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 2025 and 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. They reached the quarterfinals at the 2014 Winter Olympics, losing 2–1 to Canada. Latvia has hosted the World Championships three times, in 2006, 2021 and 2023, and will host it in 2030.

Latvia

Association	Latvian Ice Hockey Federation
General manager	Rūdolfs Kalvītis
Head coach	Harijs Vītoliņš
Assistants	Lauris Dārziņš Petteri Nummelin Sandis Ozoliņš Raimonds Vilkoits
Captain	Rūdolfs Balcers
Most games	Rodrigo Laviņš (230)
Top scorer	Leonīds Tambijevs (66)
Most points	Leonīds Tambijevs (150)
Home stadium	Xiaomi Arēna
Team colors
IIHF code	LAT
Ranking
Current IIHF	9 ( 1) (3 June 2026)
Highest IIHF	9 (2005–06, 2014, 2026–)
Lowest IIHF	13 (2018)
First international
Latvia 3–0 Lithuania (Riga, Latvia; 27 February 1932)
Biggest win
Latvia 32–0 Israel (Bled, Slovenia; 15 March 1993)
Biggest defeat
Canada 14–0 Latvia (Davos, Switzerland; 20 January 1935)
Olympics
Appearances	7 (first in 1936)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances	37 (first in 1933)
Best result	Bronze: (2023)
IIHF European Championships
Appearances	1
International record (W–L–T)
295–294–28

Medal record
World Championship
	2023 Finland/Latvia

There are 7,898 registered hockey players in Latvia, which is 0.43% of its population.

Tournament record

Olympic Games

Games	GP	W	T		L	GF	GA	Coach	Captain	Finish
1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen	3	0	0		3	3	27	Arvīds Jurgens	Leonīds Vedējs	13
1948–1988	As part of Soviet Union
1992 Albertville	did not qualify
1994 Lillehammer
1998 Nagano
2002 Salt Lake City	4	2	1		1	20	14	Curt Lindström	Harijs Vītoliņš	9
2006 Turin	5	0	1		4	11	29	Leonīds Beresņevs	Kārlis Skrastiņš	12
2010 Vancouver	4	0	0	1	3	6	22	Oļegs Znaroks	Kārlis Skrastiņš	12
2014 Sochi	5	1	0	0	4	9	14	Ted Nolan	Sandis Ozoliņš	8
2018 Pyeongchang	did not qualify
2022 Beijing	4	0	0	0	4	7	14	Harijs Vītoliņš	Lauris Dārziņš	11
2026 Milan / Cortina d'Ampezzo	4	1	0	0	3	8	17	Harijs Vītoliņš	Kaspars Daugaviņš	10

World Championship

Graph shows Latvian results in IIHF World Championship since 1993.

