Dinamo Riga ( lv, Rīgas Dinamo) was a Soviet

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 ...

club, based in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

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 ...

. It was founded in 1946 and disestablished in 1995 as Pārdaugava Rīga. In 1949 to 1963 Dinamo Riga was joined with Daugava sports society which was sponsored by Riga's factories VEF and then

RVR RVR may refer to: *Rapid Ventricular Rate, a type of fast heartbeat; see List of medical abbreviations: R *Rift Valley Railways, railways systems management consortium in Kenya and Uganda *River Valley Ranch, a Christian resort and youth camp loca ...

History of Dinamo Riga

Dinamo Riga was established in 1946, after the re-occupation of Latvia by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. It was a part of

Dynamo sports society Dynamo, also Dinamo, (; , Belarusian: Дынама, ka, დინამო) was a sports and fitness society created in 1923 in the Soviet Union. The society was an association of multi-sport clubs whose members were drawn from the NKVD and, a ...

sponsored by the Soviet Ministry of Interior and the national security structures including the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

. The club was one of the 12 teams which participated in the first Soviet championship in the 1946–47 season. The team's first official game was a victory 5–1 against Dinamo Tallinn in December 1946. The first season was considered as a success, as the team finished the tournament in fourth place. The club's first roster mainly consisted from the players of the interwar Latvian national team. At first the club had no permanent place, where the home games were held, but since the 1950–51 season, Dinamo started to play home games at Daugava Stadium, but the games still were played on a natural ice rink and the go ahead of the games depended on suitable weather, The situation did not change until the 1960–61 season, when the stadium was heavily reconstructed. Dinamo Riga changed its name to Daugava Riga before the start of the 1949–50 season, and kept it for a decade, before the team changed its name again. In the mid-fifties, the core of the team - players, which started their careers before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, started to retire, and the team started to slip further down the table as the years went by. The club again changed its name and since the 1958–59 season and now was known as RVR Riga, but the name did not last long as the club two years later was renamed once again to Daugava (RVR). The name changes did not help the team's cause and the club slipped to the third division. During the sixties, the club adopted a new player and staff recruiting policy, switching from local talent developing to gathering players from all corners of Soviet Union and even abroad. The club again changed owners and the name of Dinamo Riga was restored before the 1967–68 season, which ended as the worst season in the club's entire history. In the 1987–88 season, Dinamo Riga had their best finish, losing to CSKA Moscow in the final. In 1975, Viktor Khatulev of Dinamo Rīga became the first ice hockey player from the

drafted by the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. He never had a chance to play for the NHL, as Soviet players were not allowed to play for foreign teams. In season 1976–77, Dinamo Rīga star

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 ...

was the leading scorer, had the most goals, and won the best player of the season award (MVP). He was also the goal leader in 1975–76 and the leading scorer in 1983. He scored 333 goals in his Soviet Union League career. After the end of Soviet Union, the team continued to play until 1995 as a member of the International Hockey League, the successor of the Soviet Hockey League. During this period, the team was called ''Stars Rīga'' and later, ''Pārdaugava Rīga''. It was the former team of the

Aleksey Nikiforov Aleksey Nikiforov (born 27 April 1957) is a Lithuanian ice hockey coach and former player for Dinamo Riga. He is the father of Quad City Storm winger Vladimir Nikiforov. He resides on Long Island and coaches in Hauppauge, New York. Early life ...

, coach of many future

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

ers. As of April 7, 2008, the club has been re-established as a member of the Kontinental Hockey League. See

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 ...

Super Series

Dinamo Riga has also participated in the Super Series in exhibition games against NHL teams in year 1989 and 1990. Dinamo Riga Super Series record:

Season-by-season record

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes'' Notes: * The player statistics for the 1987–88 season are the total for both stages. * Soviet league had no playoffs, except for the 1987–88 season.

Notable players

IIHF Hall of Fame

;Players *

, RW, 1967–1977, 1980–1985, inducted 1998 *

Artūrs Irbe Artūrs Irbe (born 2 February 1967) is a Latvian professional ice hockey coach and former goaltender. Born during the Soviet era, Irbe played for various Soviet league teams and the Soviet Union national team before moving to North America in 199 ...

