hey guys! sorry it's been such a long time, school has basically taken a lot of my time and i often feel too tired to try to write something. :d but here are the other 14 forwards. :)
also, i decided i would make an extra part for these series, it will be about the bonds there are between these players. like, for example, who just seem to work on the ice and who have some kind of chemistry off the ice, too, i will also tell you about some related players because, as you have probably noticed, there are some players who, for example, have the same surname. :D
you'll find all of these players' stats on eliteprospects.com and you'll see their faces if you click on their names. :D :)
also, i decided i would make an extra part for these series, it will be about the bonds there are between these players. like, for example, who just seem to work on the ice and who have some kind of chemistry off the ice, too, i will also tell you about some related players because, as you have probably noticed, there are some players who, for example, have the same surname. :D
you'll find all of these players' stats on eliteprospects.com and you'll see their faces if you click on their names. :D :)
- Artūrs Kuzmenkovs (01.12.1993.) usually plays as a center, he's got quite good hands and he sees the game quite well, he usually assists more than scores. he spent his first seasons mostly in Metalurgs Liepaja, however, in 2011/2012 season he played 53 games for HK Riga. in his last season with Metalurgs he was the 2nd best scorer on the team and he was only 20 years old. when the team bankrupted, he signed a 2 year contract with Dinamo Riga. he played the pre-season games really well, everyone always talked about how he is a very good center forward and how he could be a leader for not only Dinamo but also the national team in the future. of course, he'll still have a chance to prove himself, especially in the national team but, when the season started, he wasn't playing that well, so he spent the other half of the season in HK Riga. this summer, he and Dinamo obviously terminated their contract and Kuzmenkovs joined VHL's Saryarka Karaganda. speaking of national teams, he played for the U18 team in 2010 and 2011 and for the U20 team in 2012 and 2013 (wore the A).
- Ronalds Ķēniņš (28.02.1991.) is a left winger and he is one of those players who the opposite teams and their fans hate. Rafik Soliman has said about him: "A forward who plays every shift with a lot of dynamic and high intensity. Ronald Kenins creates scoring chances using his explosive acceleration and good speed. Battles hard for the puck and is not afraid to go into hot areas to score goals. He has a lot of offensive upside and is a perfect addition to an energy line." Ķēniņš played his first season for Metalurgs Liepaja U18 (Latvia U18) and then went to Switzerland where he played for the next 7 seasons. he started in Elite Novizen's Pikes Oberthurgau U17 and then he joined Lions Zurich's (a.k.a. ZSC) system and played for GC Küsnacht U20 (Top Junioren), GCK Lions U20 (Elite Jr. A; became the league's champions in 2009/2010 and in 2010/2011 seasons), and GC Küsnacht Lions (NLB). since 2011 he only played for ZSC and became NLA's champions with the team twice -- in 2011/2012 season and in 2013/2014 season. in summer 2013, he went to Vancouver Canucks' development camp and, later in the summer, he signed a contract with them, but he got loaned to ZSC for the last season and he will come to North America this (2014/2015) season, and will most likely start in the AHL. Ķēniņš played for the U18 team in 2007 and 2008, for the U20 team in 2010 and 2011. in 2011 he also debuted in the men's World championships and, since then, he's played in 3 more Worlds, the Olympic qualification for Sochi and in the Olympic games.
- Roberts Lipsbergs (29.07.1994.) can basically play everywhere -- in the right wing, in the left wing, in the center. Bill Placzek has said about him: "Smaller top-end finisher who is more of a perimeter player, but has excellent speed, effective hands, and plenty of offensive upside." he played for SK Riga 18 (Latvia U18, Latvia2, Belarus U18) in his first two seasons and then joined HK Riga (MHL) and spent a season playing for them. in 2012, Seattle Thunderbirds drafted him #60 overall in the CHL import draft and since then he's played in WHL for the team. Lipsbergs played for Latvian U17 (2011), U18 (2011, 2012) and U20 (2012-2014) teams and he officially debuted in the men's team in World championships 2014.
