Latvian Hockey News Report

A week after the beginning of Dinamo Riga pre-season camp, the roster has been officially announced. However, not a single new player was announced.

Unlike players, who drove to Arena Riga with their cars, head coach Julius Supler arrived on a white horse and there was a reason for it – right before the end of the 2009/10 regular season Supler agreed to a dare with captain Sandis Ozolinsh. The dare was for Supler to ride a white horse around the Riga center, if the team reached Western Conference semifinals, which they eventually did, beating SKA St. Petersburg.

However, two players, which were previously listed with Dinamo Riga, were not announced during the roster presentation. For some obvious reasons, sixteen-year-old Ivars Punnenovs was not presented together with Dinamo Riga, eventhough he is currently training together with the team. The other player not presented was Russian Igor Biryukov. As there has been no official announcement regarding him, we can only guess, whether he is still with the team or not.

Meanwhile, players like Ronalds Cinks, Raimonds Vilkoits and Juris Upitis were announced during the HK Riga roster presentation, which might mean that they will not pursue their pre-season preparation together with Dinamo Riga, but, once again, no official confirmation for that.

Also, in an short interview, general manager Normunds Sejejs said that the roster is done and within the next week the latest additions to the team will be announced.

Dinamo Riga roster at the presentation:

The HK Riga training camp began already on very beginning of July and only now the newly-established Dinamo Riga farm club head coach Leonids Tambijevs has made the first cuts.

The released players are goalie Rihards Cimermanis, defenders Andrejs Smirnovs and Edvards Zarins, as well as forwards Rudolfs Prusis, Lauris Rancevs, Janis Berzins, Janis Zarins, Ivans Dmitrijevs, Edgars Bebris, Rinalds Rautensilds, Deniss Baskatovs and Mikus Ozols.

As of this moment the team has left with 29 players, of whom four are goaltenders. Still, most likely several players will join the team, when released from the Dinamo Riga training camp.

It has also been announced that HK Riga will play seven exhibition games before the start of the season:

• August 7 – Metalurgs Liepaja (in Liepaja)
• August 15 – Zubry Minsk (Dynamo Minsk MHL team) (in Minsk)
• August 16 – Zubry Minsk (in Minsk)
• August 20 – Yunost Minsk MHL team (in Pinki)
• August 21 – Yunost Minsk MHL team (in Pinki)
• August 26 – Yunost Minsk MHL team (in Minsk)
• August 27 – Yunost Minsk MHL team (in Minsk)

Kazakh portal Ekspress K has announced that Kazakh league club Ertis Pavlodar is very close to signing Latvian goalkeeper Martins Raitums, who spent the previous season with Hull Stingrays of the Elite Ice Hockey League.

Martins has participated in four World Championships for Latvian national team and last year was the second goalie, changing Edgars Masalskis in the middle of 1-6 blowout against Canada.

During 2008/09 he played for ASK Ogre – one of the Latvian clubs in the Belarusian league, but last season he managed to join Hull Stingrays only by late January – just before the trade deadline.

Currently also several other Latvian players are in negotiations with Kazakh league clubs and might join them for the next season. According to an unexposable source, the salaries in Kazakhstan are way bigger than, for example, French Ligue Magnus.

It has been already some time, since the Latvian club Metalurgs Liepaja began their thirteenth pre-season camp. For the fifth time the team will play in the Belarusian league. After the current Latvian champion Dinamo Juniors Riga ceased their existence, Metalurgs will also take part in the Continental Cup.

The team is traditionally built around long-time Metalurgs veterans, such as Filimonovs, Zabotinskis, Feldmanis, Mamonovs. The team consists also of many younger players, who have learned the game of hockey in Liepaja. Besides Lithuanian Nerius Alisauskas and Russian Sergei Gubin, who have played in Liepaja for several years, this season the team also includes Lithuanian defender Arturas Katulis and two Ukrainians – Yuri Navarenko and Artem Gnidenko. All three have appeared in several Worlds Championships for their respective national teams.

Two players, who played for Metalurgs almost since the first day, Eduards Ivanovs and Juris Ozols after the previous season have decided to retire from hockey. Eduards Ivanovs already has been announced as one of the Metalurgs-2 Liepaja coaches for 2010/11.

Metalurgs Liepaja current roster:

Latvian defender Kristaps Sotnieks, who just recently returned from Washington Capitals Development Camp and as of Monday has joined the Dinamo Riga pre-season camp in an interview for icebox.lv states that he is still unsure, where he will play next season.

“Right after the Capitals camp I did not receive any offers. Presumably, I did not manage to strike them with my play, in order to receive a contract offer. At this point I am not sure, whether I will go and play in North America. Together with the agent we decided to wait for another week. During that time we will take care of the necessary KHL permissions and begin to train with the club.”

Dinamo Riga general manager Normunds Sejejs confirmed that Sotnieks will be in the camp, but also he was unable to conclude that Sotnieks will play in the KHL next season. “At this points I have nothing to comment on. We are ready to see Sotnieks on the team, all we need to do is make him a qualification offer. Currently we are all waiting for any further updates with the Capitals.”

