Latvia men's national ice hockey team

Latvia
First international

Association	Latvian Ice Hockey Federation
Head coach	Leonīds Beresņevs
Assistants	Ģirts Ankipāns Kārlis Zirnis
Captain	Kaspars Daugaviņš
Most games	Rodrigo Laviņš (230)
Top scorer	Leonīds Tambijevs (66)
Most points	Leonīds Tambijevs (150)
Home stadium	Arena Riga
IIHF code	LAT
IIHF ranking	10 1
Highest IIHF ranking	9 (first in 2005)
Lowest IIHF ranking	12 (first in 2010)
Team colors

Latvia 3–0 Lithuania (Riga, Latvia; 27 February 1932)^[1]
Biggest win
Latvia 32–0 Israel (Bled, Slovenia; 15 March 1993)^[1]
Biggest defeat
Canada 14–0 Latvia (Davos, Switzerland; 20 January 1935)^[1]
IIHF World Championships
Appearances	25 (first in 1933)
Best result	7th (1997, 2004, 2009)
IIHF European Championships
Appearances	1
Best result	8th (1932)
Olympics
Appearances	5 (first in 1936)
International record (W–L–T)
191–157–36

The Latvian men's national ice hockey team represents Latvia in international ice hockey. The team is currently ranked 10th in the world by IIHF as of 2015. The team is controlled by the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation. Their best ever finish at the World Championships was 7th place in 1997, 2004 and 2009. In 2014 World Championship team finished 11th. Latvia reached quarterfinals at the 2014 Winter Olympics losing 1–2 to Canada. Latvia has 4,271 players (0.21% of its population).

Overview

Rank	Olympics	World Championships	European Championships
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th		1997, 2004, 2009
8th	2014	2000	1932
9th	2002	1998, 2003, 2005
10th		1933, 1938, 1939, 2006, 2012
11th		1999, 2002, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014
12th	2006, 2010
13th	1936	1935, 1996 (1.B)↑, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2015
14th		1994 (2.B), 1995 (2.B)
15th
16th
↑: promoted, ↓: relegated, (3.B): (rank.pool)

Tournament record

Olympic Games

Games	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Coach	Captain	Finish
1936 Garmisch- Partenkirchen	3	0	3	0	3	27	?	?	Finished tied in 13th place
2002 Salt Lake City	3	1	1	1	11	12	Curt Lindström	Harijs Vītoliņš	Finished in 9th place
2006 Turin	5	0	4	1	11	29	Leonīds Beresņevs	Kārlis Skrastiņš	Finished in 12th place
2010 Vancouver	3	0	3	0	4	19	Oļegs Znaroks	Kārlis Skrastiņš	Finished in 12th place
2014 Sochi	5	1	4	0	9	13	Ted Nolan	Sandis Ozoliņš	Finished in 8th place