- Gints Meija (04.09.1987.) is a speedy right winger, who has quite good hands and is excellent at penalty killing. his first official season was with SK Riga 18 (Latvia) and, after that, he joined SK LSPA/Riga and played two seasons for them. after those, he joined HK Riga 2000 and, obviously thanks to that, he got into Dinamo Riga's system when the team got restored. it was only the 2011/2012 season when he spent a full season playing for Dinamo, until then he got loaned to different Dinamo's system's teams like HK Rīga 2000 (Belarus), Dinamo Juniors Riga (Belarus), Metalurgs Liepaja (Belarus). this summer, he and Dinamo Riga extended his contract (for a season). Meija played for U18 team in 2005, for U20 team in 2006 and 2007, and he debuted in the men's team in World championships 2010. he's played in every World championships ever since and he also played in Vancouver Olympic games and in Olympic qualification 2013.
- Aleksandrs Ņiživijs (16.09.1976.) should actually be now in the 'important people' part because he retired (he made the announcement in July, i think) and became an assistant coach for Dinamo Riga. but he was always very very near team Latvia. he is most well-known for his amazing shootout moves and his great offensive skills, stickhandling and good passing game. during his career, he mostly played in Russian leagues: Russian championships (Pardaugava Riga, Torpedo Yaroslavl, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, Dynamo Moscow, Molot-Prikamie Perm, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod), Russian 2nd league (Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod), Russian 3rd league (Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod-2) and KHL (Dinamo Riga, HC Lev Prague). but he also played in Latvian championships (Pardaugava Riga, HK Riga 2000) and Sweden's 2nd league Allsvenskan (Björklöven). Ņiživijs played for U18 (1993, 1994) and U20 (1994, 1995) teams. he debuted in the men's World championships in 1995 when Latvia was still in division B. after that he wore team Latvia's jersey in World championships 1996, 1998-2000, 2002-2011 and 2014, he played for team Latvia in Olympic qualifications 1996, 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2013 and in Olympic games 2002 (Salt Lake City), 2006 (Turin) and 2010 (Vancouver).
- Vitālijs Pavlovs (17.06.1989.) is a big (195 cm / 6'5", 98 kg / 216 lbs) forward who usually plays in the center; Pavlovs goes to the tough spots of the ice more, plays physically, isn't a typical scorer but still can score some points. he started his career by playing for SK LSPA/Riga (Latvia). next season he joined DHK Latgale (Belarus) and also played for their 2nd team, which was DHK Latgale-2 (Latvia). after the season he joined Metalurgs Liepaja and played two seasons for them in Belorussian and Latvian championships. after those, he spent a season in Kazakhstan, playing for Beibarys Atyrau and became the champion of Kazakhstan that season. in 2012 he signed with Dinamo Riga but then got loaned to Mestis' team Jokipojat, he rejoined Dinamo in the middle of 2012/2013 season. as i've previously said, Dinamo didn't make it into the playoffs that year; KHL decided that the teams that didn't get into top 8 places in their conferences will have their own tournament called Nadezhda cup (a.k.a. the Cup of Hope). Dinamo won that tournament that season and Pavlovs played really well there and earned a contract extension. in 2013/2014 season he basically became one of Dinamo's most important players but in Sochi olympics his analysis were doping positive. it wasn't a very serious substance -- methylhexanamine, which helps you to not get overweight --, besides, Dinamo's doctor took the blame for it because he was giving Pavlovs a protein shake (?), which had the substance in it (they ordered it from the internet and it wasn't told on the website that it had it in it, and they didn't check the bottle or whatever), but IIHF still gave Pavlovs a 1.5 year disqualification. Dinamo Riga submitted appeal but there hasn't been a response to that yet.. speaking of team Latvia, Pavlovs has played for Latvian U18 team (2007), for Latvian U20 team (2008, 2009); in 2013 he debuted in men's World championships, he also was in the final team Latvia's roster for Sochi olympic qualification but he didn't really play then.
