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.
| HK Olimp/Venta 2002 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Riga, Latvia |
| League | Optibet Hockey League 2019 - 2022 |
| Founded | 2018[1] |
| Folded | 2022 |
| Home arena | Inbox Ice Arena |
| Colours | Black, gold, white |
| General manager | Aleksejs Sirokovs |
| Head coach | Aigars Cipruss[1] |
| Captain | Georgijs Pujacs |
| Website | HK Olimp/Venta 2002 |
| Franchise history | |
| 2018 - 2020 | HK Olimp |
| 2020 - present | HK Olimp/Venta 2002 |
History edit
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 edit
Updated February 11, 2021.[1]
| Goaltenders | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Catches | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
| 79 | 
|
Andrej Bonch-Brujevič | L | 2019 | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| 30 | 
|
Rūdolfs Gusts Lazdiņš | L | 2020 | Riga, Latvia |
| 35 |
|
Kārlis Zakrevskis | L | 2020 | Riga, Latvia |
| Defencemen | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Shoots | Acquired | Place of Birth | ||
| 61 |
|
Krists Apsītis | L | 2019 | Riga, Latvia | |
| 77 |
|
Vladislavs Balakuns | L | 2019 | Riga, Latvia | |
| 65 |
|
Arvils Bergmanis | L | 2020 | Riga, Latvia | |
| 71 |
|
Aleksejs Popovs | L | 2021 | Riga, Latvia | |
| 23 |
|
Aleksandrs Jerofejevs | L | 2019 | Riga, Latvia | |
| 81 |
|
Georgijs Pujacs (C) | L | 2019 | Riga, Latvia | |
| 33 |
|
Maksims Širokovs (A) | R | 2019 | Riga, Latvia | |
| Forwards | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Shoots | Position | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
| 59 |
|
Lauris Bajaruns | R | RW | 2020 | Ventspils, Latvia |
| 93 |
|
Edijs Brahmanis | R | LW | 2019 | Riga, Latvia |
| 28 |
|
Emīls Ezītis | L | C | 2019 | Riga, Latvia |
| 47 |
|
Kirils Galoha | R | C/RW | 2020 | Riga, Latvia |
| 18 |
|
Sandis Grīnbergs | L | W | 2020 | - |
| 52 |
|
Arjoms Koppass | L | F | 2020 | Valka, Latvia |
| 17 |
|
Dmitrijs Korņilovs | L | W | 2019 | Sigulda, Latvia |
| 14 |
|
Ričards Landmanis | L | F | 2020 | Ventspils, Latvia |
| 15 |
|
Sandis Mežaraups | R | F | 2019 | Jēkabpils, Latvia |
| 10 |
|
Roberts Potapenko | L | LW/RW | 2019 | - |
| 19 |
|
Miķelis Rēdlihs | L | RW | 2020 | Riga, Latvia |
| 72 |
|
Roberts Siliņš | L | F | 2020 | - |
| 62 |
|
Aleksejs Širokovs (A) | R | C | 2019 | Riga, Latvia |
| 44 |
|
Gatis Sprukts | L | LW/C | 2020 | Jelgava, Latvia |
| 84 |
|
Renārs Undelis | L | C | 2019 | Riga, Latvia |
| 21 |
|
Valerii Vorozhontsov | L | F | 2020 | Yekaterinburg, Russia |
| 68 |
|
Fedor Yarionovskii | L | F | 2020 | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| 11 |
|
Ņikita Zantmans | R | F | 2020 | - |
Season-by-season record edit
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 edit
Career edit
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 edit
Regular season edit
- Most goals in a season: Nikolajs Jeļisejevs, 19 (2019-20)
- Most assists in a season: Emīls Ezītis, 20 (2020-21)
- Most points in a season: Nikolajs Jeļisejevs, 36 (2019-20)
- Most penalty minutes in a season: Aleksandrs Jerofejevs, 68 (2019–20)
Notable players edit
References edit
- ^ a b c "HK Olimp/Venta 2002" (in Latvian). Optibet Hockey League. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Georgijs Pujacs". EliteProspects.com. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "Aleksejs Širokovs". EliteProspects.com. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "HK VENTA 2002 on Facebook" (in Latvian). HK Venta 2002. August 28, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "Continental Cup expands with new format". International Ice Hockey Federation. June 19, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "IIHF cancels Continental Cup". International Ice Hockey Federation. August 25, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "Olimp Riga". EliteProspects.com. Retrieved February 16, 2021.