Championships	GP	W	T	L	GF	GA	Coach	Captain	Finish
1933 Prague	4	1	0	3	3	9	Nikolajs Kavass	Arvīds Jurgens	Finished in 10th place
1935 Davos	5	1	0	4	11	25	Nikolajs Kavass	Leonīds Vedējs	Finished in 13th place
1938 Prague	4	1	0	3	4	8	Arvīds Jurgens	Leonīds Vedējs	Finished tied in 10th place
1939 Zürich/Basel	3	1	0	2	6	21	Larry Marsh	Leonīds Vedējs	Finished in 10th place
1954 – 1991	As part of Soviet Union
1993 Bled/Ljubljana (Group C)	7	6	1	0	101	9	Helmuts Balderis	Konstantīns Grigorjevs	Finished in 21st place (Won Group C)
1994 Copenhagen/Aalborg (Group B)	7	6	0	1	61	9	Helmuts Balderis	Konstantīns Grigorjevs	Finished in 14th place (2nd in Group B)
1995 Bratislava (Group B)	7	6	0	1	65	16	Ēvalds Grabovskis	Aleksandrs Beļavskis	Finished in 14th place (2nd in Group B)
1996 Eindhoven (Group B)	7	6	1	0	41	16	Leonīds Beresņevs	Oleg Znarok	Finished in 13th place (Won Group B)
1997 Helsinki/Tampere/Turku	8	4	2	2	37	23	Leonīds Beresņevs	Normunds Sējējs	Finished in 7th place
1998 Zürich/Basel	6	3	1	2	21	18	Leonīds Beresņevs	Oleg Znarok	Finished in 9th place
1999 Oslo/Hamar/Lillehammer	6	2	0	4	24	22	Leonīds Beresņevs	Oleg Znarok	Finished in 11th place
2000 Saint Petersburg	7	3	1	3	15	17	Haralds Vasiļjevs	Harijs Vītoliņš	Finished in 8th place
2001 Nuremberg/Cologne/Hanover	6	3	1	2	19	13	Haralds Vasiļjevs	Harijs Vītoliņš	Finished in 13th place
2002 Gothenburg/Karlstad/Jönköping	6	1	0	5	11	18	Curt Lindström	Harijs Vītoliņš	Finished in 11th place
2003 Helsinki/Tampere/Turku	6	3	0	3	14	16	Curt Lindström	Harijs Vītoliņš	Finished in 9th place
2004 Prague/Ostrava	7	2	2	3	12	14	Curt Lindström	Sergejs Žoltoks	Finished in 7th place
2005 Vienna/Innsbruck	6	2	1	3	10	21	Leonīds Beresņevs	Kārlis Skrastiņš	Finished in 9th place
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
2007 Moscow	6	2	0	1	3	20	22	Oleg Znarok	Rodrigo Laviņš	Finished in 13th place
2008 Halifax/Quebec City	6	2	0	0	4	11	19	Oleg Znarok	Rodrigo Laviņš	Finished in 11th place
2009 Bern/Kloten	7	2	2	0	3	15	23	Oleg Znarok	Kārlis Skrastiņš	Finished in 7th place
2010 Cologne/Mannheim/Gelsenkirchen	6	2	0	0	4	15	18	Oleg Znarok	Herberts Vasiļjevs	Finished in 11th place
2011 Bratislava/Košice	6	2	0	2	2	18	19	Oleg Znarok	Herberts Vasiļjevs	Finished in 13th place
2012 Helsinki/Stockholm	7	2	0	0	5	11	19	Ted Nolan	Jānis Sprukts	Finished in 10th place
2013 Stockholm/Helsinki	7	2	0	1	4	14	25	Ted Nolan	Lauris Dārziņš	Finished in 11th place
2014 Minsk	7	3	0	0	4	20	24	Ted Nolan	Herberts Vasiļjevs	Finished in 11th place
2015 Prague/Ostrava	7	0	2	1	4	11	25	Aleksandrs Beļavskis	Kaspars Daugaviņš	Finished in 13th place
2016 Moscow/Saint Petersburg	7	1	0	3	3	13	22	Leonīds Beresņevs	Kaspars Daugaviņš	Finished in 13th place
2017 Cologne/Paris	7	3	0	1	3	14	18	Bob Hartley	Kaspars Daugaviņš	Finished in 10th place
2018 Copenhagen/Herning	8	3	1	2	2	18	19	Bob Hartley	Roberts Bukarts	Finished in 8th place
2019 Bratislava/Košice	7	3	0	0	4	21	20	Bob Hartley	Lauris Dārziņš	Finished in 10th place
2020	Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic
2021 Riga	7	2	0	3	2	15	16	Bob Hartley	Lauris Dārziņš	Finished in 11th place
2022 Helsinki/Tampere	7	2	1	0	4	14	20	Harijs Vītoliņš	Rodrigo Ābols	Finished in 10th place
2023 Tampere/Riga	10	4	3	0	3	30	25	Harijs Vītoliņš	Kaspars Daugaviņš	Finished in 3rd place
2024 Prague/Ostrava	7	1	3	0	3	19	29	Harijs Vītoliņš	Kaspars Daugaviņš	Finished in 9th place
2025 Stockholm/Herning	7	3	0	0	4	17	25	Harijs Vītoliņš	Kaspars Daugaviņš	Finished in 10th place
2026 Zurich/Fribourg	8	4	0	0	4	24	19	Harijs Vītoliņš	Rūdolfs Balcers	Finished in 6th place
2027 Düsseldorf/Mannheim

European Championship

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

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2026 IIHF World Championship.