Miķelis Rēdlihs (01.07.1984.) is quite a small (181 cm / 5'11") but very speedy right winger with good technical skills and, as eliteprospects say, overall offensively skilled. Rēdlihs played his first three official seasons for Prizma Riga (Latvia & EEHL B). in the next season after those, he played for two EJHL teams -- New York Apple Core and Boston Jr. Bruins, but after the season he returned to Europe and played two seasons for HK Riga 2000 (EEHL, Latvia, Belarus), after which he spent a season in Sweden, in Allsvenskan, playing for Björklöven. after that, he spent two seasons in Belarus, playing in its championships, in teams called Yunost Minsk and Metallurg Zhlobin. in 2008 he signed with Dinamo Riga and spent the next 4 seasons there (in his 4th with them he wore the A). in 2012 he signed with another KHL team called Lokomotiv Yaroslavl for three seasons but his first two weren't really great, so they terminated his contract, and soon, Miķelis joined Dinamo Riga. he played for Latvian U18 team in 2001 and 2002, for the U20 team in 2002, 2003 and 2004. he debuted in the men's team in 2005 in Turin's olympic qualification. he has also played in all World championships from 2005 to 2012 and in Worlds 2014, in Olympic qualifications in 2009 and 2013 and in Turin's, Vancouver's and Sochi Olympic games.
- Kaspars Saulietis (12.06.1987.) is quite a big (190 cm / 6'3", 88 kg / 194 lbs) winger who can do basically anything on the ice -- he goes to the tough spots, he plays physically and can play well defensively, he can score points and, if needed (and sometimes just because he gets annoyed :D), he can fight and win his fights. in his first official season, he played for two teams -- USHL's Des Moines Buccaneers and Latvia's HC Riga. then, in the next season, he played only for HK Riga 2000 in Belorussian championships. after the season, he went to WHL and he first played for Kelowna Rockets and then finished the season, playing for Regina Pats. he played one game for the Pats in the next season too, but then returned to HK Riga 2000. in the next 2 seasons he changed his team 4 times: first, he joined Belarus' Metallurg Zhlobin, then KHL's Dinamo Minsk, then Belarus' Shakhter Soligorsk and then Czech hockey league's HC Litvinov. after that he spent a season playing for Liiga's HPK and then another season playing for Belarus' Neman Grodno. Neman won Belarus' silver that season. his 2012/2013 season was not that full of games, he only played 11 games for Ukraine's Sokil Kiev, 6 games for Yunost Minsk in VHL and 6 (regular season's games) + 2 (playoff games) for Yunost Minsk in the Belorussian championships. he spent the last season playing for Toros Neftekamsk in VHL, he was one of the team's leaders, and, this summer, he joined KHL's Dinamo Riga. Saulietis played in Latvia's U18 team in 2004 and 2005, in Latvia's U20 team in 2005, 2006, 2007; his debut in the men's team was in World championships 2010. he also played in World championships 2011 and 2012 but he hasn't made it to the final roster since that.
- Gunārs Skvorcovs (13.01.1990.) plays in the right wing and is more of a guy who brings energy to his team, he plays physically. he played most of his first 7 seasons for Metalurgs Liepaja (Latvia, Latvia U18, Latvia 2, Latvia U20, Belarus), he also played 24 games for SK LSPA/Riga in Latvian championships in 2007/2008 season. in 2012 he signed with Dinamo Riga and since then he's only played for them, except for 12 games with Metalurgs Liepaja in Belorussian championships. Skvorcovs played for the U18 team in 2008, for the U20 team in 2009 and 2010 (wore the A that year); he has been to quite a lot of team Latvia's training camps but hasn't made it to the final roster for any tournaments yet.