World Championship

Championships	GP	W	T	L	GF	GA	Coach	Captain	Finish
1930 Chamonix/Vienna/Berlin	Did not participate
1931 Krynica-Zdrój	Did not participate
1933 Prague	4	1	0	3	3	9	?	Arvīds Jurgens	Finished in 10th place
1934 Milan	Did not participate
1935 Davos	5	1	0	4	11	25	?	Leonīds Vedējs	Finished in 13th place
1937 London	Did not participate
1938 Prague	4	1	0	3	4	8	?	?	Finished tied in 10th place
1939 Zürich/Basel	3	1	0	2	6	21	Larry Marsh	?	Finished in 10th place
World Championships not held from 1940–1946 during World War II
Did not participate from 1947–1992. Latvia was part of USSR
1993 Bled/Ljubljan (Group C)	7	6	1	0	101	9	Helmuts Balderis	?	Finished in the 21st place (Won "Group C")
1994 Copenhagen/Aalborg (Group B)	7	6	0	1	61	9	Helmuts Balderis	?	Finished in the 14th place (2nd in "Group B")
1995 Bratislava (Group B)	7	6	0	1	65	16	Ēvalds Grabovskis	?	Finished in the 14th place (2nd in "Group B")
1996 Eindhoven (Group B)	7	6	1	0	41	16	Leonīds Beresņevs	Oļegs Znaroks	Finished in the 13th place (Won "Group B")
1997 Helsinki/Tampere/Turku	8	4	2	2	37	23	Leonīds Beresņevs	Normunds Sējējs	Finished in the 7th place
1998 Zürich/Basel	6	3	1	2	21	18	Leonīds Beresņevs	Oļegs Znaroks	Finished in the 9th place
1999 Oslo/Hamar/Lillehammer	6	2	0	4	24	22	Leonīds Beresņevs	Oļegs Znaroks	Finished in the 11th place
2000 Saint Petersburg	7	3	1	3	15	17	Haralds Vasiļjevs	Harijs Vītoliņš	Finished in the 8th place
2001 Nuremberg/Cologne/Hanover	6	3	1	2	19	13	Haralds Vasiļjevs	Harijs Vītoliņš	Finished in the 13th place
2002 Gothenburg/Karlstad/Jönköping	6	1	0	5	11	18	Curt Lindström	?	Finished in the 11th place
2003 Helsinki/Tampere/Turku	6	3	0	3	14	16	Curt Lindström	Harijs Vītoliņš	Finished in the 9th place
2004 Prague/Ostrava	7	2	2	3	12	14	Curt Lindström	Sergejs Žoltoks	Finished in the 7th place
2005 Vienna/Innsbruck	6	2	1	3	10	21	Leonīds Beresņevs	Kārlis Skrastiņš	Finished in the 9th place
2006 Riga	6	2	1	3	12	24	Petr Vorobiev	Aleksandrs Semjonovs	Finished in the 10th place

Championships	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	Coach	Captain	Finish
2007 Moscow	6	2	0	1	3	20	22	Oļegs Znaroks	Rodrigo Laviņš	Finished in the 13th place
2008 Halifax/Quebec City	6	2	0	0	4	11	19	Oļegs Znaroks	Rodrigo Laviņš	Finished in the 11th place
2009 Bern/Kloten	7	2	2	0	3	15	23	Oļegs Znaroks	Kārlis Skrastiņš	Finished in the 7th place
2010 Cologne/Mannheim/Gelsenkirchen	6	2	0	0	4	15	18	Oļegs Znaroks	Herberts Vasiļjevs	Finished in the 11th place
2011 Bratislava/Košice	6	2	0	2	2	18	19	Oļegs Znaroks	Herberts Vasiļjevs	Finished in the 13th place
2012 Helsinki/Stockholm	7	2	0	0	5	11	19	Ted Nolan	Jānis Sprukts	Finished in the 10th place
2013 Stockholm/Helsinki	7	2	0	1	4	14	25	Ted Nolan	Lauris Dārziņš	Finished in the 11th place
2014 Minsk	7	3	0	0	4	20	24	Ted Nolan	Herberts Vasiļjevs	Finished in the 11th place
2015 Prague/Ostrava	7	0	2	1	4	11	25	Aleksandrs Beļavskis	Kaspars Daugaviņš	Finished in the 13th place
2016 Moscow/Saint Petersburg

European Championship

1932 – Finished in 8th place

Team

Current roster

The roster for the 2016 IIHF World Championship.^[2]

