Latvia men's national ice hockey team

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 medals. 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).

Latvia
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationLatvian Ice Hockey Federation
General managerRūdolfs Kalvītis
Head coachHarijs Vītoliņš
AssistantsArtis Ābols
Lauris Dārziņš
Artūrs Irbe
Petteri Nummelin
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)
732–283–28
Medal record
World Championship
Bronze medal – third place2023 Finland/Latvia

Overview
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

Olympic Games
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
1953–1991As 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
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
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

Current roster

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

Head coach: Harijs Vītoliņš

No. Pos. Name Height Weight Birthdate Team
2DKārlis Čukste1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)98 kg (216 lb) (1997-06-17) 17 June 1997Czech Republic HC Oceláři Třinec
9FRenārs Krastenbergs1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)84 kg (185 lb) (1998-12-26) 26 December 1998Sweden AIK IF
13FRihards Bukarts1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)84 kg (185 lb) (1995-12-31) 31 December 1995Austria EC KAC
16FKaspars Daugaviņš – C1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)99 kg (218 lb) (1988-05-18) 18 May 1988Germany Iserlohn Roosters
17FMārtiņš Dzierkals1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)84 kg (185 lb) (1997-04-04) 4 April 1997Czech Republic Motor České Budějovice
18FRodrigo Ābols – A1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)93 kg (205 lb) (1996-01-05) 5 January 1996Sweden Rögle BK
21FRūdolfs Balcers1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)79 kg (174 lb) (1997-04-08) 8 April 1997United States Syracuse Crunch
22FToms Andersons1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)86 kg (190 lb) (1993-11-25) 25 November 1993Switzerland HC La Chaux-de-Fonds
25FAndris Džeriņš1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)87 kg (192 lb) (1988-02-14) 14 February 1988Denmark Herning Blue Fox
26DUvis Balinskis1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)85 kg (187 lb) (1996-08-01) 1 August 1996Czech Republic HC Bílí Tygři Liberec
27DOskars Cibuļskis1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)96 kg (212 lb) (1988-04-09) 9 April 1988Czech Republic Rytíři Kladno
29DRalfs Freibergs1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)84 kg (185 lb) (1991-05-17) 17 May 1991Czech Republic HC Litvínov
31GArtūrs Šilovs1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)88 kg (194 lb) (2001-03-22) 22 March 2001Canada Abbotsford Canucks
39FGeorgs Golovkovs1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)79 kg (174 lb) (1995-07-12) 12 July 1995Sweden Södertälje SK
50GKristers Gudļevskis1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)97 kg (214 lb) (1992-07-31) 31 July 1992Sweden Modo Hockey
55DRoberts Mamčics1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)105 kg (231 lb) (1995-04-06) 6 April 1995Slovakia HC Nové Zámky
65DArvils Bergmanis1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)79 kg (174 lb) (1999-12-29) 29 December 1999United States Alaska Nanooks
70FMiks Indrašis1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)89 kg (196 lb) (1990-09-30) 30 September 1990Germany Schwenninger Wild Wings
71FRoberts Bukarts – A1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)84 kg (185 lb) (1990-06-27) 27 June 1990Czech Republic HC Vítkovice Ridera
72DJānis Jaks1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)86 kg (190 lb) (1995-08-22) 22 August 1995Czech Republic HC Litvínov
73FDeniss Smirnovs1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)80 kg (180 lb) (1999-03-07) 7 March 1999Switzerland Genève-Servette HC
74GIvars Punnenovs1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)91 kg (201 lb) (1994-05-30) 30 May 1994Switzerland SCL Tigers
77DKristaps Zīle1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)86 kg (190 lb) (1997-12-24) 24 December 1997Czech Republic HC Litvínov
85FDans Ločmelis1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)77 kg (170 lb) (2004-01-21) 21 January 2004Sweden Luleå HF
91FRonalds Ķēniņš1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)91 kg (201 lb) (1991-02-28) 28 February 1991Switzerland Lausanne HC
94DKristiāns Rubīns1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)96 kg (212 lb) (1997-12-11) 11 December 1997Canada Calgary Wranglers
95FOskars Batņa1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)106 kg (234 lb) (1995-05-07) 7 May 1995Finland Mikkelin Jukurit

Retired numbers

Coaching history
Coach GP W T L GD P-ts
1939 Canada Larry Marsh[9][10] 3 1 0 2 6:21 n/a
1992–1994Latvia Helmuts Balderis------------
1995Latvia Ēvalds Grabovskis------------
1996–1999Latvia Leonīds Beresņevs5636713275:14379
1999–2001Latvia Haralds Vasiļjevs321281281:7632
2001–2004Sweden Curt Lindström6532825202:16172
2005–2006Latvia Leonīds Beresņevs3225314112:11353
2006Russia Petr Vorobiev1141625:359
2007–2011Russia Oļegs Znaroks371502298:12641
2011–2014Canada Ted Nolan261101557:6535
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
2017–2021Canada Bob Hartley1564532:3723
2021–presentLatvia Harijs Vītoliņš17100754:4027

All-time record
As of 28 May 2023.[11]
Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD
 Austria2319049252+40
 Belarus401931810697+9
 Belgium2200314+27
 Canada23112128119-91
 China1100220+22
 Czech Republic1911173466−32
 Czechoslovakia2002016−16
 Denmark362301312487+37
 Estonia5500326+26
 Finland31422557122−65
 France5232416176108+68
 Germany401342390103-13
 Great Britain116144439+5
 Hungary64113112+19
 Israel1100320+32
 Italy1914147130+41
 Japan1312017926+53
 Kazakhstan149055231+21
 Lithuania5500452+43
 Netherlands6600456+39
 North Korea110040+4
 Norway4024016130108+22
 Poland2015056746+21
 Romania8602497+42
 Russia2261153883−45
 Slovakia341022271114-43
 Slovenia1210024021+19
 South Korea3300382+36
 Sweden28312448113−65
  Switzerland39932772119-47
 Ukraine1913156248+14
 United States1842123555−20
 Yugoslavia2200100+10
Total594282282841 8551 642+213

Uniform evolution
  • 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
  1. "IIHF Men's World Ranking". IIHF. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  2. 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.
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