Head coach: Harijs Vītoliņš

No.	Pos.	Name	Height	Weight	Birthdate	Team
3	D	Alberts Šmits	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	93 kg (205 lb)	(2007-12-02) 2 December 2007	Mikkelin Jukurit
4	D	Kristofers Bindulis	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	86 kg (190 lb)	(1995-09-18) 18 September 1995	HK Dukla Michalovce
5	D	Artūrs Andžāns	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	90 kg (200 lb)	(2001-08-21) 21 August 2001	HPK
9	F	Renārs Krastenbergs	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	84 kg (185 lb)	(1998-12-26) 26 December 1998	HC Olomouc
12	F	Gļebs Prohorenkovs	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	80 kg (180 lb)	(2001-11-12) 12 November 2001	Niagara Purple Eagles
14	F	Olivers Mūrnieks	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	90 kg (200 lb)	(2008-07-31) 31 July 2008	Saint John Sea Dogs
17	F	Mārtiņš Dzierkals	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	84 kg (185 lb)	(1997-04-04) 4 April 1997	HC Sparta Praha
21	F	Rūdolfs Balcers – C	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	79 kg (174 lb)	(1997-04-08) 8 April 1997	ZSC Lions
22	F	Toms Andersons	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	86 kg (190 lb)	(1993-11-25) 25 November 1993	HC La Chaux-de-Fonds
23	F	Sandis Vilmanis	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	87 kg (192 lb)	(2004-01-23) 23 January 2004	Florida Panthers
27	D	Oskars Cibuļskis	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	96 kg (212 lb)	(1988-04-09) 9 April 1988	Herning Blue Fox
29	D	Ralfs Freibergs – A	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)	84 kg (185 lb)	(1991-05-17) 17 May 1991	Mountfield HK
34	F	Eduards Tralmaks	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	85 kg (187 lb)	(1997-02-17) 17 February 1997	Grand Rapids Griffins
37	F	Oskars Lapinskis	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)	75 kg (165 lb)	(2002-05-03) 3 May 2002	SCL Tigers
40	G	Mareks Mitens	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	80 kg (180 lb)	(1998-01-29) 29 January 1998	HC Banská Bystrica
42	D	Miks Tumānovs	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	83 kg (183 lb)	(2001-08-07) 7 August 2001	Jokerit
50	G	Kristers Gudļevskis	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)	97 kg (214 lb)	(1992-07-31) 31 July 1992	Fischtown Pinguins
55	D	Roberts Mamčics	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	105 kg (231 lb)	(1995-04-06) 6 April 1995	Energie Karlovy Vary
73	F	Deniss Smirnovs	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)	80 kg (180 lb)	(1999-03-07) 7 March 1999	EHC Kloten
77	D	Kristaps Zīle – A	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	86 kg (190 lb)	(1997-12-24) 24 December 1997	HC Bílí Tygři Liberec
87	F	Kristaps Skrastiņš	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	77 kg (170 lb)	(2001-11-20) 20 November 2001	New Hampshire Wildcats
88	G	Gustavs Grigals	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	89 kg (196 lb)	(1998-07-22) 22 July 1998	SaiPa
89	F	Filips Buncis	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	93 kg (205 lb)	(1997-06-12) 12 June 1997	Rungsted Ishockey Klub
95	F	Oskars Batņa	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	106 kg (234 lb)	(1995-05-07) 7 May 1995	Lahti Pelicans
97	F	Haralds Egle	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	95 kg (209 lb)	(1996-05-11) 11 May 1996	Energie Karlovy Vary

