Dinamo Riga

Dinamo Riga
Rīgas Dinamo
City Riga, Latvia
League Kontinental Hockey League
Conference Western
Division Bobrov
Founded 2008
Home arena Arena Riga
(capacity: 10,300)
Colours               
President Juris Savickis
General manager Ģirts Ankipāns
Head coach Sandis Ozoliņš
Captain Gints Meija
Affiliate(s) HK Riga (MHL)
HK Liepāja (LHL)
Website www.dinamoriga.eu
Franchise history
Dinamo Riga
Current season

Dinamo Riga (Latvian: Rīgas Dinamo) is a professional ice hockey team based in Riga, Latvia. It is a member of the Bobrov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Dinamo Riga is one of the seven KHL teams that are not located in Russian Federation. The club has an affiliated club HK Riga, which plays in the MHL.

The club was re-founded on 7 April 2008 as a successor of a former hockey team (also named "Dinamo Riga"), which was founded in 1946, but ceased to exist in 1995. Since being re-established, Dinamo Riga plays their home games at the Arena Riga, which can accommodate attendance of 10,300 spectators.

Július Šupler became the first head coach of the club.[1] For the first two seasons he was assisted by Miroslav Miklošovič and Artis Ābols, but in 2010 Viktors Ignatjevs replaced Miklošovič. On 27 April 2011, the new head coach, Pekka Rautakallio, was announced.

History

The club was re-founded on 7 April 2008 and among the founders of the club were Guntis Ulmanis, Kirovs Lipmans, Aigars Kalvītis, Juris Savickis, Viesturs Koziols and others. However, on 27 May Latvian Ice Hockey Federation president Kirovs Lipmans stepped out of the project, because of a possible clash of interests.[2] After the first season, also Viesturs Koziols left the project.[3]

In the first season of the franchise, the team was led by players like Masaļskis, Prusek, Westcott, Ņiživijs, Hossa and others. After 2008-09, forward Aigars Cipruss decided to retire and instantly became the manager of Dinamo Riga farm club Dinamo-Juniors Riga. Team finished the regular season in tenth position, higher than anyone would have predicted before the start of the season. However, in the first round of league playoffs Dinamo lost to Dynamo Moscow, which later advanced to Gagarin Cup semifinals.

Following the first season, Dinamo managed to sign legendary Sandis Ozoliņš, as well as Jānis Sprukts, Mārtiņš Karsums and others. The team finished regular season in the eighth place of Western Conference, which qualified them for the playoffs. In the first round of the playoffs Dinamo faced SKA Saint Petersburg with players like Zubov, Cajanek, Sushinsky and Yashin on the roster. Still, Dinamo managed to beat SKA and advance to Western Conference semifinals. In the semifinals, Dinamo was defeated by later Gagarin Cup finalist HC MVD 1-4.

Dinamo Riga's match against Barys Astana at the Arena Riga in 2008.

In December 2009, it was announced that 15 players from Dinamo Riga would be on the 2010 Olympic roster for Latvia's Ice Hockey team. Mārtiņš Karsums was then added to Dinamo Riga in January 2010; along with Marcel Hossa representing Slovakia, 17 players in all from the club played in the Olympics.

After his league-leading performance, Marcel Hossa signed a 2-year contract with the current KHL champions Ak Bars Kazan. Martin Kariya signed a 2-year contract with Swiss NLA's HC Ambri-Piotta. New players signed during the off-season include Tomáš Surový, Brock Trotter, Mikael Tellqvist, and the returning Mark Hartigan. Július Šupler resumed his post as the head coach.

Team finished season in seventh place in Western Conference and thirteenth in league, as the team qualified to the playoffs. In first round their opponents were Dynamo Moscow. Dinamo won the series 2-4, advancing to next round and facing Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Dinamo lost series 1-4.

As of the end of the third season, head coach Július Šupler left the team to be the coach of CSKA Moscow. On April 27, 2011 Dinamo signed Pekka Rautakallio for the head coach position. Also, all the foreign players with no active contracts left the team to play somewhere else. Brock Trotter also left using chance to play in NHL, Montreal Canadiens.