It has been two days, since the Dinamo Riga training camp took off, and the head coach Julius Supler has made his first cut, sending four players to the MHL club HK Riga and releasing another player completely.

The players sent down to HK Riga are defenders Eriks Sevcenko, Aleksandrs Galkins and Ricards Birzins, as well as forward Edgars Lipsbergs. Galkins played for HC Brest of Belarusian league last season, as well as for Keramin-2 Minsk of the Belarusian 2nd league, while the 21-year-old Birzins has been playing in the Dinamo system for the past two seasons already.

Supler also released 25-year-old forward Guntis Dzerins, who missed the whole previous season, because of health issues and was in the camp for a try-out. His younger brother Andris played 17 games for Dinamo last season and is expected to make the team also for 2010/11.

After showing himself at the Washington Capitals Development Camp, it has also been announced that defender Kristaps Sotnieks has arrived at the camp.

Several Canadian internet sources have announced that the 23-year-old Montreal Canadiens prospect Brock Trotter has signed a one-year contract with Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hockey League.

It is estimated that the contract could be worth up to 250,000 USD, which is four times more than he made in the AHL last season (plus the significant tax differences). For a comparison, legendary Sandis Ozolinsh contract, who might be the most heavy one for Dinamo Riga, is rumoured to be worth around 840,000 USD.

23-year-old forward became a restricted free agent on July 1, but apparently did not succeed coming to an agreement with the Canadiens.

Trotter has spent several past seasons in Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL. In 2009/10 he posted 77 points in 75 regular season games, adding 19 points in 19 games during the playoffs. Last season he also made two Montreal Canadiens appearances.

Dinamo Riga pre-season camp began already on July 23 with team highlights of Chris Holt, Sandis Ozolinsh, Mark Hartigan, Tomas Surovy and others on the roster. Club’s general manager Normunds Sejejs is still desperately working on finding a starting goalie.

Dinamo reached Western Conference Semifinals last season, after eliminating SKA St. Petersburg in the Quarterfinals. The club then proceeded to lose to HC MVD, which became the Western Conference champion later on.

It is July 23 and, according to the rules of the Kontinental Hockey League, teams are officially allowed to begin their pre-season training camps, despite the fact that most of players across the league have been doing individual coach assignments already for some time. Today also Dinamo Riga began their training camp, which takes place in Valmiera, Latvia.

39 players have began the camp and the first cuts are expected to be made already on July 25. Cuts will either play in HK Riga of the MHL or have to find another club, where to pursue their careers. The team will be in Valmiera for a week.

Although the general manager of the club Normunds Sejejs promised that the a signing of a team’s starting goalie will be announced by the beginning of camp, apparently, Sejejs has not managed to fill his promises. Currently on the camp there is also Ervins Mustukovs, who has already signed with Sheffield Steelers of Elite Ice Hockey League for 2010/11, as Steelers will begin their camp only later on.

Currently, for unknown reasons, 1990-born forwards Ronalds Cinks, who is said to have a contract with Dinamo for 2010/11, is not on the camp roster. There were rumours that also Armands Berzins mights join the team for a try-out. Also there is a possibility that Kristaps Sotnieks might join the camp, as he has returned from the Washington Capitals Development Camp.

The camp roster also came up with several players, who were almost forgotten in the Latvian ice hockey society – Guntis Dzerins, Eriks Ozollapa and Edgars Lipsbergs. Guntis Dzerins (older brother of Andris) missed whole 2009/10, because of an injury, previously playing two seasons fro MHC Martin of Slovakian Extraliga. Both Ozollapa and Lipsbergs spent some time studying in the USA. Also two Russian players – Vitaly Karamnov and Igor Biryukov – are taking part in the camp. Karamnov, 1989-born forward, scored 45 points in 42 games in the MHL last season, as well as made seven KHL appearances with the Dynamo Moscow.

Camp roster:

On Monday American Chris Holt, who has a two year contract with Dinamo Riga, as well as Juraj Simek and Kenneth Bergqvist, who are in Riga for a try-out, have arrived, although the pre-season camp will begin only on July 23.

It is also finally revealed that there is, after all, no try-out contract signed with Bergqvist, however there is a mutual agreement that he will participate in the first part of the training camp, as well as play in a couple of exhibition games. If he would prove himself, a contract will be signed anyway.

After Slovakian Miroslav Miklosovic, who was an assistant coach alongside Artis Abols for Julius Supler for the past two seasons, has decided to continue his coaching career in Slovakia, there was a free vacancy, which is apparently going to be taken by Viktors Ignatjevs, long-time Latvian national team player, who has retired after playing in HYS The Hague last season. He played only in five World Championships, although he could have played also in both 2006 and 2007, but was injured during the training camp both times.

Also the coaching staff of HK Riga has been announced. The head coach will be Leonids Tambijevs, who coached SK Riga/Profs-18 of Latvian league last season. One of his assistant coaches will be Andrejs Banada, who worked with Tambijevs also last season, but the other assistant coach will be Aigars Cipruss, who worked with Dinamo Riga farm club also last season.