HK Olimp/Venta 2002 were a Latvian ice hockey team that played in the Optibet Hockey League, the top tier of the sport in Latvia. The team was based in Riga and played 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, 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. 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.
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). However, two months later, the IIHF cancelled the Continental Cup due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
After the end of the 2021-22 Latvian League season, Olimp/Venta 2002 folded and did not apply for the next season. The core of the team then moved on to HK Dinamo Rīga.
Roster Updated February 11, 2021.
GoaltendersNumberPlayerCatchesAcquiredPlace of Birth 79Andrej Bonch-BrujevičL 2019Saint Petersburg, Russia30Rūdolfs Gusts LazdiņšL 2020Riga, Latvia35Kārlis ZakrevskisL 2020Riga, Latvia
DefencemenNumberPlayerShootsAcquiredPlace of Birth 61Krists ApsītisL 2019Riga, Latvia77Vladislavs Balakuns L 2019Riga, Latvia65Arvils BergmanisL 2020Riga, Latvia71Aleksejs Popovs L 2021Riga, Latvia23Aleksandrs Jerofejevs L 2019Riga, Latvia81Georgijs Pujacs (C)L 2019Riga, Latvia33Maksims Širokovs (A)R 2019Riga, Latvia ForwardsNumberPlayerShootsPositionAcquiredPlace of Birth59Lauris BajarunsRRW 2020Ventspils, Latvia93Edijs Brahmanis RLW 2019Riga, Latvia28Emīls Ezītis LC 2019Riga, Latvia47Kirils GalohaRC/RW 2020Riga, Latvia18Sandis GrīnbergsLW 2020 -52Arjoms Koppass LF 2020Valka, Latvia17Dmitrijs Korņilovs LW 2019Sigulda, Latvia14Ričards LandmanisLF 2020Ventspils, Latvia15Sandis MežaraupsRF 2019Jēkabpils, Latvia10Roberts PotapenkoLLW/RW 2019 -19Miķelis RēdlihsLRW 2020Riga, Latvia72Roberts Siliņš LF 2020 -62Aleksejs Širokovs (A)RC 2019Riga, Latvia44Gatis SpruktsLLW/C 2020Jelgava, Latvia84Renārs UndelisLC 2019Riga, Latvia21Valerii VorozhontsovLF 2020Yekaterinburg, Russia68Fedor YarionovskiiLF 2020Saint Petersburg, Russia11Ņikita ZantmansRF 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.
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 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 Miķelis Rēdlihs Georgijs Pujacs Aleksandrs Jerofejevs
References
External links