Dinamo signed numerous new players for the upcoming season, from Latvia: Mārtiņš Cipulis, Māris Jučers and for probationary period: Kristiāns Pelšs, Armands Bērziņš and foreign players: Jamie Lundmark, Niclas Lucenius, Björn Melin, Fredrik Warg. Soon, however, Melin was fired. During the season, the team added also Jakub Šindel, Ville Nieminen, and Marcel Hossa to its roster, but Jakub Šindel and Ville Nieminen also got fired.

Sponsors

Apart from Itera, which is one of the owners of the team, Dinamo Riga sponsors include companies such as Aldaris, LDZ Cargo, Skonto Būve among others.

Season-by-season record

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by Dinamo Riga. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Dinamo Riga seasons.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTW = Overtime/Shootout Wins, OTL = Overtime/Shootout Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season GP W L OTW OTL Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs
2008–09 56 24 23 5 4 86 132 156 2nd, Kharlamov Lost in First Round, 0–3 (Dynamo Moscow)
2009–10 56 23 22 4 7 84 174 175 5th, Bobrov Lost in Conference Semifinals, 1–4 (HC MVD)
2010–11 54 20 20 7 7 81 160 149 4th, Bobrov Lost in Conference Semifinals, 1–4 (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)
2011–12 54 24 5 4 23 86 132 156 3rd, Bobrov Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 3–4 (Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod)
2012–13 52 13 31 4 4 51 109 151 7th, Bobrov Did not qualify
2013–14 54 22 16 11 5 93 141 122 3rd, Bobrov Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 3–4 (Donbass Donetsk)
2014–15 60 22 30 3 5 77 136 160 5th, Bobrov Did not qualify
2015–16 60 17 34 8 8 75 129 151 7th, Bobrov Did not qualify

Players

Current roster

Updated December 15, 2016.[4]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
96 Latvia Bičevskis, MārisMāris Bičevskis C L 26 2009 Riga, Latvia
27 Latvia Cibuļskis, OskarsOskars Cibuļskis D L 29 2009 Riga, Latvia
10 Latvia Dārziņš, LaurisLauris Dārziņš (C) LW L 32 2014 Riga, Latvia
29 Latvia Freibergs, RalfsRalfs Freibergs D L 26 2016 Riga, Soviet Union
47 Latvia Galoha, KirilsKirils Galoha RW L 21 2015 Riga, Latvia
58 Latvia Galvins, GuntisGuntis Galvins D L 31 2015 Talsi, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
81 Canada Gillies, ColtonColton Gillies C/LW L 28 2016 White Rock, BC, CAN
70 Latvia Indrašis, MiksMiks Indrašis RW L 26 2008 Riga, Latvia
69 Latvia Jeļisejevs, NikolajsNikolajs Jeļisejevs LW L 22 2014 Riga, Latvia
23 Latvia Jerofejevs, AleksandrsAleksandrs Jerofejevs D L 33 2014 Riga, Latvia
98 Latvia Kalnins, JanisJanis Kalnins G L 25 2016 Limbaži, Latvia
32 Latvia Kulda, EdgarsEdgars Kulda LW L 22 2015 Riga, Latvia
87 Latvia Meija, GintsGints Meija LW L 29 2008 Riga, Latvia
79 Latvia Pavlovs, VitalijsVitalijs Pavlovs RW/C L 28 2015 Riga, Soviet Union
18 Latvia Pujacs, GeorgijsGeorgijs Pujacs D L 36 2016 Riga, Soviet Union
41 Latvia Razgals, FrenksFrenks Razgals LW L 21 2015 Riga, Latvia
14 Latvia Rēdlihs, JēkabsJēkabs Rēdlihs D L 35 2016 Riga, Latvia
9 Latvia Rēdlihs, KrišjānisKrišjānis Rēdlihs (A) D L 36 2008 Riga, Latvia
19 Latvia Rēdlihs, MiķelisMiķelis Rēdlihs RW L 33 2014 Riga, Latvia
17 Latvia Saulietis, KasparsKaspars Saulietis RW R 30 2015 Riga, Latvia
36 Czech Republic Sedláček, JakubJakub Sedláček G L 27 2013 Zlín, Czechoslovakia
43 United States Sestito, TimTim Sestito C L 32 2015 Rome, New York
13 Latvia Skvorcovs, GunārsGunārs Skvorcovs RW L 27 2015 Riga, Latvia
7 Latvia Zile, KristapsKristaps Zile D L 19 2016 Riga, Latvia

