Latvia men's national ice hockey team

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Latvia
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationLatvian Ice Hockey Federation
General managerRūdolfs Kalvītis
Head coachHarijs Vītoliņš
AssistantsLauris Dārziņš
Artūrs Irbe
Petteri Nummelin
Ville Peltonen
Raimonds Vilkoits
CaptainKaspars Daugaviņš
Most gamesRodrigo Laviņš (230)
Top scorerLeonīds Tambijevs (66)
Most pointsLeonīds Tambijevs (150)
Home stadiumArēna Rīga
Team colors   
IIHF codeLAT
Ranking
Current IIHF10 Increase 1 (28 May 2023)[1]
Highest IIHF9 (first in 2005)
Lowest IIHF13 (first in 2018)
First international
Latvia  3–0  Lithuania
(Riga, Latvia; 27 February 1932)[2]
Biggest win
Latvia  32–0  Israel
(Bled, Slovenia; 15 March 1993)[2]
Biggest defeat
Canada  14–0  Latvia
(Davos, Switzerland; 20 January 1935)[2]
IIHF World Championships
Appearances34 (first in 1933)
Best result Bronze: (2023)
IIHF European Championships
Appearances1
Best result8th (1932)
Olympics
Appearances6 (first in 1936)
International record (W–L–T)
286–284–28
Medal record
World Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Finland/Latvia

The Latvian men's national ice hockey team represents Latvia in international ice hockey. The team is ranked 10th in the world by IIHF as of 2023. The team is controlled by the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation. Their best ever finish at the World Championships was in 2023, when they won the bronze medal. Latvia reached the quarterfinals at the 2014 Winter Olympics, losing 2–1 to Canada. Latvia has 7,898 registered players (0.43% of its population).

Overview[edit]

Rank Olympics World Championships European Championships
1st
2nd
3rd 2023
4th
5th
6th
7th 1997, 2004, 2009
8th 2014 2000, 2018 1932
9th 2002 1998, 2003, 2005
10th 1933, 1938, 1939, 2006, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2022
11th 2022 1999, 2002, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2021
12th 2006, 2010
13th 1936 1935, 1996 (1.B)↑, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2016
14th 1994 (2.B), 1995 (2.B)
15th
16th
↑: promoted, ↓: relegated, (3.B): (rank.pool)

Tournament record[edit]

Olympic Games[edit]

Games GP W T L GF GA Coach Captain Finish
Germany 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 3 0 0 3 3 27 Arvīds Jurgens Leonīds Vedējs 13
1953–1991 As part of  Soviet Union
Norway 1994 Lillehammer did not qualify
Japan 1998 Nagano
United States 2002 Salt Lake City 4 2 1 1 20 14 Curt Lindström Harijs Vītoliņš 9
Italy 2006 Turin 5 0 1 4 11 29 Leonīds Beresņevs Kārlis Skrastiņš 12
Games GP W OTW OTL L GF GA Coach Captain Finish
Canada 2010 Vancouver 4 0 0 1 3 6 22 Oļegs Znaroks Kārlis Skrastiņš 12
Russia 2014 Sochi 5 1 0 0 4 9 14 Ted Nolan Sandis Ozoliņš 8
South Korea 2018 Pyeongchang did not qualify
China 2022 Beijing 4 0 0 0 4 7 14 Harijs Vītoliņš Lauris Dārziņš 11
Italy 2026 Milan/Cortina TBA

World Championship[edit]

