Edgars Kulda (born 13 November 1994) is a

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

n professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

winger currently playing for

Dinamo Riga Dinamo Riga ( lv, Rīgas Dinamo) is a professional ice hockey team based in Riga, Latvia. It is a member of the Latvian Hockey Higher League. The club is affiliated with HK Zemgale/LLU. The club was re-founded on 7 April 2008 as a successor of ...

in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was selected 193rd overall in the

2014 NHL Entry Draft The 2014 NHL Entry Draft was the 52nd NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 27–28, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia), Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The top three selections were Aaron Ekblad, ...

by the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

. He played in Latvian minor and youth leagues.

Playing career

Junior

Kulda began playing hockey in BHS hockey school and founded by former Dinamo Rīga player

Helmuts Balderis Helmuts Balderis-Sildedzis (born 31 July 1952) is a Soviet former ice hockey player. He played right wing, participated in the Soviet team's losing effort in the Miracle on Ice, and played part of a single season in the NHL after being drafted in ...

. In 2011–12 season Kulda moved to North America to play for

Edmonton Oil Kings The Edmonton Oil Kings are a major junior ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that play in the Western Hockey League. As of July 2008, they are owned by Daryl Katz's Oilers Entertainment Group, which also owns the Edmonton Oilers. ...

of WHL. His most successful season as Oil King was 2013–14, when Oil Kings won Memorial Cup and Kulda received

Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy The Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy is a Canadian Hockey League (CHL) trophy, awarded to the most valuable player in the annual Memorial Cup Tournament. The trophy was first awarded in 1972 and won by Richard Brodeur of the QMJHL's Cornwall Royals. ...

as Memorial Cup Most Valuable Player.

Professional

In 2015–16 season Kulda moved back to Latvia and joined his hometown club

KHL The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

. He made his KHL debut on 3 September 2015, in overtime loss against Medveščak Zagreb. After a three year absence, highlighted with a lone season with

PSG Berani Zlín PSG Berani Zlín is an ice hockey team in the Czech 1. Liga. Their home arena is Zimní stadion Luďka Čajky in Zlín (The biggest city in the Moravian Wallachia). They won the Extraliga in 2004 and 2014.

of the

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga ( cs, Extraliga ledního hokeje, ELH) is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created by the 1993 split of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League following the breakup of Czechoslovakia. The leag ...

, Kulda returned to Dinamo Riga on a one-year contract as a free agent on 7 August 2021.

International play

Kulda represented Latvia in junior and U18 championships. In 2016, he made his debut in 2016 World Championships in opening match overtime loss against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Personal life

Edgars Kulda is the younger brother of Arturs Kulda.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* 1994 births Living people Arizona Coyotes draft picks Dinamo Riga players Edmonton Oil Kings players HK Riga players HK Zemgale players Latvian ice hockey left wingers Metallurg Novokuznetsk players PSG Berani Zlín players Ice hockey people from Riga Latvian expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Latvian expatriate ice hockey people Expatriate ice hockey players in the Czech Republic Expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Expatriate ice hockey players in Denmark Expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Expatriate ice hockey players in Kazakhstan {{Latvia-icehockey-bio-stub