Retired numbers

The Dinamo have retired one number, in their history.

Dinamo Riga retired numbers
No Player Position Career
8 Sandis Ozoliņš D 2009–12, 2013–14

Team captains

First-round draft picks

Head coaches

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed KHL regular season.

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game

Points
Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G
Slovakia Marcel Hossa LW 215 94 75 170 0.79
Latvia Miķelis Rēdlihs RW 279 66 100 166 0.59
Latvia Aleksandrs Ņiživijs RW 258 39 97 136 0.53
Latvia Lauris Dārziņš LW 221 58 71 129 0.58
Latvia Mārtiņš Karsums RW 169 58 50 108 0.64
Latvia Krišjānis Rēdlihs D 285 28 71 99 0.35
Latvia Jānis Sprukts C 159 32 65 97 0.61
Latvia Sandis Ozoliņš D 182 26 71 97 0.53
Latvia Miks Indrašis RW 152 42 46 88 0.58
Latvia Guntis Galviņš D 243 19 63 82 0.34
Goals
Player Pos G
Slovakia Marcel Hossa LW 94
Latvia Miķelis Rēdlihs RW 66
Latvia Lauris Dārziņš LW 58
Latvia Mārtiņš Karsums RW 58
Latvia Miks Indrašis RW 42
Latvia Aleksandrs Ņiživijs RW 39
Canada Mark Hartigan C 36
Latvia Jānis Sprukts C 32
Latvia Krišjānis Rēdlihs D 28
Latvia Ģirts Ankipāns LW 28
Assists
Player Pos A
Latvia Miķelis Rēdlihs RW 100
Latvia Aleksandrs Ņiživijs RW 97
Slovakia Marcel Hossa LW 76
Latvia Lauris Dārziņš LW 71
Latvia Krišjānis Rēdlihs RW 71
Latvia Sandis Ozoliņš D 71
Latvia Jānis Sprukts C 65
Latvia Guntis Galviņš D 63
Latvia Mārtiņš Karsums RW 50
Latvia Miks Indrašis RW 46

     = current Dinamo player

Franchise records

Regular season

Playoffs

NHL alumni

Franchise history

Milestones

Event Date Details
First KHL match (and first win) 2 September 2008 4–2 win at Amur Khabarovsk
First KHL home match (and first home win) 11 September 2008 2–1 win vs HC MVD
First KHL play-off match 1 March 2009 0–4 loss at Dynamo Moscow
First KHL play-off match won 10 March 2010 2–0 win at SKA Saint Petersburg
First KHL play-off series won 14 March 2010 3–1 series win vs SKA Saint Petersburg

KHL awards and trophies

Honors

2nd, silver medalist(s) Wingas Cup (1): 2017

Attendance at Arena Riga

Home attendance at Arena Riga
Season Average
2008–2009 6 817
2009–2010 7 506
2010–2011 7 619
2011–2012 7 733
2012–2013 6 220
2013–2014 8 083
2014–2015 5 941

[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Šuplers apstiprināts". (in Latvian)
  2. ↑ "Lipmans izstājies no a/s "Rīgas Dinamo"". esports.lv. (in Latvian)
  3. ↑ "Koziols: "Par paveikto nekaunos"". esports.lv. (in Latvian)
  4. ↑ "Team Roster". www.dinamoriga.lv. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
  5. ↑ Riga Dynamo Yearly Attendance Graph hockeyDB.com
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