HK Prizma Riga explained

Team:HK Prizma Rīga/IHS
Colour:
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City:Riga, Latvia
League:OHL
Founded:1997[1]
Arena:Volvo Sports Centre
Capacity:2000[2]
Colours:Red, dark blue, white
Coach:Ēriks Miļuns
Gm:Juris Jegorovs
Owner:SIA Prizma[3]
Championships:1 (2014)
Name1:LB Prizma Rīga
Dates1:1998–2002
Name2:HK Prizma Rīga
Dates2:2002–2004
Name3:Prizma/Riga 86
Dates3:2003–2004
Name4:HS Riga/Prizma-Hanza
Dates4:2008–2009
Name5:HK Prizma Rīga
Dates5:2010–2017
Name6:HK Prizma/IHS
Dates6:2017–2021
Name7:HK Prizma Rīga
Dates7:2021–present

HK Prizma Riga/IHS[4] is an ice hockey team in Riga, Latvia, that plays in the Latvian Hockey Higher League, the top tier of the sport in Latvia. The team is based in Riga and play their home games at the Volvo Sports Centre. HK Prizma previously played in both the Eastern European Hockey League and the MHL B.

History

The team was founded in 1997 by logistics company SIA Prizma,[3] originally operating under the name LB/Prizma Riga having partnered up with a team founded by timber company Latvijas Bērzs,[5] and began play in the Latvian Hockey Higher League during the 1998–99 season. They would have an abject debut season losing every one of their games and finishing the season in last place.[6] The following season saw the team continue to struggle, as they lost all but one of their games, and had one tie; they again finished at the foot of the table.[7] In the off-season, they separated from Latvijas Bērzs and rebranded as HK Prizma.[8] Playing under a new name saw the team's fortunes improve; they finished the 2000-01 season in 4th place after winning 8 games.[9] The 2001-02 season saw Prizma field a team in both the Latvian Hockey League and Division B of the Eastern European Hockey League, a trans-national league made up of teams from Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine amongst others. Prizma achieved mid-table positions in both leagues, and the following season would return to the EEHL, however, the team struggled, winning only 3 of their 18 games.[10] During this season, Prizma did not compete in the LHL, however, they did field a team in the Pirma Liga, the 2nd tier of the sport in the country, in which they finished 3rd.[11]

Prizma returned solely to the LHL for the 2003-04 under the name of Prizma/Riga 86, and had a good season, finishing 3rd in Group B before losing in the play-off finals.[12] During this season, future NHL and KHL player Kaspars Daugaviņš played for the team.[13] After the culmination of the season, Prizma pulled out of organised hockey, save for a single season in the LHL as HS Riga/Prizma-Hanza in 2008, until returning to the LHL for the 2010–11 season. During this time, the team relocated to the Volvo Sports Centre which had been constructed by team owners SIA Prizma in 2005.[3] HK Prizma's return to the LHL was a tepid affair, finishing 7th out of nine teams, before losing in the play-off quarter-finals.[14] The following season, Prizma again fielded teams in two leagues; they remained in the LHL but also competed in the MHL B, a junior league based predominately in Russia. However, they continue to would struggle in both leagues, regularly finishing near the bottom of the table for the next two seasons. The 2013–14 season however was one of mixed success. Whilst the MHL squad finished dead last out of 32 teams,[15] the LHL side would find success by finishing 3rd in the regular season, before going on to win their first Latvian Championship, beating HK Kurbads in the play-off finals.[16] The season marked the last that Prizma would field a team in the MHL B; moving forward the team focused solely on the LHL.[8]

The 2014–15 season saw Prizma defending their championship, however, they were unable to retain it having finished 4th in the regular season, before losing in the opening round of the play-offs to HK Zemgale/JLSS. They finished 5th the following season, and subsequently made it to the Bronze-medal game which they ultimately lost to HK Mogo.[17] Prizma remained towards to the foot of the table during the 2016–17 season, winning 10 of their 30 games, finishing 6th out of 7 teams before ultimately losing in the opening round of the play-offs.[18] The team would struggle during the following season in the newly renamed Optibet Hockey League too, finishing dead last having only won 4 games and failing to qualify for the play-offs.[19] In the pursuing off-season, Prizma signed former Olympian and KHL player Armands Bērziņš, who had previously played for the team as a junior.[20] With Bērziņš on board the team's fortunes improved, as they finished 4th out of 7 teams in the 2018-19 season however, they lost in the opening round of the play-offs.[21] The team would regress during the 2019-20 season, finishing in 7th place besting only HS Rīga before the play-offs were cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.[22]

