The Juniors Riga were an ice hockey team in Riga, Latvia. They played in the

Latvian Hockey Higher League The Latvian Hockey Higher League ( lv, Latvijas Virslīgas hokeja čempionāts), also known as the Optibet Hockey League ( lv, Optibet hokeja līga) since 2017 due to sponsorship by Optibet, is the top tier league of ice hockey in Latvia current ...

and the

Eastern European Hockey League Eastern European Hockey League (EEHL) was a regional ice hockey league which existed from 1995 to 2004. History The league was formed in 1995 by Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine, to provide a higher-level competition for teams from those cou ...

History

The Juniors Riga were founded in 1993 and first took part in the

. With the establishment of the East European Hockey League in 1996, the Juniors were included in this multinational league, and finished runner-up in their first season. They joined the LHL for the semifinals this year. A year later, Juniors Riga were EEHL champions by defeating Sokil Kiev in five games. They participated in the 1997–98 IIHF Continental Cup. Before the 1997-98 season, the team found a new sponsor, so they were renamed Essamika Juniors Riga. They finished fourth in the EEHL. Due to financial problems, an affiliation with LB Prizma Riga was set up for 1998. The affiliate played in the LHL as LB/Essamika/Juniors-82 Riga. The club folded after the 1999-00 season, in which they participated in the Latvian Hockey League and the EEHL Division B.

Notable players

Ģirts Ankipāns Ģirts Ankipāns (born November 29, 1975) is a retired Latvian ice hockey player and coach. Currently he serves as the head coach of Dinamo Riga in KHL. Career Playing career He started his professional ice hockey career in Latvia, where he ...

* Armands Bērziņš *

Edijs Brahmanis Edijs Brahmanis (born November 17, 1983, in Riga, Soviet Union) is a Latvian ice hockey left winger, currently playing for HK Olimp/Venta 2002 of the Latvian Hockey Higher League. In 2004-05, while playing for ASK/Ogre, he was the top goal sc ...

Raitis Ivanāns Raitis Ivanāns (born January 3, 1979) is a Latvian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and was known primarily as an enforcer. Playing career In 1997, Ivanāns came over to North America and ...

* Vladimirs Mamonovs *

Sergejs Višegorodcevs Sergejs Višegorodcevs (born May 22, 1976) is a Latvian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Career Višegorodcevs played in the Russian Superleague for HC CSKA Moscow (1996–2002), CSKA Moscow from 1996 to 1998 and again from 2001 to ...

* Jānis Sprukts * Jēkabs Rēdlihs

References

1996-97 EEHL season
Ice hockey teams in Riga Defunct ice hockey teams in Latvia Latvian Hockey League teams Eastern European Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1993 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2000 {{Europe-icehockey-team-stub