Head coach: Leonīds Beresņevs

No.	Pos.	Name	Height	Weight	Birthdate	Team
3	D	Širokovs, MaksimsMaksims Širokovs	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)	7001870000000000000♠87 kg (192 lb)	(1982-12-13) December 13, 1982	WSV Sterzing Broncos
5	D	Siksna, EdgarsEdgars Siksna	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	7001930000000000000♠93 kg (205 lb)	(1993-01-15) January 15, 1993	Saryarka Karaganda
8	F	Širokovs, AleksejsAleksejs Širokovs	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	7001890000000000000♠89 kg (196 lb)	(1981-02-20) February 20, 1981	Neftyanik Almetievsk
11	D	Sotnieks, KristapsKristaps Sotnieks	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	7001930000000000000♠93 kg (205 lb)	(1987-01-29) January 29, 1987	Dinamo Riga
13	D	Galviņš, GuntisGuntis Galviņš	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	7001870000000000000♠87 kg (192 lb)	(1986-01-25) January 25, 1986	Dinamo Riga
16	F	Daugaviņš, KasparsKaspars Daugaviņš – C	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	7001970000000000000♠97 kg (214 lb)	(1988-05-18) May 18, 1988	Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
18	F	Ābols, RodrigoRodrigo Ābols	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	7001840000000000000♠84 kg (185 lb)	(1996-01-05) January 5, 1996	Portland Winterhawks
21	F	Skvorcovs, GunārsGunārs Skvorcovs	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)	7001970000000000000♠97 kg (214 lb)	(1990-01-13) January 13, 1990	Dinamo Riga
22	D	Andersons, JānisJānis Andersons	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)	7001880000000000000♠88 kg (194 lb)	(1986-10-07) October 7, 1986	HKM Zvolen
23	D	Jerofejevs, AleksandrsAleksandrs Jerofejevs	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	7001930000000000000♠93 kg (205 lb)	(1984-04-12) April 12, 1984	Dinamo Riga
24	F	Rēdlihs, MiķelisMiķelis Rēdlihs	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)	7001810000000000000♠81 kg (179 lb)	(1984-07-01) July 1, 1984	Dinamo Riga
25	F	Džeriņš, AndrisAndris Džeriņš	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	7001850000000000000♠85 kg (187 lb)	(1988-02-14) February 14, 1988	Dinamo Riga
27	D	Cibuļskis, OskarsOskars Cibuļskis	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	7001860000000000000♠86 kg (190 lb)	(1988-04-09) April 9, 1988	Dinamo Riga
28	F	Girgensons, ZemgusZemgus Girgensons – A	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	7001920000000000000♠92 kg (203 lb)	(1994-01-05) January 5, 1994	Buffalo Sabres
29	D	Freibergs, RalfsRalfs Freibergs	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	7001870000000000000♠87 kg (192 lb)	(1991-05-17) May 17, 1991	Toledo Walleye
30	G	Merzļikins, ElvisElvis Merzļikins	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	7001850000000000000♠85 kg (187 lb)	(1994-04-13) April 13, 1994	HC Lugano
31	G	Masaļskis, EdgarsEdgars Masaļskis	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)	7001780000000000000♠78 kg (172 lb)	(1980-03-31) March 31, 1980	Lada Togliatti
70	F	Indrašis, MiksMiks Indrašis	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)	7001850000000000000♠85 kg (187 lb)	(1990-09-30) September 30, 1990	Dinamo Riga
71	F	Bukarts, RobertsRoberts Bukarts	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)	7001840000000000000♠84 kg (185 lb)	(1990-06-27) June 27, 1990	PSG Zlín
79	F	Pavlovs, VitalijsVitalijs Pavlovs	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	7002101000000000000♠101 kg (223 lb)	(1989-06-17) June 17, 1989	Dinamo Riga
87	F	Meija, GintsGints Meija – A	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	7001900000000000000♠90 kg (200 lb)	(1987-09-04) September 4, 1987	Dinamo Riga
91	F	Ķēniņš, RonaldsRonalds Ķēniņš	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)	7001910000000000000♠91 kg (201 lb)	(1994-07-29) July 29, 1994	Vancouver Canucks
94	F	Kulda, EdgarsEdgars Kulda	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)	7001860000000000000♠86 kg (190 lb)	(1994-11-13) November 13, 1994	Dinamo Riga
96	F	Bičevskis, MārisMāris Bičevskis	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	7001820000000000000♠82 kg (181 lb)	(1991-08-03) August 3, 1991	Dinamo Riga