Graph shows Latvian results in IIHF World Championship since 1993.
Championships GP W T L GF GA Coach Captain Finish
Czechoslovakia 1933 Prague 4 1 0 3 3 9 – Arvīds Jurgens Finished in 10th place
Switzerland 1935 Davos 5 1 0 4 11 25 – Leonīds Vedējs Finished in 13th place
Czechoslovakia 1938 Prague 4 1 0 3 4 8 Arvīds Jurgens Leonīds Vedējs Finished tied in 10th place
Switzerland 1939 Zürich/Basel 3 1 0 2 6 21 Larry Marsh Leonīds Vedējs Finished in 10th place
Slovenia 1993 Bled/Ljubljana (Group C) 7 6 1 0 101 9 Helmuts Balderis – Finished in 21st place (Won Group C)
Denmark 1994 Copenhagen/Aalborg (Group B) 7 6 0 1 61 9 Helmuts Balderis Konstantīns Grigorjevs Finished in 14th place (2nd in Group B)
Slovakia 1995 Bratislava (Group B) 7 6 0 1 65 16 Ēvalds Grabovskis Aleksandrs Beļavskis Finished in 14th place (2nd in Group B)
Netherlands 1996 Eindhoven (Group B) 7 6 1 0 41 16 Leonīds Beresņevs Oleg Znarok Finished in 13th place (Won Group B)
Finland 1997 Helsinki/Tampere/Turku 8 4 2 2 37 23 Leonīds Beresņevs Normunds Sējējs Finished in 7th place
Switzerland 1998 Zürich/Basel 6 3 1 2 21 18 Leonīds Beresņevs Oleg Znarok Finished in 9th place
Norway 1999 Oslo/Hamar/Lillehammer 6 2 0 4 24 22 Leonīds Beresņevs Oleg Znarok Finished in 11th place
Russia 2000 Saint Petersburg 7 3 1 3 15 17 Haralds Vasiļjevs Harijs Vītoliņš Finished in 8th place
Germany 2001 Nuremberg/Cologne/Hanover 6 3 1 2 19 13 Haralds Vasiļjevs Harijs Vītoliņš Finished in 13th place
Sweden 2002 Gothenburg/Karlstad/Jönköping 6 1 0 5 11 18 Curt Lindström Harijs Vītoliņš Finished in 11th place
Finland 2003 Helsinki/Tampere/Turku 6 3 0 3 14 16 Curt Lindström Harijs Vītoliņš Finished in 9th place
Czech Republic 2004 Prague/Ostrava 7 2 2 3 12 14 Curt Lindström Sergejs Žoltoks Finished in 7th place
Austria 2005 Vienna/Innsbruck 6 2 1 3 10 21 Leonīds Beresņevs Kārlis Skrastiņš Finished in 9th place
Latvia 2006 Riga 6 2 1 3 12 24 Petr Vorobiev Aleksandrs Semjonovs Finished in 10th place
Championships GP W OTW OTL L GF GA Coach Captain Finish
Russia 2007 Moscow 6 2 0 1 3 20 22 Oleg Znarok Rodrigo Laviņš Finished in 13th place
Canada 2008 Halifax/Quebec City 6 2 0 0 4 11 19 Oleg Znarok Rodrigo Laviņš Finished in 11th place
Switzerland 2009 Bern/Kloten 7 2 2 0 3 15 23 Oleg Znarok Kārlis Skrastiņš Finished in 7th place
Germany 2010 Cologne/Mannheim/Gelsenkirchen 6 2 0 0 4 15 18 Oleg Znarok Herberts Vasiļjevs Finished in 11th place
Slovakia 2011 Bratislava/Košice 6 2 0 2 2 18 19 Oleg Znarok Herberts Vasiļjevs Finished in 13th place
Finland Sweden 2012 Helsinki/Stockholm 7 2 0 0 5 11 19 Ted Nolan Jānis Sprukts Finished in 10th place
Sweden Finland 2013 Stockholm/Helsinki 7 2 0 1 4 14 25 Ted Nolan Lauris Dārziņš Finished in 11th place
Belarus 2014 Minsk 7 3 0 0 4 20 24 Ted Nolan Herberts Vasiļjevs Finished in 11th place
Czech Republic 2015 Prague/Ostrava 7 0 2 1 4 11 25 Aleksandrs Beļavskis Kaspars Daugaviņš Finished in 13th place
Russia 2016 Moscow/Saint Petersburg 7 1 0 3 3 13 22 Leonīds Beresņevs Kaspars Daugaviņš Finished in 13th place
Germany France 2017 Cologne/Paris 7 3 0 1 3 14 18 Bob Hartley Kaspars Daugaviņš Finished in 10th place
Denmark 2018 Copenhagen/Herning 8 3 1 2 2 18 19 Bob Hartley Roberts Bukarts Finished in 8th place
Slovakia 2019 Bratislava/Košice 7 3 0 0 4 21 20 Bob Hartley Lauris Dārziņš Finished in 10th place
Switzerland 2020 Zürich/Lausanne Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic[3]
Latvia 2021 Riga 7 2 0 3 2 15 16 Bob Hartley Lauris Dārziņš Finished in 11th place
Finland 2022 Helsinki/Tampere 7 2 1 0 4 14 20 Harijs Vītoliņš Rodrigo Ābols Finished in 10th place
Finland Latvia 2023 Tampere/Riga[4][5] 10 4 3 0 3 30 25 Harijs Vītoliņš Kaspars Daugaviņš Finished in 3rd place
Czech Republic 2024 Czech Republic Harijs Vītoliņš
Denmark Sweden 2025 Sweden/Denmark Harijs Vītoliņš
Switzerland 2026 Zürich/Lausanne

European Championship[edit]

