here i am with another part of these series! a thing i'd like you to know: when i was editing the post about defensemen, it took me quite a while and patience to read through all of the 20 people.. in my list of forwards, which i have to write about, are 28 names, so i figured i would split this part in half, so you don't have to spend too much time reading this! :D :)
- Lauris Bajaruns [a.k.a. Lauris Bajarūns, i don't know which is his correct surname tbh :D] (31.03.1989.) is a tall (196 cm / 6'5") right winger, who, in my opinion, should use his body more by playing physically, because he is not the most technical player nor a typical scorer. he started his career is SK LSPA/Riga (Latvia), where he spent 3 seasons, and then played for DHK Latgale. in 2009 he signed with Metalurgs Liepaja (Belarus, Latvia) and spent there 4 seasons, until the team bankrupted. he spent the last season in the Czech Republic, playing for HC Kladno and HC Litomerice. hockey in Liepaja has returned, they've formed a team called HK Liepaja (which will play in the Latvian championships) and it looks like Bajaruns will spend at least his next season there (if he won't find a team outside of Latvia, that is). he played for U18 team in 2007 and for U20 team in 2008 and 2009 but he hasn't played any official games for the men's team (yet). he regularly gets invited to the team's training camp though.
- Armands Bērziņš (27.12.1983.) is quite a big (192 cm / 6'3", 97 kg / 214 lbs) center, who does play a physical game and usually goes to the tough spots of the ice more but he can also score points. he started his career in Essamika/Juniors (EEHL B) but after 9 games he went to Prizma Riga (Latvia). after that he went to HK Riga and returned there 2 times (the team bankrupted, i think). after 2000/2001 season he went to North America and played two seasons for QMJHL's Shawinigan Cataractes. he got drafted in the NHL draft 2002 by Minnesota Wild, #155 overall. he spent another two seasons overseas, where he played for ECHL's teams Louisiana IceGators and Wheeling Nailers but he couldn't get closer to the NHL, so he came back to Europe. until the 2008/2009 season he played for Czech hockey league's HC Vsetin and Czech 2nd hockey league's HC Prostejov, and for Slovakia's HK Nitra. he signed with Dinamo Riga (KHL) in 2008 and spent 2 seasons in their system, -- 1,5 in Dinamo and 0,5 in Dinamo Juniors Riga (Belarus). after that he hasn't stayed in a team for longer than a season, he went from Liiga's HPK to Belarus' Yunost Minsk, to Ukraine's Kompanion Kiev, to Kazakhstan's Beibarys Atyrau. he hasn't signed with any team for the next season yet. he played for Latvia's U18 team in 2000 and 2001, in 2001, 2002 and 2003, he played for the U20 team. starting from the 2004/2005 season, he's played in at least one men's teams' tournaments, he hasn't went a season without playing in the 'big team' at least once. in that period of time, he's missed the World championships 3 times -- in 2005, 2006 and 2010. he also missed the Olympic qualification in 2009, but has played in all the other (official) tournaments.
- Māris Bičevskis (03.08.1991.) plays mostly in the center. he's definitely not the biggest guy (180 cm / 5'11", 79 kg / 174 lbs) but he really likes playing physically and will not let his opponents do bad stuff -- if you punch him, he'll punch you back, you touch his linemates, he'll be there. he hasn't played outside of Latvia; he started in SK Riga 18 (Latvian 2nd league), where he spent a season and then joined SK LSPA/Riga (Latvia & Latvia U20), where he spent another season. he played for two teams in 2009/2010 -- for Dinamo Juniors Riga (Belarus) and for Ozolnieki/Juniors (Belarus' 2nd league). in the next season, he made it to HK Riga's (MHL) roster and a season after that he debuted in the KHL. in 2012/2013 season he played only for Dinamo Riga, until their season ended and then helped HK Juniors Riga in Latvian championships' finals (they lost though). in the 2013/2014 pre-season, he got injured, so he started his season later than the others and in Dinamo Juniors Riga (Latvia). he soon came back to Dinamo though. speaking of the national teams, he played for the U18 team in 2008 and 2009 and for the U20 team in 2011. he's never made it to the final roster for the men's team, but in the last two years he was the last guy that got counted off the team.