Coaching history

	Coach	GP	W	T	L	GD	P-ts
1992—1994	Helmuts Balderis	34	25	2	7	256:86	52
1994	Mihails Beskašnovs	2	0	0	2	3:6	0
1995	Ēvalds Grabovskis	11	9	0	2	79:25	18
1996—1999	Leonīds Beresņevs	56	36	7	13	275:143	79
1999—2001	Haralds Vasiļjevs	32	12	8	12	81:76	32
2001—2004	Curt Lindström	65	32	8	25	202:161	72
2004—2006	Leonīds Beresņevs	32	25	3	14	112:113	53
2006	Petr Vorobiev	11	4	1	6	25:35	9
2006—2011	Oļegs Znaroks
2011—2014	Ted Nolan
2014-2015	Aleksandrs Beļavskis

Current top players

Former and current players in NHL

Players from Latvia who have played in the NHL

Year	Name	Position	Team
1989–1990	Helmuts Balderis	Right winger	Minnesota North Stars
1991–1996 1996–1997 1997–1998 1998–2004	Arturs Irbe	Goaltender	San Jose Sharks Dallas Stars Vancouver Canucks Carolina Hurricanes
1992–1995 1995–1996 2000–2002 2002–2003 2002–2006 2006–2007 2007–2008	Sandis Ozolinš	Defenseman	San Jose Sharks Colorado Avalanche Carolina Hurricanes Florida Panthers Mighty Ducks of Anaheim New York Rangers San Jose Sharks
1992–1994 1995–1996	Grigorijs Pantelejevs	Left winger	Boston Bruins New York Islanders
1992–1995 1996–1998 1998–2000 2000–2001 2001–2003 2003–2004	Sergejs Žoltoks	Centre	Boston Bruins Ottawa Senators Montreal Canadiens Edmonton Oilers Minnesota Wild Nashville Predators
1993–1994	Harijs Vītoliņš	Centre	Winnipeg Jets
1993–1994	Aleksandrs Kerčs	Left winger	Edmonton Oilers
1997–2000 2000–2001 2000–2001 2001–2003	Pēteris Skudra	Goaltender	Pittsburgh Penguins Buffalo Sabres Boston Bruins Vancouver Canucks
1998–1999	Viktors Ignatjevs	Defenseman	Pittsburgh Penguins
1998–2003 2003–2007 2007–2009 2009–2011	Kārlis Skrastiņš	Defenseman	Nashville Predators Colorado Avalanche Florida Panthers Dallas Stars
1998–1999 1999–2001 2001–2002	Herberts Vasiļjevs	Right winger	Florida Panthers Atlanta Thrashers Vancouver Canucks
1999–2001	Kaspars Astašenko	Defenseman	Tampa Bay Lightning
2005–2006 2006–2010 2010–2012	Raitis Ivanāns	Left winger	Tampa Bay Lightning Los Angeles Kings Calgary Flames
2006–2007 2008–2009	Jānis Sprukts	Centre	Florida Panthers
2008–2009	Mārtiņš Karsums	Forward	Boston Bruins Tampa Bay Lightning
2009–2011	Oskars Bārtulis	Defenseman	Philadelphia Flyers
2009–2012 2012–2013	Kaspars Daugaviņš	Left winger	Ottawa Senators Boston Bruins
2009–2011 2011–2012	Artūrs Kulda	Defenseman	Atlanta Thrashers Winnipeg Jets
2013–	Zemgus Girgensons	Forward	Buffalo Sabres
2013–	Kristers Gudļevskis	Goaltender	Tampa Bay Lightning
2015–	Ronalds Ķēniņš	Forward	Vancouver Canucks