- Jānis Sprukts (31.01.1982.) is, hands down, Latvia's best center forward in hockey. Matias Strozyk has said about him: "A hard working all-round center. A large player who utilizes his physical advantage. A superb penalty killer. Likes to play a straightforward game. Smooth hands and some scoring upside." in the first two seasons of his career he played mainly for two teams: Essamika/Juniors (EEHL B & Latvia) and Lukko (Finland; Liiga and with their U20 team -- in Jr. A SM-liiga (won bronze with them in the 1999/2000 season)). in 2001 he got drafted #61 overall in the CHL import draft by the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, so he went overseas and spent 1,5 great seasons there, in the QMJHL. he spent the other half of the 2002/2003 season, playing for Mestis' team Sport. he spent most of the next season in Latvia, playing for ASK Ogre but then, at the end of the season, he joined Denmark's Odense and won the bronze medal with them. then he spent two full seasons -- first, in Belarus championships' HK Riga 2000 and then in Liiga, playing for HPK (became the champions), before he got drafted #234 overall by the Florida Panthers. he spent the next season in North America, mostly playing for Panthers' AHL affiliate at that time -- Rochester Americans; he did play 13 games in the NHL though. in the next season, he returned to Europe, Finland's best hockey league and played a full season for Lukko. after that, he returned to America for another season, but this time he only played 1 game in the NHL and, in the rest of the season, he played for the Americans. in 2009 he signed with KHL's Dinamo Riga and played the next 3 seasons for them, before he joined another KHL team called CSKA Moscow. it wasn't that great for him and his ice time wasn't big, so, after the season, they terminated his contract. in 2013, he joined Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL) and, in his 3rd game with them, injured his knee really badly, so that's why he played only 14 games in the regular season. Sprukts healed the injury before the Olympics and could play the rest of the season normally. in summer 2014 they extended Sprukts' contract, so he's gonna be playing at least another season for them. Sprukts played for the U18 team in 1999 and 2000 and for the U20 team -- in 2000, 2001 and 2002. he debuted in the men's world championships in 2000 but the next time he played for the men's team was only in 2003. since that, he has also played in 8 more World championships (2005-2010, 2012, 2013), in 3 Olympic games' qualifications (2005, 2009, 2013) and in two Olympic games (2010, 2014).
- Aleksejs Širokovs (20.02.1982.) is a center forward, who plays physically, brings energy to his team, can fight (and do it really well, despite his not-so-big body (182 cm / 6'0", 86 kg / 190 lbs)) and can score points.fun fact: there was once this Icebox ice hockey toughguys' boxing tournament and Širokovs won it! he played his first season for Latvia's Pardaugava Riga, after which he joined EEHL's HC Riga and after that he joined EEHL's Metalurgs Liepaja. then he spent a season playing for Dinamo Riga'81 (Latvia & EEHL B) and then he returned to Metalurgs Liepaja and spent the next 4 seasons there. his 4th season with them wasn't full though, later on in it, hejoined Italy's Cortina. he spent the next 3 seasons playing for several Russian league's teams: Amur Khabarovsk (2nd league), Kapitan Stupino (2nd league), Dynamo Moscow, Metallurg Novokuznetsk and Khimik Mytischy. after that, he spent a season, playing for Belarus' Metallurg Zhlobin (wore the C) and, after the season, he signed with Dinamo Riga. he was the captain of the team, but he spent only a season there because of disagreements with Julius Supler, who was Dinamo's head coach at that time. in the next season, he returned to Amur Khabarovsk, who now were (and still are) in the KHL. he spent there a little more than a season and, after that, in the 2010/2011 season he went from Amur to Latvia's HK Ozolnieki/Monarhs, to Liiga's Lukko, to Czech hockey league's HC Kometa Brno. he spent all of the next season in VHL, playing for Kazzinc-Torpedo (was the alternate captain). in 2012 he signed with NLB's team Red Ice and spent two seasons, playing for them. recently, he signed with Belarus' Neman Grodno. Širokovs played for Latvian U18 team in 1997, 1998 and 1999, for the U20 team in 1999, 2000 and 2001. he's played in World championships 2003-2009, 2012 and 2013, in Olympic qualification in 2009 and in the Vancouver Olympic games.