- Roberts Bukarts (27.06.1990.) is a left winger with a great shot. when he was at the beginning of his career, many people said he's gonna be a great scorer. that kinda changed, well, he can score points but he's not really a typical scorer.. he started his career in SK LSPA/Riga (Latvia) and then went to HK Riga 2000 (Latvia). in 2007/2008 season he played for Texas Attack (Midget), and 5 games for SK Riga 18 (Latvia 2). then he spent the next season in Russian 2nd and 3rd leagues, playing for Krylia Sovetov Moscow and Krylia Sovetov Moscow-2. and before the next season he signed with Dinamo Riga and has played in their system -- Dinamo, Dinamo Juniors Riga (Latvia), HK Riga (MHL), Metalurgs Liepaja (Belarus) -- ever since. Bukarts played for the Latvian U18 team for three years -- 2006-2008. he also played for Latvian U20 team in 2009 and 2010 (he was also the captain that year). he's played in two men's World championships so far, which happened in 2011 and 2012, he's regularly been in team Latvia's training camps after that but hasn't made it to the final roster anymore.
- Mārtiņš Cipulis (29.11.1980.) usually plays in one of the two wings and is more of an energy guy, who plays physically and goes to the tough spots on the ice more. another thing about Cipulis -- he never celebrates his goals when he scores. :D he played two seasons for Metalurgs Liepaja (EEHL & Latvia) and the next 6 -- for HK Riga 2000 (EEHL, Latvia, Belarus), he also played 2 games in Prizma Riga in those 6 years. then he joined HK SKP Poprad (Slovakia) and after a season there, he went back to Belorussian championships and played for Metallurg Zhlobin. in 2008 he signed with Dinamo Riga and played 2 seasons there, after which he joined another KHL team Amur Khabarovsk. he came back to Dinamo Riga in 2011/2012 and then went to HC Lev Prague, which also played in the KHL. in summer 2013 he signed with Dinamo again, played a season for them and, if everything goes well, he'll play for the team in 2014/2015 season too. Cipulis played for the U18 team in 1998 and for the U20 team in 2000. he debuted in the men's team in 2005 and has played in every single men's teams tournament team Latvia has been in ever since.
- Kaspars Daugaviņš (18.05.1988.) can play in any of the wings and can play the the center. Matias Strozyk has said about him: "An offensive winger and excellent skater. Good puck control, reads the game well. A creative player and good passer. Not a very physical player who should shoot more often." he also often does the hard stuff on the ice -- goes to the toughest spots and often blocks shots. another fact about him -- he is very emotional. ;D some of you mights know him; after spending 3 seasons playing for HK Riga 2000 (EEHL, Belarus), Prizma Riga (Latvia) and CSKA Moscow-2 (Russia 3), he went overseas because he got drafted by the Ottawa Senators, #91 overall. he spent the next 3 seasons playing for Toronto and then Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (OHL) and Binghamton Senators (AHL). he played his first NHL game in the 2009/2010 season and it was his only one in the season there, he mostly played for Binghamton Senators. in the next season he won the AHL Calder cup. in 2011/2012 season he appeared in the NHL more often, he played 65 games that season and only 7 in the AHL. we all know that there was a lockout for a half of the NHL season in 2012/2013, and Daugavins played in KHL's Dinamo Riga then (he wasn't playing his best though). when the lockout ended he returned to the NHL but Senators' head coach didn't really let him play and Daugavins didn't like that, so after a while Senators put him in the waivers and the Boston Bruins took him. he played 6 regular season games and 6 playoff games as a Bruin, they made it to the NHL finals where they faced the Chicago Blackhawks. Boston lost with 2-4 in the series. Daugavins came back to Europe this past season and played for NLA's Genève Servette. the team became the Spengler Cup champions (it's a hockey tournament which happens in the mid-season in Switzerland, teams from different leagues play there) and Daugavins in the top scorer list ended up in the 4th place. this summer he signed with Dynamo Moscow (KHL) for two seasons. he's also often played in team Latvia. in 2004-2006 he played in the U18 team, in 2006-2008 he played in the U20 team and in 2006 he debuted in the men's World championships. he's played in the Worlds 6 times so far, -- in 2006-2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 (was the top 3 player on team Latvia, also was the most penalized player in the championships with 42 minutes; he got 5+20 minutes in the famous game vs Belarus after the referee didn't count his goal because he went mad :D but actually that's what every Latvian hockey fan did at the moment, i'm not even kidding). he's also played twice in Olympic games -- in 2010 and 2014.