NHL Drafts

Players from Latvia to be drafted in the NHL

Year	Name	Overall	Team
1975	Viktors Hatuļevs	160th overall	Philadelphia Flyers
1988 1993	Harijs Vītoliņš	188th overall 228th overall	Montreal Canadiens Winnipeg Jets
1989	Arturs Irbe	196th overall	Minnesota North Stars
1989	Helmuts Balderis	238th overall	Minnesota North Stars
1991	Sandis Ozolinš	30th overall	San Jose Sharks
1992	Sergejs Žoltoks	55th overall	Boston Bruins
1992	Grigorijs Pantelejevs	136th overall	Boston Bruins
1992	Viktors Ignatjevs	243rd overall	San Jose Sharks
1993	Aleksandrs Kercs	60th overall	Edmonton Oilers
1997	Aleksandrs Andrejevs	207th overall	Phoenix Coyotes
1998	Kārlis Skrastinš	230th overall	Nashville Predators
1999	Kaspars Astašenko	127th overall	Tampa Bay Lightning
1999	Georgijs Pujacs	264th overall	Boston Bruins
2000	Agris Saviels	63rd overall	Colorado Avalanche
2000	Jānis Sprukts	234th overall	Florida Panthers
2001	Juris Štāls	269th overall	New York Rangers
2002	Jēkabs Rēdlihs	119th overall	Columbus Blue Jackets
2002	Krišjānis Rēdlihs	154th overall	New Jersey Devils
2002	Armands Bērziņš	155th overall	Minnesota Wild
2003	Raimonds Danilics	255th overall	Tampa Bay Lightning
2003	Lauris Dārziņš	268th overall	Nashville Predators
2004	Mārtiņš Karsums	64th overall	Boston Bruins
2005	Oskars Bārtulis	91st overall	Philadelphia Flyers
2006	Kaspars Daugaviņš	91st overall	Ottawa Senators
2006	Artūrs Kulda	200th overall	Atlanta Thrashers
2010	Kristiāns Pelšs	181st overall	Edmonton Oilers
2012	Zemgus Girgensons	14th overall	Buffalo Sabres
2012	Teodors Blugers	52nd overall	Pittsburgh Penguins
2013	Kristers Gudlevskis	124th overall	Tampa Bay Lightning
2014	Elvis Merzļikins	76th overall	Columbus Blue Jackets
2014	Edgars Kulda	193th overall	Arizona Coyotes
2015	Mārtiņš Dzierkals	68th overall	Toronto Maple Leafs
2015	Kārlis Čukste	130th overall	San Jose Sharks
2015	Rūdolfs Balcers	142nd overall	San Jose Sharks

Former notable players

IIHF Hall-of-Famers

Helmuts Balderis, RW, 1993, inducted 1998
Artūrs Irbe, G, 1996–2006, inducted 2010

Retired jerseys

7 - Kārlis Skrastiņš
19 - Helmuts Balderis

Notable players

Aleksandrs Beļavskis 1992–2002
Aigars Cipruss 1992–2009
Vjačeslavs Fanduļs 1992–2004
Aleksandrs Kerčs 1992–2004
Rodrigo Laviņš 1992–2014
Aleksandrs Semjonovs 1992–2007
Kārlis Skrastiņš 1992–2010
Leonīds Tambijevs 1992–2007
Artūrs Irbe 1993–2006
Sergejs Naumovs 1993–2010
Aleksandrs Ņiživijs 1993–2014

Harijs Vītoliņš 1993–2002
Oļegs Znaroks 1993–1999
Grigorijs Panteļejevs 1994–2007
Sergejs Žoltoks 1994–2004
Sandis Ozoliņš 1996–2014
Herberts Vasiļjevs 1997–
Edgars Masaļskis 2000–
Jānis Sprukts 2000–
Krišjānis Rēdlihs 2002–
Lauris Dārziņš 2003–
Miķelis Rēdlihs 2003–

References

1 2 3 Includes Olympics, World Championships, World Cups, Canada Cups and Summit Series.
↑ 2016 roster

External links

Men's national ice hockey teams

Africa	Algeria Morocco South Africa Tunisia

Americas	Argentina Brazil Canada Colombia Falkland Islands Jamaica Mexico Saint Pierre and Miquelon United States

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Former teams	Bohemia CIS Czechoslovakia East Germany Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia Serbia and Montenegro Soviet Union Yugoslavia

National sports teams of Latvia

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