- Juris Štāls (08.04.1982.) is a big (191 cm / 6'3", 91 kg / 201 lbs) forward, who usually plays in the center. he brings energy to his team, can play physically (but doesn't do it that much) and can score points. just like Sprukts, Štāls started playing hockey professionally in Jr. A SM-liiga's Lukko U20. in 2001 he got drafted in both NHL (by the New York Rangers) and CHL (Sarnia Sting) drafts -- in NHL he was #269 overall, in CHL he was #23 overall --, so he went to North America and played there for the next 5 seasons. in those seasons, he wore OHL's Sarnia Sting's and Owen Sound Attack's, AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack's and ECHL's Charlotte Checkers' jerseys. in 2002/2003 season he also played 23 games for Mestis' Sport. when he returned to Europe, he couldn't really settle down in one team so he had to throw himself a lot; in three seasons he played for 6 teams: Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Russia 2), Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod-2 (Russia 3), HC Trinec (Czech hockey league), Neman Grodno (Belarus), HK Riga 2000 (Belarus) and Dinamo RIga (KHL). in 2009 he signed with an IHL team Quad City Mallards and spent a season there, before returning to Dinamo Riga's system, where he played for Dinamo and for one of their affiliates -- Metalurgs Liepaja. after another 2 seasons with them, he went to Ukraine, played for Kompanion Kiev and then, at the end of the season, he signed with Slovakia's HK SKP Poprad. they extended his contract until the end of the 2013/2014 season, so he played there last season too, and his last season was quite great, not only in Poprad but also he was doing quite well in team Latvia. speaking of which, Štāls played in the U18 team in 1999, in the U20 team in 2001 and 2002. his official debut in the men's team happened in Turin's Olympic game qualification. since that, he's played in 7 World championships (2006, 2008, 2010-2014), 2 more Olympic game qualifications (2009, 2013) and in Sochi Olympic games. Štāls signed a contract with Czech hockey league's team HC Karlovy Vary for a season.
- Juris Upītis (16.06.1991.) is a small (176 cm / 5'9"), quite speedy left winger, who knows how to score goals. if you look at his stats tho, he hasn't scored that much in the KHL.. he also brings energy to his team. he started his career in Latvian U18 league's Prizma Riga U18, then spent a season playing for SK Riga 18 in Latvian U18 and Latvian 2nd leagues. after that he spent a season in Latvian championships' SK LSPA/Riga. in 2009 he got into Dinamo Riga's system and, since that, he's played only for the teams that are in it: Dinamo Juniors Riga (Belarus), HK Riga (MHL), Metalurgs Liepaja (Belarus), HK Juniors Riga (Latvia) and, of course, Dinamo RIga (KHL). in 2008 and 2009 Upītis played in the U18 team and in 2009 and 2010 (also was the captain) he was in the U20 team. Upītis always gets invited to team Latvia's training camps, but hasn't made it to any of the final rosters yet.
- Herberts Vasiļjevs (23.05.1976.) can play in the left wing and in the center. "a good skater. Has A good technique and is a pretty complete player without any major weaknesses. Offensively skilled and a good finisher. A conscientious defender with good leadership skills." Vasiļjevs started his career in Germany's DEL league's team Krefelder EV 1981 and, after a season, he went to North America and joined OHL's Guelph Storm. in the next two seasons he played for AHL's Carolina Monarchs and Beast of New Haven and CoHL's Port Huron Border Cats. in the next season, which was the 1998/1999 one, he debuted in the NHL, while playing for Florida Panthers. but he ended up with only 5 games in the NHL that season, he mostly played for AHL's Kentucky Thoroughblades. after the season, he joined Atlanta Trashers' system and played there for the next two years, in which he collected 28 NHL games (and 131 games for IHL's Orlando Solar Bears, with who he became an IHL champion in 2000/2001 season). then, he joined Vancouver Canucks' system, he only played in the NHL in his first of the two seasons with them and for only 18 games. he mostly played for AHL's Manitoba Moose. he even wore the letter A in his second year with the Moose, but that was his last season in North America. in his first season back in Europe he played for Russia's Amur Khabarovsk. after that, he joined DEL's team Nürnberg Ice Tigers and spent a year there, after which Vasiļjevs signed a contract with another DEL's team Krefeld Pinguine. it's been his team ever since and, since 2008, Vasiļjevs has been the captain of the team. he also has Germany's nationality, which didn't allow him to play for team Latvia for two years -- 2012 and 2013. speaking of which, Vasiļjevs hasn't played in any junior teams; he debuted in the men's team in 1998. altogether, Vasiļjevs has played in 11 World championships (1998, 2000, 2004-2011, 2014), 3 Olympic games (2006, 2010, 2014) and 1 Olympic qualification (2009).