- Lauris Dārziņš (28.01.1985.) is a very technical left winger with a good wrist shot and has got a lot of moves when it comes to shooutouts, he's more of a typical scorer than a guy who's gonna play a physical game. if you'll go on youtube and type in "Lauris Darzins goal" you'll find a lot of videos of him. ;D some of you might remember him best because of his goal in the Sochi 2014 game vs Canada. speaking of team Latvia, Dārziņš played for the U18 team in 2002 and 2003 and for the U20 team in 2003, 2004 and 2005. he also was the captain in 2004 and 2005. he debuted in the men's team in the World championships 2006 and didn't miss any Worlds for the next 5 years, he's also played in the World championships in 2013, when he wore the letter C. he's played in the Olympic qualifications in 2009 and 2013 and in the Vancouver and Sochi Olympic games. he spent his first 3 seasons playing for Lukko U18 and Lukko U20 in Finland. in 2003 Nashville Predators drafted him #268 overall and he went overseas, and played two seasons for WHL's Kelowna Rockets. only two because he got an injury which didn't let him get closer to the NHL and he came back to Europe. he played for 4 teams in the next 2 seasons -- Ilves (Liiga), HC Vsetin and HC Trinec (Czech league), and HK Gomel (Belorussian championships). in 2008 he signed with Dinamo Riga and spent the next 3 seasons there. he really improved his game while playing for Dinamo and in 2011 he signed with two time Gagarin Cup (KHL) champions Ak Bars Kazan for three seasons. everything didn't go as planned though, he got one serious injury after another in 2011/2012 season and had to miss a half of the 2012/2013 season too. in summer 2013 Ak Bars and another KHL team Traktor Chelyabinsk made a transaction, after which Dārziņš joined Traktor. he started the 2013/2014 season quite well but then he got another injury, which wasn't as serious as the previous ones but they let Dārziņš on ice before the injury was 100% healed and he couldn't really play.. it all resulted with Traktor terminating his contract. in the beginning of 2014, Dārziņš signed a contract with Dinamo Riga, which will end after the 2016/2017 season.
- Andris Džeriņš (14.02.1988.) is a center, whose playing style i actually quite enjoy. he's a speedy player, who has got some moves but also plays physically and can provoke his opponents. he spent his first season with HK Riga 2000 (Latvia), then he played a season for Sweden's junior league's Stocksunds IF J18 and then a season for Finland's junior league's Lukko U20. after being drafted #26 overall by the Kingston Frontenacs (OHL) in the CHL import draft 2007, he went overseas and spent two seasons playing for the team. he might've come back because he couldn't get anywhere further, so he came back to Europe and signed with Dinamo Riga, where he's played ever since. in the 2009/2010 season, he also played 19 games with Dinamo Juniors Riga in the Belorussian championships. Dzerins played in the U18 team (2005, 2006), in the U20 team (2007, 2008) and he hasn't missed any World championships, starting from 2010.
- Zemgus Girgensons (05.01.1994.) usually plays either as a center or as a left winger. "A well-rounded two-way center, Girgensons has size and can skate really well. Has nice hands and can play a gritty game, too. Good leader and plenty of intensity" is written on his eliteprospects page. when he was 15 years old, he went to North America and played a season for EmJHL and EJHL's Green Mountain Glades. after the season he joined USHL's Dubuque Fighting Saints; in his second season with them he was the captain of the team. he got drafted in the NHL draft 2012, #14 overall by the Buffalo Sabres and became the highest drafted Latvian in NHL history. he played the 2012/2013 for Sabres' AHL affiliate Rochester Americans. he debuted in the NHL on October 3, 2013. the Sabres lost 1-2 to Detroit Red Wings and Girgensons scored Sabres' only goal with his first shot in the game. he played the whole season for the Sabres and even wore the letter A in Sabres' last game of the season. (there are even rumors that he might be the captain of the team next season; he's got a contract with them 'till the end of the 2015/2016 season.) Girgensons got named Sabres' rookie of the year. Girgensons has also played a lot in Latvia's national teams -- in the U18 team (2009), in the U20 team (2011, 2012) and he's played in the men's World championships 2013 and 2014, and he also played in the Sochi Olympics.
- Miks Indrašis (30.09.1990.) is a very technical winger, who sees the game very well and only rarely plays a physical game. honestly, if you put him and Lauris Dārziņš on the ice to play and they didn't have their numbers or surnames on their jerseys, and you couldn't see their faces, you probably wouldn't know who is who, they are quite similar players, maybe Indrašis is speedier though, i'm not sure tbh. :D he started his career in Metalurgs Liepaja (Latvia & Latvia U18) and then, in the next 2 seasons he played for three different teams -- SK Riga 18 (Latvia U18), SK LSPA/Riga (Latvia & Latvia U20) and HK Riga 2000 (Belarus). then he got into Dinamo Riga's system, played a season for Dinamo Juniors Riga (Belarus), then for HK Riga (MHL). in 2011/2012 season he played for 4 Dinamo's system's teams: Dinamo, Dinamo Juniors Riga, HK Riga and Metalurgs Liepaja. after the season he signed a 3 year contract with Dinamo and since 2012/2013 season has been one of the team's leaders. by the way, this player is known for having very good hands; remember Mikael Granlund's amazing goal in World championships 2011? Miks Indrašis has done this twice and yes, in official games: once in MHL (2011/2012 season) and once in KHL (2012/2013 season). Indrašis played for the U18 team in 2008 and for the U20 team in 2010. in 2012 he debuted in the men's World championships and he had quite an amazing tournament (3G, 2A in 7GP) and since that he's played in two more World championships, in qualification for Sochi Olympics, and in Sochi Olympic games.
