduled for May. The defenseman for the Florida Panthers mentioned that he is likely to miss the tournament due to family expansions happening around the same time. He indicated that while he isn't completely ruling out participation, the timeline is very close to the championship, suggesting a low likelihood of his availability.