Helmuts Balderis

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Helmuts Balderis

Born	(1952-06-30) June 30, 1952 Riga, Soviet Union
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Dynamo Riga CSKA Moscow Minnesota North Stars
National team	Soviet Union Latvia
NHL Draft	238th overall, 1989 Minnesota North Stars
Playing career	1973–1985 1989–1996

Helmuts Balderis
Medal record

Competitor for Soviet Union
Men's ice hockey
Olympic Games
Silver	1980 Lake Placid	Ice hockey
World Championships
Bronze	1976 Poland	Ice hockey
Bronze	1977 Austria	Ice hockey
Gold	1978 Czechoslovakia	Ice hockey
Gold	1979 Soviet Union	Ice hockey
Gold	1983 West Germany	Ice hockey
Canada Cup
Bronze	1976 Canada Cup	Ice hockey

Helmuts Balderis-Sildedzis (born 30 June 1952 in Riga, Soviet Union) is a retired Latvian ice hockey player.^[1] He played right wing.

Playing career

Balderis played in the Soviet Hockey League for Dinamo Rīga (1969–77 and 1980–85) and CSKA Moscow (1977–80). He was the leading scorer in the 1977 and 1984 seasons, winning the Player of the Year award in 1977. He was the best Latvian player of the 1970s and 1980s and the most prolific scorer from that nation, tallying 333 goals in Soviet league play.

Balderis played for the Soviet national team, on the losing side of the Miracle on Ice game in 1980 but winning World Championships in 1978, 1979 and 1983. Balderis represented the Soviet Union in five IIHF World Championships (1976–1979, 1983), 1976 Canada Cup and 1980 Winter Olympics. He was named Best Forward in the 1977 World Championships. He was not selected for the USSR's 1984 Olympic team and played in only one major international tournament after he left CSKA Moscow to go back to play for Dinamo Riga in 1980.

In 1985, Balderis retired and became a coach in Japan. He returned in 1989, when Soviet players were allowed to play in the NHL. Balderis was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars, playing 26 games and scored 3 goals with 6 assists. He became the oldest ever player drafted by an NHL team (36) and the oldest player to score his first goal (37). He retired again after one season in Minnesota, but came out of retirement for the second time when Latvia regained its independence. Balderis played several games for the newly created Latvian national team (in 1992), serving as its captain and scoring 2 goals. He later coached the team and served as its general manager. He is currently a member of the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation (Latvijas Hokeja Federācija; LHF).

In 1998, he was inducted into IIHF International Hockey Hall of Fame.

Awards

Soviet league First All-Star Team (1977)
Izvestia Trophy (Soviet league top scorer) (1977, 1983)
Soviet league player of the year (1977)
World Championships All-Star Team (1977)
Named Best Forward at World Championships (1977)
Leading scorer of the Latvian league (1993)

Career statistics

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes;

			Regular season
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1967–68	Dynamo Riga	Soviet II
1968–69	Dynamo Riga	Soviet III
1969–70	Dynamo Riga	Soviet III		12
1970–71	Dynamo Riga	Soviet II		10
1971–72	Dynamo Riga	Soviet II		14	9	23
1972–73	Dynamo Riga	Soviet II		27	15	42
1973–74	Dynamo Riga	Soviet	24	9	6	15	13
1974–75	Dynamo Riga	Soviet	36	34	14	48	20
1975–76	Dynamo Riga	Soviet	36	31	14	45	18
1976–77	Dynamo Riga	Soviet	35	40	23	63	57
1977–78	CSKA Moscow	Soviet	36	17	17	34	30
1978–79	CSKA Moscow	Soviet	41	24	24	48	53
1979–80	CSKA Moscow	Soviet	42	26	35	61	21
1980–81	Dynamo Riga	Soviet	44	26	24	50	28
1981–82	Dynamo Riga	Soviet	50	39	24	63	50
1982–83	Dynamo Riga	Soviet	40	32	31	63	39
1983–84	Dynamo Riga	Soviet	39	24	15	39	18
1984–85	Dynamo Riga	Soviet	39	31	20	51	52
1989–90	Minnesota North Stars	NHL	26	3	6	9	2
1991–92	HK Rīga	Latvia	7	23	18	41	27
1992–93	Latvijas Zelts	Latvia	22	76	66	142	16
1994–95	Essamika Ogre	Latvia	1	0	1	1	0
1995–96	Essamika Ogre	Latvia	30	18	36	54	12
Soviet totals			462	333	247	580	399
NHL totals			26	3	6	9	2

International play

Played for USSR in 1971 European Junior Championships
Played for USSR in 1976 Canada Cup
Played for USSR in 1976–77 Super Series
Played for USSR in World Championships (1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1983)
Played for USSR in 1979 Challenge Cup
Played for USSR in 1980 Super Series
Played for USSR in 1980 Winter Olympic Games
Played for and coached Latvia in qualifications for 1993 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships. He coached the team until 1994.

International statistics

Year	Team	Event	GP	G	A	P	PIM
1971	Soviet Union	EJC	5	10	1	11	4
1976	Soviet Union	Canada Cup	5	2	3	5	6
1976	Soviet Union	WC	10	3	7	10	6
1976–77	Soviet Union	Super Series	7	4	4	8	14
1977	Soviet Union	WC	9	8	7	15	4
1978	Soviet Union	WC	10	9	2	11	8
1979	Soviet Union	Chal. Cup	3	1	1	2	0
1979	Soviet Union	WC	8	4	5	9	9
1980	CSKA Moscow	Super Series	5	5	2	7	2
1980	Soviet Union	Olympics	7	5	4	9	5
1983	Soviet Union	WC	10	4	5	9	22
1992	Latvia	WC Group C qualifying	2	2	2	4	0

References

↑ "Visi Latvijas olimpieši; Helmūts Balderis-Sildedzis" (in Latvian). Latvian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2010-11-03.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Vladislav Tretiak	Soviet MVP 1977	Succeeded by Boris Mikhailov
Preceded by Victor Shalimov	Soviet Scoring Champion 1977	Succeeded by Vladimir Petrov
Preceded by Sergei Makarov	Soviet Scoring Champion 1983	Succeeded by Sergei Makarov
Sporting positions
Preceded by –	Latvian national ice hockey team coach 1992–1994	Succeeded by Mihails Beskašnovs

Persondata
Name	Balderis, Helmuts
Alternative names
Short description	Ice hockey player
Date of birth	30 June 1952
Place of birth	Riga, Soviet Union
Date of death
Place of death

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