- Koba Jass (01.05.1990.) is a left winger who is not the most skilled player but the previous team Latvia's head coach Ted Nolan let him play in the World championships 2012, 2013 and 2014 and in the Sochi Olympic games because of the energy he's able to bring to his team and because of how hard he plays on the ice. he also can fight, his most well-known fight is from Worlds 2012 versus Erik Karlsson where they agreed they'd fight but when they came out of the penalty box, Karlsson didn't want to fight anymore, here's the video of it. Jass also played for the U20 team in 2009. he started his career, playing for ASK Ogre (Latvia, Belarus).then he spent the next season in Dinamo Juniors Riga (Belarus, Latvia), he was an alternate captain of the team. then he went to play for Metalurgs Liepaja (Belarus) and Metalurgs Liepaja-2 (Latvia, was the captain of the team). in that season he also played a game for another Latvian championships' team Mogo.lv. in 2011 he signed with Kazzinc-Torpedo and spent half a season playing for them in VHL, and half a season playing for them in Kazakhstan's hockey league. he spent half of the 2012/2013 season in Slovakia, playing for MsHK Zilina and then joined Czech hockey league's HC Kladno. in 2013 he signed with another Czech hockey league's team Bili Tygri Liberec and will play for them in the 2014/2015 season too.
- Roberts Jekimovs (11.11.1989.) "is a skilled winger. Stands out with his skating, technical skills and powerful release. Likes to challenge his opponents. His size and strength pose limitations to physical play. Could work on his defensive game and play more determined." he played his first three seasons with Latvia's SK LSPA/Riga and in 2008 he joined Sweden's SuperElit's Brynäs J20. in the next season he mostly played for Dinamo Juniors Riga in Belorussian championships, and later in the season he played for Jokipojat (Mestis a.k.a. Finland's 2nd best league) and Jokipojat U20 (Jr. A I-divisioona). they became the Mestis' champions and he stayed in the team for the 2010/2011 season too. in 2011 he signed with Finland's best league's team SaiPa, he played 2 seasons there and in 2013 signed with another Liiga's team called Ilves. the 2013/2014 season wasn't great for him though, he also got loaned to a Mestis' team called LeKi, Jekimovs didn't make it to final rosters for team Latvia (thinking back, i'm not sure he even was with team Latvia in the spring, i'm not sure but he might have had an injury) and Ilves terminated his contract after the season. speaking of the national team, he played for Latvian U18 team in 2006 and 2007, for U20 team in 2007, 2008 and 2009. he officially debuted in the men's team in 2009 men's World championships but the next time he played for a World championships was in 2013. he also helped team Latvia in the Olympic qualification for Sochi in 2013.
- Mārtiņš Karsums (26.02.1986.) played for 4 different teams in his first three seasons: Prizma Riga (Latvia, EEHL B), HK Riga 2000 (Latvia, EEHL), New York Apple Core (EJHL) and Vilki Riga (Latvia). after that, he went overseas and played for QMJHL's Moncton Wildcats. Boston Bruins drafted him #64 overall after the season, so he was in the Bruins' system for the next 5,5 seasons, in his last season with the Moncton Wildcats (2005/2006) he became the QMJHL champion. after that he mostly played for the team's AHL's affiliate Providence Bruins; he did play 6 games in the NHL though. in 2008/2009 season the Bruins traded him to the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he finished his season. in the next summer they extended his contract but they let him play only in the AHL, for Norfolk Admirals, so he decided he would come back to Europe. he signed with Dinamo Riga (KHL) and played there 'till the end of the 2012/2013 season, after which Dynamo Moscow (KHL) signed him. Karsums played for Latvian U18 team in 2001, 2002, 2003 and for the U20 team in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. he's played in the World championships in 2008, 2009, 2010; he's also played in the Olympic games 2010 and 2014 and in Olympic qualifications in 2009 and 2013. Matias Strozyk has said about him: "A right-handed left winger who works hard and plays tough. Likes to check and plays physically. A good goal scorer. Needs to develop his shot." he is not the biggest guy though (177 cm / 5'10", 88 kg / 194 lbs) but, as you can probably imagine, that doesn't stop him (to say the least). the thing with him is that he has a problem with his knees, so he often has to have surgeries after the season and he has to miss World championships and also, the problem might make him retire earlier than he would want to..