In 2005 SIA Prizma founded the 'Pārdaugava' sports school,[3] which focuses on ice hockey and figure skating. The year after its establishment, Pārdaugava was the first private sports education provider in Latvia to receive accreditation from the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science.[23] [24] During the 2019 off-season the team changed its name to HK Prizma/IHS in order to highlight its new partnership with the International Hockey School also based out of the Volvo Sports Centre.[25] [26]

As a result of winning the Latvian Championship in 2014, Prizma qualified for the IIHF Continental Cup in 2015. They were drawn in Group C alongside KH Sanok of Poland, Romanian champions Corona Brașov and Hungarian side Dunaújvárosi Acélbikák.[27] Prizma beat Sanok, but lost to both Corona Brașov and Dunaújvárosi;[28] as a result they finished last in the group based on goal difference and did not progress to the next round.[29]

Roster

Updated February 22, 2021.[4]

Goaltenders
width=5%Numberwidth=5%width=15%Playerwidth=8%Catcheswidth=9%Acquiredwidth=37%Place of Birth
32Jāzeps LukjanskisL2020-
1Kirill MerkulovL2020-
71Rihards NorvaišsL2019-
84Reinis PetkusL2020Aizpute, Latvia
32Niklāvs RauzaL2019Riga, Latvia
Defencemen
width=5%Numberwidth=5%width=15%Playerwidth=8%Shootswidth=9%Acquiredwidth=37%Place of Birth
69Artūrs ApfelbaumsL2016Riga, Latvia
96R2019-
5L2016-
23Vadim KolpakovL2020Chelyabinsk, Russia
3L2018Riga, Latvia
52Rihards ĶuzisL2020-
98L2019-
2Ivan MykoliukR2020Donetsk, Ukraine
59L2019Riga, Latvia
47L2020Riga, Latvia
15L2018-
19L2018-
61L2020Riga, Latvia
Forwards
width=5%Numberwidth=5%width=15%Playerwidth=8%Shootswidth=8%Positionwidth=9%Acquiredwidth=37%Place of Birth
77Valters ApfelbaumsLW2015Riga, Latvia
21Armands Bērziņš (A)LC2018Riga, Latvia
41LF2018Saint Petersburg, Russia
29Aleksey BorodichLLW/RW2020Minsk, Belarus
94Renārs CiprussRRW2020-
27Gusts JegorovsLF2019-
55LW2020Aizkraukle, Latvia
97Ēriks OzollapaLRW/LW2019Riga, Latvia
29Everts OzolsRC2019-
18Ričards PuriņšLC2020Riga, Latvia
89Kristaps RiekstiņšRF2015-
28Ņikita ŠaburovsRR2018Riga, Latvia
74Deivids ŠeflandsLF2020-
33LF2019-
13LF2018Riga, Latvia
62Dāvis StraupeRRW/C2020Riga, Latvia
12Kārlis TiltiņšRF2017-
19Yegor TozikLF2020-
8Juris UpītisRLW/C2020Riga, Latvia
88Ēriks ŽohovsLC2020Riga, Latvia
61Haralds JirgensLF2020Riga, Latvia
17Kristers BormanisRW/C2020Jelgava, Latvia
0Dmitrijs KomarņickisLF2020-
28Rihards KrastiņšRF2020-
23Martins LavrovsLLW/RW2020Tukums, Latvia
98Roberts PriževoitsLF2020Riga, Latvia
25Māris Jānis GraudiņšLF2020Jūrmala, Latvia