, G, 1987–1991, inducted 2010 ;Builders * Viktor Tikhonov, Coach, 1968–1977 inducted 1998

List of Dynamo Riga players selected in the NHL Amateur Draft

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

Viktors Hatuļevs Viktors Hatuļevs (russian: Ви́ктор Ви́кторович Ха́тулев, ''Viktor Viktorovich Khatulev''; 17 February 1955 – 7 October 1994) was a Soviet Latvian ice hockey defenseman and left winger who played for Dinamo Riga ...

(160th overall)

List of Dynamo Riga players selected in the NHL Entry Draft

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

Harijs Vītoliņš Harijs Vītoliņš (Harijs Vitolinsh; born April 30, 1968) is a Latvian former professional ice hockey centre. After being selected twice in the NHL Entry Draft, Vītoliņš played eight games in the National Hockey League with the Winnipeg Jets ...

(188th overall) *

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

(196th overall),

Helmut 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 ...

(238th overall) *

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

: Sandis Ozoliņš (30th overall) *

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

Sergejs Žoltoks Sergei Zholtok, who was also known as Sergejs Žoltoks (December 2, 1972 – November 3, 2004) was a Latvian professional ice hockey centre who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Montre ...

(55th overall),

Grigorijs Panteļejevs Grigorijs Panteļejevs (born November 13, 1972 in Gastello, Soviet Union) is a Latvian ice hockey coach and former player. Career The 5th choice, 136th overall selection of the Boston Bruins in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, Panteļejevs came to N ...

(136th overall), Viktors Ignatjevs (243rd overall) *

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

Aleksandrs Kerčs Aleksandrs Kerčs (sometimes anglicised as Alexander Kerch, russian: Александр Ярославович Керч, ''Aleksandr Jaroslavovich Kerch''; born March 16, 1967) is a retired Soviet and Latvian professional ice hockey left winger ...

(60th overall)

Stanley Cup winners

;Players * Sandis Ozoliņš, D, 1990–1992, won

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

Olympic champions

;Players * Vitālijs Samoilovs, G, 1982–1989, champion in

World champions

;Players *

, RW, 1967–1977, 1980–1985 champion in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, G, 1986–1991, champion in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

World Junior champions

Players * Anatolijs Antipovs, C, 1978–1981, champion in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

* Sergejs Gapejenko, F, 1984–1987, champion in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

* Vladimirs Golovkovs, F, 1978–1985, champion in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, D/LW, 1973–1981, champion in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

* Andrejs Maticins, D. 1981–1990, champion in

* Sandis Ozoliņš, D, 1990–1992, champion in

* Mihails Šostaks, C, 1975–1988, champion in

Edmunds Vasiļjevs Edmunds Vasiļjevs (born 20 February 1954) is retired Latvian professional ice-hockey player. During his career he played for Dinamo Riga club in Soviet Championship League. He currently coaches children at his ice-hockey school. His brother is ...

, F, 1969–1982, champion in

* Germans Volgins, F, 1981–1983, champion in

, C, 1990–1992, champion in

Head coaches

* Jānis Dobelis, 1946–1949 * Edgars Klāvs, 1949–1961 * Anatolijs Jegorovs, 1961–1962 * Georgijs Firsovs, 1962–1963 * Staņislavs Motls, 1967–1968 * Viktor Tikhonov, 1968–1977 * Ēvalds Grabovskis, 1977–1980 *

Vladimir Yurzinov Vladimir Yurzinov (born February 20, 1940 in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a retired ice hockey player who played as a centre in the Soviet Hockey League. He played for HC Dynamo Moscow. He was inducted as a player into the Russian and Soviet Hockey Ha ...

, 1980–1989 * Ēvalds Grabovskis, 1989–1991 * Jevgeņijs Banovs, 1992 * Juris Reps, 1992–1994 * Mihails Beskašnovs, 1994–1995 *

Leonīds Beresņevs Leonīds Beresņevs (russian: Леони́д Арка́дьевич Бе́реснев, ''Leonid Arkadyevich Beresnev''; born 6 July 1958) is a Latvian/Soviet Union, Soviet former ice hockey player and coach. Born in Kirov Oblast he is a coach of ...

, 1995