2026 Olympics roster

The first six players of Latvia's roster were announced on 16 June 2025. The remaining roster was named on 6 January 2026. On 12 January, forward Eriks Mateiko was ruled out for the remainder of the season and Olympics after his Achilles tendon was accidentally cut by a skate blade during a Hershey Bears game; he was replaced on the roster by Anrī Ravinskis. On 18 January, forward Rodrigo Ābols was ruled out after suffering a lower-body injury the previous day, and was replaced by Rihards Bukarts. On 10 February, Kaspars Daugaviņš was named Latvia's captain, with Uvis Balinskis and Zemgus Girgensons serving as alternate captains.

Head coach: Harijs Vītoliņš

No.	Pos.	Name	Height	Weight	Birthdate	Team
3	D	Alberts Šmits	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	93 kg (205 lb)	(2007-12-02)2 December 2007 (aged 18)	Jukurit
9	F	Renārs Krastenbergs	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	87 kg (192 lb)	(1998-12-26)26 December 1998 (aged 27)	HC Olomouc
11	F	Dans Ločmelis	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	81 kg (179 lb)	(2004-01-21)21 January 2004 (aged 22)	Providence Bruins
13	F	Rihards Bukarts	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	84 kg (185 lb)	(1995-12-31)31 December 1995 (aged 30)	HC Prešov
16	F	Kaspars Daugaviņš – C	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	102 kg (225 lb)	(1988-05-18)18 May 1988 (aged 37)	Kassel Huskies
17	F	Mārtiņš Dzierkals	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	91 kg (201 lb)	(1997-04-04)4 April 1997 (aged 28)	Sparta Praha
21	F	Rūdolfs Balcers	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	80 kg (176 lb)	(1997-04-08)8 April 1997 (aged 28)	ZSC Lions
22	F	Sandis Vilmanis	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	88 kg (194 lb)	(2004-01-23)23 January 2004 (aged 22)	Florida Panthers
23	F	Teodors Bļugers	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	86 kg (190 lb)	(1994-08-15)15 August 1994 (aged 31)	Vancouver Canucks
26	D	Uvis Balinskis – A	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	90 kg (198 lb)	(1996-08-01)1 August 1996 (aged 29)	Florida Panthers
27	D	Oskars Cibuļskis	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	94 kg (207 lb)	(1988-04-09)9 April 1988 (aged 37)	Herning Blue Fox
28	F	Zemgus Girgensons – A	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	90 kg (198 lb)	(1994-01-05)5 January 1994 (aged 32)	Tampa Bay Lightning
29	D	Ralfs Freibergs	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	88 kg (194 lb)	(1991-05-17)17 May 1991 (aged 34)	Vítkovice Ridera
30	G	Elvis Merzļikins	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	90 kg (198 lb)	(1994-04-13)13 April 1994 (aged 31)	Columbus Blue Jackets
31	G	Artūrs Šilovs	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	93 kg (205 lb)	(2001-03-22)22 March 2001 (aged 24)	Pittsburgh Penguins
34	F	Eduards Tralmaks	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	100 kg (220 lb)	(1997-02-17)17 February 1997 (aged 28)	Grand Rapids Griffins
43	F	Anrī Ravinskis	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	94 kg (207 lb)	(2003-01-02)2 January 2003 (aged 23)	Abbotsford Canucks
50	G	Kristers Gudļevskis	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	97 kg (214 lb)	(1992-07-31)31 July 1992 (aged 33)	Fischtown Pinguins
55	D	Roberts Mamčics	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	104 kg (229 lb)	(1995-04-06)6 April 1995 (aged 30)	Energie Karlovy Vary
71	F	Roberts Bukarts	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	84 kg (185 lb)	(1990-06-27)27 June 1990 (aged 35)	Dukla Trenčín
72	D	Jānis Jaks	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	89 kg (196 lb)	(1995-08-22)22 August 1995 (aged 30)	Energie Karlovy Vary
77	D	Kristaps Zīle	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	90 kg (198 lb)	(1997-12-24)24 December 1997 (aged 28)	Bílí Tygři Liberec
94	D	Kristiāns Rubīns	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	99 kg (218 lb)	(1997-12-11)11 December 1997 (aged 28)	Škoda Plzeň
95	F	Oskars Batņa	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	106 kg (234 lb)	(1995-05-07)7 May 1995 (aged 30)	Pelicans
97	F	Haralds Egle	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	86 kg (190 lb)	(1996-05-11)11 May 1996 (aged 29)	Energie Karlovy Vary