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season League GP W L T OTW OTLPts GF GA Finish Playoffs
30 12 16 1 1 39 110 101 5th Bronze medal game loss
30 8 19 2 1 29 131 152 6th Quarter-final loss
30 3 22 1 4 15 55 141 6th Did not qualify
2018–19 35 17 12 2 4 59 113 59 4th Semi-final loss
2019–20 35 6 26 1 2 16 95 194 7th Playoffs cancelled

Honours

Latvian Championships

Team records

Career

These are the top five scorers in HK Prizma history.[8]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

Player Pos GP G A Pts
F 286 9296 188
F 238 59 78137
F 118 51 69 120
D 225 41 74 115
F 128 31 78109

Penalty minutes: Daniels Riekstiņš, 325

Season

Regular season

Playoffs

Notable players

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Komandas - Optibet Hockey League. Optibet Hockey League. lv. February 22, 2021.
  2. Web site: Volvo Sporta Centrs. HockeyArenas.net. en. February 22, 2021.
  3. Web site: SIA "PRIZMA". EliteProspects.com. lv. February 24, 2021.
  4. Web site: HK Prizma/IHS - Optibet Hockey League. Optibet Hockey League. lv. February 22, 2021.
  5. Web site: HK LB 69 Riga. EuroHockey.com. en. February 23, 2021.
  6. Web site: Team Standings - Latvia - 1998-1999 . EliteProspects.com. en. February 23, 2021.
  7. Web site: Team Standings - Latvia - 1999 - 2000. EliteProspects.com. en. February 23, 2021.
  8. Web site: Elite Prospects - Prizma Riga. EliteProspects.com. en. February 23, 2021.
  9. Web site: Team Standings - Latvia - 2000 - 2001. EliteProspects.com. en. February 24, 2021.
  10. Web site: VEHL (Ligue d'Europe de l'Est) 2002/03. Hockey Archives. fr. February 24, 2021.
  11. Web site: Championnat de Lettonie 2002/03 2002/03. Hockey Archives. fr. February 24, 2021.
  12. Web site: Team Standings - Latvia - 2003 - 2004. EliteProspects.com. en. February 24, 2021.
  13. Web site: Kaspars Daugavins . EliteProspects.com. en. February 25, 2021.
  14. Web site: Team Standings - Latvia - 2010 - 2011. EliteProspects.com. en. February 24, 2021.
  15. Web site: Team Standings - MHL B - 2011-2012 . EliteProspects.com. en. February 24, 2021.
  16. Web site: Par mums - Optibet Hokeja Līga. Optibet Hockey League. en. February 24, 2021.
  17. Web site: Team Standings - Latvia - 2015 - 2016. EliteProspects.com. en. February 24, 2021.
  18. Web site: Team Standings - Latvia - 2016 - 2017. EliteProspects.com. en. February 25, 2021.
  19. Web site: Team Standings - Latvia - 2017 - 2018. EliteProspects.com. en. February 25, 2021.
  20. Web site: Video: Bērziņš par "Dinamo" un "Prizmu", "silto" Baltkrieviju un "auksto" Franciju. SportaCentrs.com. lv. September 25, 2018. February 24, 2021.
  21. Web site: Team Standings - Latvia - 2018 - 2019. EliteProspects.com. en. February 25, 2021.
  22. Web site: Elite Prospects - Team Standings Latvia - 2019/20. EliteProspects.com. en. February 21, 2021.
  23. Web site: Prizma/Rīga - Tēmas - DELFI. DELFI. lv. February 24, 2021.
  24. Web site: Notiks starptautisks hokeja turnīrs jauniešiem “Volvo kauss 2007”. Latvian Ice Hockey Federation. lv. February 24, 2021.
  25. Web site: Latvijas čempionāta zeltu par savu mērķi publiski nosauc trīs komandas. SportaCentrs.com. lv. September 5, 2019. February 22, 2021.
  26. Web site: Starptautiskā Hokeja Skola Treniņu centr. International Hockey School. lv. September 5, 2019. February 25, 2021.
  27. Web site: 2015 Preliminary. IIHF. en. February 24, 2021.
  28. Web site: Group C. IIHF. en. February 24, 2021.
  29. Web site: FINAL RANKING - Group C. IIHF. en. February 24, 2021.