Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

HK Olimp/Venta 2002

HK Olimp/Venta 2002
CityRiga, Latvia
LeagueOptibet Hockey League
2019 - 2022
Founded2018[1]
Folded2022
Home arenaInbox Ice Arena
ColoursBlack, gold, white
     
General managerAleksejs Sirokovs
Head coachAigars Cipruss[1]
CaptainGeorgijs Pujacs
WebsiteHK Olimp/Venta 2002
Franchise history
2018 - 2020HK Olimp
2020 - presentHK Olimp/Venta 2002

HK Olimp/Venta 2002 are a Latvian ice hockey team that plays in the Optibet Hockey League, the top tier of the sport in Latvia. The team is based in Riga and play their home games at the Inbox Ice Arena.

History

HK Olimp was founded in 2018, and the following year joined the Optibet Hockey League where they were immediately considered to be dark horses for the championship,[2] due to have several Latvian national team members as part of their roster, including Georgijs Pujacs and Aleksejs Širokovs, both of whom also had KHL significant experience.[3][4] The dark horse appellation turned out to be prescient as the team were in 1st place in their inaugural season, before the play-offs were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the off-season, the team partnered with junior side Venta 2002, and as a result rebranded as HK Olimp/Venta 2002.[5]

As a result of 1st place finish when the season was cancelled, Olimp qualified for the 2020–21 IIHF Continental Cup where they were scheduled to face-off in Group E against Shakhtyor Soligorsk of Belarus, Slovenian team Olimpija Ljubljana and the winner of Group B (made up of Crvena Zvezda Belgrade of Serbia, Mladost Zagreb from Croatia, Bulgarian side Irbis-Skate Sofia and Turkish outfit Buz Beykoz Istanbul).[6] However, two months later, the IIHF cancelled the Continental Cup due to the Pandemic.[7]

Roster

Updated February 11, 2021.[1]

Goaltenders
Number Player Catches Acquired Place of Birth
79 Russia Andrej Bonch-Brujevič L 2019 Saint Petersburg, Russia
30 Latvia Rūdolfs Gusts Lazdiņš L 2020 Riga, Latvia
35 Latvia Kārlis Zakrevskis L 2020 Riga, Latvia
Defencemen
Number Player Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
61 Latvia Krists Apsītis L 2019 Riga, Latvia
77 Latvia Vladislavs Balakuns L 2019 Riga, Latvia
65 Latvia Arvils Bergmanis L 2020 Riga, Latvia
71 Latvia Aleksejs Popovs L 2021 Riga, Latvia
23 Latvia Aleksandrs Jerofejevs L 2019 Riga, Latvia
81 Latvia Georgijs Pujacs (C) L 2019 Riga, Latvia
33 Latvia Maksims Širokovs (A) R 2019 Riga, Latvia
Forwards
Number Player Shoots Position Acquired Place of Birth
59 Latvia Lauris Bajaruns R RW 2020 Ventspils, Latvia
93 Latvia Edijs Brahmanis R LW 2019 Riga, Latvia
28 Latvia Emīls Ezītis L C 2019 Riga, Latvia
47 Latvia Kirils Galoha R C/RW 2020 Riga, Latvia
18 Latvia Sandis Grīnbergs L W 2020 -
52 Latvia Arjoms Koppass L F 2020 Valka, Latvia
17 Latvia Dmitrijs Korņilovs L W 2019 Sigulda, Latvia
14 Latvia Ričards Landmanis L F 2020 Ventspils, Latvia
15 Latvia Sandis Mežaraups R F 2019 Jēkabpils, Latvia
10 Latvia Roberts Potapenko L LW/RW 2019 -
19 Latvia Miķelis Rēdlihs L RW 2020 Riga, Latvia
72 Latvia Roberts Siliņš L F 2020 -
62 Latvia Aleksejs Širokovs (A) R C 2019 Riga, Latvia
44 Latvia Gatis Sprukts L LW/C 2020 Jelgava, Latvia
84 Latvia Renārs Undelis L C 2019 Riga, Latvia
21 Russia Valerii Vorozhontsov L F 2020 Yekaterinburg, Russia
68 Russia Fedor Yarionovskii L F 2020 Saint Petersburg, Russia
11 Latvia Ņikita Zantmans R F 2020 -

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season League GP W L T OTW OTL Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs
2019-20 Optibet Hockey League 35 22 5 4 4 56 121 67 1st Playoffs cancelled

Team records

Career

These are the top five scorers in HK Olimpa history.[8]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

Player Pos GP G A Pts
Nikolajs Jeļisejevs F 48 32 28 60
Kirils Galoha F 45 21 32 53
Emīls Ezītis F 60 23 27 50
Georgijs Pujacs D 60 16 25 41
Aleksejs Širokovs F 52 13 25 38

Penalty minutes: Aleksejs Širokovs, 101

Season

Regular season

Notable players

References

  1. ^ a b c "HK Olimp/Venta 2002" (in Latvian). Optibet Hockey League. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  2. ^ "OHL jaunpienācējas "Olimp" rindās spēlēs vairāki bijušie Latvijas izlases hokejisti, iespējams, arī Bārtulis" (in Latvian). Optibet Hockey League. September 6, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  3. ^ "Georgijs Pujacs". EliteProspects.com. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  4. ^ "Aleksejs Širokovs". EliteProspects.com. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  5. ^ "HK VENTA 2002 on Facebook" (in Latvian). HK Venta 2002. August 28, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  6. ^ "Continental Cup expands with new format". International Ice Hockey Federation. June 19, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  7. ^ "IIHF cancels Continental Cup". International Ice Hockey Federation. August 25, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  8. ^ "Olimp Riga". EliteProspects.com. Retrieved February 16, 2021.