Retired numbers

• 1 – Artūrs Irbe
• 7 – Kārlis Skrastiņš
• 19 – Helmuts Balderis
• 33 – Sergejs Žoltoks

Coaching history

	Coach	GP	W	T	L	GD	P-ts
1932–1935	Nikolajs Kavass	13	3	0	10	19:47	9
1936–1938	Arvīds Jurgens	7	1	0	6	7:35	3
1939	Larry Marsh	3	1	0	2	6:21	3
1992–1994	Helmuts Balderis	14	12	1	1	162:18	27
1995	Ēvalds Grabovskis	7	6	0	1	65:16	18
1996–1999	Leonīds Beresņevs	27	15	4	8	123:79	49
1999–2001	Haralds Vasiļjevs	13	6	2	5	34:30	20
2001–2004	Curt Lindström	23	8	3	12	57:62	27
2005–2006	Leonīds Beresņevs	11	2	2	7	21:50	8
2006	Petr Vorobiev	6	2	1	3	12:24	7
2007–2011	Oleg Znarok	35	16	–	19	85:123	37
2011–2014	Ted Nolan	26	11	–	15	54:82	25
2015	Aleksandrs Beļavskis	7	2	–	5	11:25	5
2016	Leonīds Beresņevs	7	1	–	6	13:22	6
2016	Haralds Vasiļjevs	3	2	–	1	13:5	6
2017–2021	Bob Hartley	29	12	–	17	68:73	41
2021–present	Harijs Vītoliņš	43	22	–	21	122:130	60

All-time record

Exhibition game Latvia - Finland (April 2024)

As of 8 November 2025.

Opponent	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD
Austria	28	23	0	5	106	65	+41
Belarus	40	19	3	18	106	97	+9
Belgium	2	2	0	0	31	4	+27
Canada	24	1	1	22	29	126	-97
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	38	24	0	14	131	93	+38
Estonia	5	5	0	0	32	6	+26
Finland	36	5	2	29	66	136	−70
France	57	37	4	16	195	115	+80
Germany	42	13	4	25	92	115	-23
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	15	10	0	5	54	31	+23
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	45	27	0	18	144	112	+30
Poland	21	16	0	5	72	50	+22
Romania	8	6	0	2	49	7	+42
Russia	22	6	1	15	38	83	−45
Slovakia	38	12	2	24	80	123	-43
Slovenia	14	13	0	2	49	25	+24
South Korea	3	3	0	0	38	2	+36
Sweden	30	3	1	26	50	126	−76
Switzerland	43	10	3	30	78	134	-56
Ukraine	20	14	1	5	67	49	+18
United States	19	4	2	13	38	61	−23
Yugoslavia	2	2	0	0	10	0	+10
Total	617	295	28	294	1 910	1 699	+211

Uniform evolution

• National team jerseys
• 
  1993-2005 Winter Olympics and IIHF jerseys
• 
  2006-2013 Winter Olympics and IIHF jerseys
• 
  2014-2017 Winter Olympics and IIHF jerseys
• 
  2018–2021 IIHF jerseys
• 
  2022– Winter Olympics and IIHF

External links

• Official website
• IIHF profile
• National Teams of Ice Hockey