Games GP W T L GF GA Coach Captain Finish Rank
Germany 1932 Berlin 4 1 0 3 5 13 – Arvīds Jurgens Consolation Round 8th

Team[edit]

Current roster[edit]

Roster for the 2023 IIHF World Championship.[6][7]

Head coach: Harijs Vītoliņš

No. Pos. Name Height Weight Birthdate Team
2 D Kārlis Čukste 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 98 kg (216 lb) (1997-06-17) 17 June 1997 (age 26) Czech Republic HC Oceláři Třinec
9 F Renārs Krastenbergs 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 84 kg (185 lb) (1998-12-26) 26 December 1998 (age 25) Sweden AIK IF
13 F Rihards Bukarts 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 84 kg (185 lb) (1995-12-31) 31 December 1995 (age 28) Austria EC KAC
16 F Kaspars Daugaviņš – C 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 99 kg (218 lb) (1988-05-18) 18 May 1988 (age 35) Germany Iserlohn Roosters
17 F Mārtiņš Dzierkals 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 84 kg (185 lb) (1997-04-04) 4 April 1997 (age 27) Czech Republic Motor České Budějovice
18 F Rodrigo Ābols – A 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 93 kg (205 lb) (1996-01-05) 5 January 1996 (age 28) Sweden Rögle BK
21 F Rūdolfs Balcers 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 79 kg (174 lb) (1997-04-08) 8 April 1997 (age 27) United States Syracuse Crunch
22 F Toms Andersons 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 86 kg (190 lb) (1993-11-25) 25 November 1993 (age 30) Switzerland HC La Chaux-de-Fonds
25 F Andris Džeriņš 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 87 kg (192 lb) (1988-02-14) 14 February 1988 (age 36) Denmark Herning Blue Fox
26 D Uvis Balinskis 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 85 kg (187 lb) (1996-08-01) 1 August 1996 (age 27) Czech Republic HC Bílí Tygři Liberec
27 D Oskars Cibuļskis 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 96 kg (212 lb) (1988-04-09) 9 April 1988 (age 36) Czech Republic Rytíři Kladno
29 D Ralfs Freibergs 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) 84 kg (185 lb) (1991-05-17) 17 May 1991 (age 32) Czech Republic HC Litvínov
31 G Artūrs Šilovs 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 88 kg (194 lb) (2001-03-22) 22 March 2001 (age 23) Canada Abbotsford Canucks
39 F Georgs Golovkovs 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) 79 kg (174 lb) (1995-07-12) 12 July 1995 (age 28) Sweden Södertälje SK
50 G Kristers Gudļevskis 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 97 kg (214 lb) (1992-07-31) 31 July 1992 (age 31) Sweden Modo Hockey
55 D Roberts Mamčics 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 105 kg (231 lb) (1995-04-06) 6 April 1995 (age 29) Slovakia HC Nové Zámky
65 D Arvils Bergmanis 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) 79 kg (174 lb) (1999-12-29) 29 December 1999 (age 24) United States Alaska Nanooks
70 F Miks Indrašis 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 89 kg (196 lb) (1990-09-30) 30 September 1990 (age 33) Germany Schwenninger Wild Wings
71 F Roberts Bukarts – A 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) 84 kg (185 lb) (1990-06-27) 27 June 1990 (age 33) Czech Republic HC Vítkovice Ridera
72 D Jānis Jaks 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 86 kg (190 lb) (1995-08-22) 22 August 1995 (age 28) Czech Republic HC Litvínov
73 F Deniss Smirnovs 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) 80 kg (180 lb) (1999-03-07) 7 March 1999 (age 25) Switzerland Genève-Servette HC
74 G Ivars Punnenovs 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 91 kg (201 lb) (1994-05-30) 30 May 1994 (age 29) Switzerland SCL Tigers
77 D Kristaps Zīle 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 86 kg (190 lb) (1997-12-24) 24 December 1997 (age 26) Czech Republic HC Litvínov
85 F Dans Ločmelis 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) 77 kg (170 lb) (2004-01-21) 21 January 2004 (age 20) Sweden Luleå HF
91 F Ronalds Ķēniņš 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) 91 kg (201 lb) (1991-02-28) 28 February 1991 (age 33) Switzerland Lausanne HC
94 D Kristiāns Rubīns 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 96 kg (212 lb) (1997-12-11) 11 December 1997 (age 26) Canada Calgary Wranglers
95 F Oskars Batņa 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 106 kg (234 lb) (1995-05-07) 7 May 1995 (age 28) Finland Mikkelin Jukurit

Retired numbers[edit]

Coaching history[edit]

