Dinamo Riga
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| Full name | Dinamo Riga |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 (1946) |
| Based In | Riga, Latvia  |
| Arena | Arena Riga (Capacity: 10,300) |
| League | KHL 2008–present |
| Division | Bobrov |
| Conference | Western |
| Uniform |  |
| Team Colors | |
| President | Juris Savickis |
| GM | Juris Opuļskis |
| Head Coach | Artis Ābols |
| Captain | Mārtiņš Karsums |
| Affiliates | Liepājas Metalurgs (BXL) HK Riga (MHL) HK Juniors Riga (MHL-B ) |
| Website | dinamoriga.eu |
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 six 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 April 27, 2011 the new head coach Pekka Rautakallio was announced.
Mārtiņš Karsums is the current captain of the team, with his alternates being Raitis Ivanāns and Arvīds Reķis .
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History [edit]
Season 2008-09 [edit]
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 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 HC Dynamo Moscow, which later achieved Gagarin Cup semifinals.
Season 2009-10 [edit]
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 St. 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.
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.[4] 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.
Season 2010-11 [edit]
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 UHC Dynamo. Dinamo won the series 2-4, advancing to next round and facing Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Dinamo lost series 1-4.
Season 2011-12 [edit]
As of the end of 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 team added also Jakub Šindel, Ville Nieminen and Marcel Hossa to its roster, but Jakub Šindel and Ville Nieminen also got fired.
Sponsors [edit]
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.
Players [edit]
Current roster [edit]
Updated February 16, 2013.[5]
Team captains [edit]
- Aleksejs Širokovs, 2008
- Rodrigo Laviņš, 2008–09
- Sandis Ozoliņš, 2009–12
- Guntis Galviņš, 2012
- Mārtiņš Karsums, 2012–present
First-round draft picks [edit]
- 2009: Roberts Bukarts (13th overall)
- 2010: None
- 2011: None
- 2012: Rihards Bukarts (9th overall)
Head coaches [edit]
- Július Šupler, 22 May 2008 – 29 March 2011
- Pekka Rautakallio, 27 April 2011 – 5 November 2012
- Artis Ābols, 5 November 2012–present
Franchise scoring leaders [edit]
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; bold = current Dinamo player
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Points
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Goals
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Assists
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Franchise records [edit]
Regular season [edit]
- Most goals in a season: Marcel Hossa, 35 (2009-10)
- Most assists in a season: Miķelis Rēdlihs, 31 (2011-12)
- Most points in a season: Marcel Hossa, 54 (2009-10)
- Most penalty minutes in a season: Duvie Westcott, 124 (2008-09)
- Most goals in a season, defenseman: Sandis Ozoliņš, 10 (2011-12)
- Most assists in a season, defenseman: Sandis Ozoliņš, 26 (2010-11)
- Most points in a season, defenseman: Sandis Ozoliņš, 32 (2010-11)
- Most points in a season, rookie: Roberts Bukarts, 7 (2009-10)
Playoffs [edit]
- Most goals in a playoff season: Lauris Dārziņš (2010–11) & Jānis Sprukts (2011–12), 5
- Most assists in a playoff season: Miķelis Rēdlihs, 8 (2011–12)
- Most points in a playoff season: Lauris Dārziņš (2010–11) & Miķelis Rēdlihs (2011–12), 10
- Most penalty minutes in a playoff season: Duvie Westcott, 33 (2008–09)
- Most points in a playoff season, defenseman: Sandis Ozoliņš & Oskars Cibuļskis (2010–11), 7
- Most points in a playoff season, rookie: Roberts Bukarts (2009–10) & Ainārs Podziņš (2010–11), 1
Franchise history [edit]
Regular season record [edit]
GP = games played, W = wins in regular time, OT/SO = in overtime/shoot-out, L = losses in regular time, Pts = points , GF/GA = goals for/against
| Season | GP | W (OT/SO) | L (OT/SO) | Pts | Pts/GP | GF – GA | Rank (league/conference) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | 56 | 24 (3/2) | 23 (1/3) | 86 | 1.54 | 132 – 156 | 10th / — |
| 2009–10 | 56 | 23 (1/3) | 22 (3/4) | 84 | 1.50 | 174 – 175 | 13th / 8th |
| 2010–11 | 54 | 20 (2/5) | 20 (5/2) | 81 | 1.50 | 160 – 149 | 13th / 7th |
| 2011–12 | 54 | 20 (2/4) | 21 (0/7) | 79 | 1.46 | 129 – 136 | 15th / 7th |
| 2012–13 | 52 | 11 (2/2) | 31 (2/2) | 51 | 0.98 | 109 – 151 | 24th / 14th |
| KHL totals | 272 | 98 (10/16) | 117 (11/18) | 381 | 1.40 | 704 – 767 | Best: 10th / 7th |
Play-off series [edit]
| Year | Round | Opponent | Series result (match results) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 1st round |  Dynamo Moscow |
0–3 loss (0–4, 1–7, 3–4) |
| 2010 | Conference quarter-final | SKA Saint Petersburg |
3–1 win (2–0, 3–1, 2–4, 4–2) |
| Conference semi-final | HC MVD |
1–4 loss (1–4, 0–2, 3–1, 5–4 OT, 2–3 OT) | |
| 2011 | Conference quarter-final | Dynamo Moscow |
4–2 win (2–1 OT, 4–8, 5–1, 2–1 OT, 1–3, 2–1 OT) |
| Conference semi-final | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl |
1–4 loss (2–4, 5–3, 4–8, 2–6, 4–5 OT) | |
| 2012 | Conference quarter-final | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod |
3–4 loss (3–7, 2–1 OT, 4–3 OT, 4–1, 3–4, 3–1, 0–2) |
Milestones [edit]
| 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 [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "Šuplers apstiprināts". (Latvian)
- ^ "Lipmans izstājies no a/s "Rīgas Dinamo"". esports.lv. (Latvian)
- ^ "Koziols: "Par paveikto nekaunos"". esports.lv. (Latvian)
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Team Roster". www.dinamoriga.lv. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
External links [edit]
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