Coach GP W T L GD P-ts
1939 Canada Larry Marsh[9][10] 3 1 0 2 6:21 n/a
1992–1994 Latvia Helmuts Balderis -- -- - -- --- --
1995 Latvia Ēvalds Grabovskis -- -- - -- --- --
1996–1999 Latvia Leonīds Beresņevs 56 36 7 13 275:143 79
1999–2001 Latvia Haralds Vasiļjevs 32 12 8 12 81:76 32
2001–2004 Sweden Curt Lindström 65 32 8 25 202:161 72
2005–2006 Latvia Leonīds Beresņevs 32 25 3 14 112:113 53
2006 Russia Petr Vorobiev 11 4 16 25:35 9
2007–2011 Russia Oleg Znarok 37 15 0 22 98:126 41
2011–2014 Canada Ted Nolan 26 11 0 15 57:65 35
2015 Latvia Aleksandrs Beļavskis 7 0 2 5 11:25 5
2016 Latvia Leonīds Beresņevs 7 1 3 3 13:22 6
2016 Latvia Haralds Vasiļjevs 3 2 0 1 13:5 6
2017–2021 Canada Bob Hartley 15 6 4 5 32:37 23
2021–present Latvia Harijs Vītoliņš 17 10 0 7 54:40 27

All-time record[edit]

Exhibition game Latvia - Finland (April 2024)
As of 5 April 2024.[11]
Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD
 Austria 25 21 0 4 98 56 +42
 Belarus 40 19 3 18 106 97 +9
 Belgium 2 2 0 0 31 4 +27
 Canada 23 1 1 21 28 119 -91
 China 1 1 0 0 22 0 +22
 Czech Republic 19 1 1 17 34 66 −32
 Czechoslovakia 2 0 0 2 0 16 −16
 Denmark 36 23 0 13 124 87 +37
 Estonia 5 5 0 0 32 6 +26
 Finland 31 4 2 25 57 122 −65
 France 54 34 4 16 183 110 +73
 Germany 40 13 4 23 90 103 -13
 Great Britain 11 6 1 4 44 39 +5
 Hungary 6 4 1 1 31 12 +19
 Israel 1 1 0 0 32 0 +32
 Italy 19 14 1 4 71 30 +41
 Japan 13 12 0 1 79 26 +53
 Kazakhstan 14 9 0 5 52 31 +21
 Lithuania 5 5 0 0 45 2 +43
 Netherlands 6 6 0 0 45 6 +39
 North Korea 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4
 Norway 40 24 0 16 130 108 +22
 Poland 20 15 0 5 67 46 +21
 Romania 8 6 0 2 49 7 +42
 Russia 22 6 1 15 38 83 −45
 Slovakia 34 10 2 22 71 114 -43
 Slovenia 12 10 0 2 40 21 +19
 South Korea 3 3 0 0 38 2 +36
 Sweden 28 3 1 24 48 113 −65
  Switzerland 39 9 3 27 72 119 -47
 Ukraine 19 13 1 5 62 48 +14
 United States 18 4 2 12 35 55 −20
 Yugoslavia 2 2 0 0 10 0 +10
Total 598 286 28 284 1 868 1 648 +220

Uniform evolution[edit]

  • National team jerseys
  • 1996-2005 IIHF jerseys
    1996-2005 IIHF jerseys
  • former IIHF jerseys
    former IIHF jerseys
  • 2014 Winter Olympics
    2014 Winter Olympics
  • 2018–2021 IIHF jerseys
    2018–2021 IIHF jerseys
  • 2022– Winter Olympics and IIHF
    2022– Winter Olympics and IIHF

References[edit]

  1. ^ "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Includes Olympics, World Championships, World Cups, Canada Cups and Summit Series.
  3. ^ Steiss, Adam. "2020 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship cancelled". iihf.com. IIHF. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  4. ^ "IIHF to move 2023 World Championship". iihf.com. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  5. ^ Merk, Martin. "Tampere/Riga candidate for 2023". IIHF. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Otrdien, 9. maijā tika paziņots Latvijas nacionālās hokeja valstsvienības sastāvs gaidāmajam Pasaules čempionātam Rīgā un Tamperē" (in Latvian). lhf.lv. 9 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Team Roster Latvia" (PDF). iihf.com. 12 May 2023.
  8. ^ "LHF iemūžina Žoltoka 33. Numuru un godina viņa piemiņu". 24 April 2019.
  9. ^ "Ted Nolan to coach Latvia". webarchive.iihf.com. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  10. ^ Zariņš, Viesturs (4 May 2006). "Latvia's hockey history spans a century". Latvians Online. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  11. ^ "Latvia - National Teams of Ice Hockey". nationalteamsoficehockey.com. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2023.

External links[edit]

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