Baltic Hockey League

Jakub97 · Jun 28, 2023

I see. Agree with your opinion. Well positive thing is that this collaboration will get strong and in near future hopefully 10 teams combined with 1000 people as an average attendance for league.
Plus If there can be some guy drafted into NHL every second year for example that would be amazing.

Is the deadline for applications into OHL today?

Good luck tomorrow on NHL draft 2023. Will be cheering for our Slovaks, Latvians and Norwegians (since I live here).

GX · Jun 29, 2023

Dinamo Riga is oficially out. Kurbads is still likely in - however, federation is not confirming it 100% yet. No change in the Lithuanian teams taking part.

We should know the final list and even the league format already in a week, which is great. Let's then hope for the next crucial thing - more games. So, let's hope for 5 rounds (40 games) instead of 4 (32 games).

Pardus · Jul 4, 2023

GX said:
We should know the final list and even the league format already in a week, which is great.

Kurbads confirmed its participation.

GX · Jul 11, 2023

All nine teams confirmed by the federation.
Four rounds played - so only 32 regular season games, unfortunately.
A new thing - the league goes back to a 6-team play-off format. Both QFs are best-of-five series, rest - best-of-seven.

Jakub97 · Jul 11, 2023

Smart choice with play-off. More attractive definitely. Hopefully 10 teams next season cause it is much better format. 32 games don't sound like a huge portion but again playing more than 4 times against same team gets boring imo.

Zemgale, Mogo, Kurbads should be top 3 teams - rest should be moreless on the same level. But I would guess that Tallinn and Prizma Riga will be in top 5.

Will the teams start signing players soon?

GX · Jul 11, 2023

Latvian teams rarely announce their signings, however, Lithuanians did post about some of their key players last summer. Moreover, some teams have only mutual agreements in place until the end of the camp, when actual contracts are signed. (not the best practice, as it likely only helps the teams to avoid costs if a player gets injured during camp).

If I had to guess Kurbads roster, we may find glimpses of it on their coaches page. Jekimovs likely will still be among the top scorers of the entire league. HS Treneri | HK Kurbads

Mogo core barely ever changes. And Zemgale will hopefully add a few more experienced players to the rest of the team, which likely will be all the overgrown juniors that failed to find a new club afteir their Mestis season.

Jakub97 · Jul 11, 2023

Well I will try to see some games along with our Slovak Top Tier, Champions Hockey League and NHL.

Believe the quality of your league will be in its best shape than ever before.

FrHockeyFan · Jul 17, 2023

So Dinamo is not done yet?

Avots: Rīgas "Dinamo" piedalīšanās OHL vēl ir iespējama - Hokeja ziņas

Hokeja kluba Rīgas "Dinamo" piedalīšanās Optibet hokeja līgā (OHL) joprojām ir iespējama, vēsta apskatnieks Jānis Matulis.

hokejazinas.com

GX · Jul 19, 2023

Zemgale camp begins in five days. First home game on September 8 (so, that's likely the season opener). They hope they may return to Mestis in the future.

Roster-wise, they apparently have guys with multi-year contracts. Focus on U20, U23 players, mostly Latvians.

Jakub97 · Jul 19, 2023

GX said:
Zemgale camp begins in five days. First home game on September 8 (so, that's likely the season opener). They hope they may return to Mestis in the future.

Roster-wise, they apparently have guys with multi-year contracts. Focus on U20, U23 players, mostly Latvians.

Great. Looks like some conception is on its rise. Now we can wait for Dinamo Riga's announcement tommorow.

GX · Jul 22, 2023

Seems like we might have a livelier offseason than usual. Missed an interview with Kurbads, where they say they already have deals in place with 6 experienced guys, some of whom haven't played in Latvia for a long time. And that they will start announcing them in a week.

Meanwhile, Lauris Bajaruns, one of the top guys in the league between 2019 and 2022, played last year in Germany3, has an 'unofficial agreement' with Mogo.

Pardus · Jul 22, 2023

What was the outcome with Dinamo? Do they play or not?

HungryFrank · Aug 4, 2023

To an outside observer like me, it seems like Panter might be the strongest not-Latvian team

zero100scout · Aug 4, 2023

HungryFrank said:
To an outside observer like me, it seems like Panter might be the strongest not-Latvian team

Vilnius might be in the running for that as well if they manage to keep Kumeliauskas, he was really good last season

zero100scout · Aug 9, 2023

Pardus said:
What was the outcome with Dinamo? Do they play or not?

Zemgale released their schedule for the new season. Confirmed no Dinamo Riga.

Schedule here: https://calendar.google.com/calenda...oup.calendar.google.com&ctz=Europe/Riga&pli=1

Rigafan · Aug 10, 2023

zero100scout said:
Zemgale released their schedule for the new season. Confirmed no Dinamo Riga.

Schedule here: Zemgale/LBTU

Sad times

zero100scout · Aug 11, 2023

Zemgale continues to be one of the most proactive teams in the offseason & has revealed most of their roster!

OHL čempioni nokomplektējuši 80% sastāva - Hokeja ziņas

Optibet hokeja līgas (OHL) komanda “Zemgale/LBTU” aizvada ledus treniņus ar praktiski nokomplektētu komandas sastāvu, vēstīts kluba oficiālajā mājaslapā.

hokejazinas.com

Mostly players from their junior system, average age of 21 and just 1 foreigner so far - Ukrainian forward Bohdan Panasenko (although Ukrainians don't count against the import limit).
The 20 year old Ukrainian forward split time between the NAHL & Czech U20 last year.

zero100scout · Aug 16, 2023

The head of Dinamo Riga was interviewed on the club's future.
The team is apparently skipping a year to "see how the (Baltic) league grows" and wants to understand how the system works at a level lower than the KHL.
They've apparently looked at playing in Slovakia or Austria. I personally don't expect much of the team's future though.
Link to the interview (in Latvian): Savickis pēc “Dinamo” debijas sezonas Latvijā: “Esam nolaidušies uz zemāku sistēmu” - Hokeja Blogs

Jakub97 · Aug 22, 2023

Well it is still hockey brand N.1 in Latvia so hopefully next season they will be back with Liepaja and Daugavpils (but not as joke as they have been last season).
Latvia will need this teams/ cities for growth of domestic league.

So far Tallinn looks more than competitive, Kurbads and Zemgale will do their best to keep high standards - rest of the 6 teams should not be so so far away when it comes to quality.

Should be better season this time.

Rigafan · Aug 22, 2023

I always thought if Dinamo leave KHL and can keep some kind of funding they should look to the Austrian league. Austria appears to be an open EU type setup with a good standard and interesting teams. Dinamo if they could afford it would be an interesting fit and then obviously another path for Latvian players to go to.

Jakub97 · Aug 22, 2023

Rigafan said:
I always thought if Dinamo leave KHL and can keep some kind of funding they should look to the Austrian league. Austria appears to be an open EU type setup with a good standard and interesting teams. Dinamo if they could afford it would be an interesting fit and then obviously another path for Latvian players to go to.

In my opinion Finland or Sweden would be better choice yet I guess these countries are not interested in bringing Dinamo Riga into their top tiers right away. Perhaps Allsvenskan or Mestis would be a possibility in future for Dinamo. I don't really see reason why our league (Slovak top tier) or Austrian league would have a serious interest only If Dinamo Riga would be willing to pay a shitload of money.

But never say never. First of all Dinamo needs to re-establish itself as a N.1 club in Latvia in near future.

Lackhalak · Aug 22, 2023

Jakub97 said:
In my opinion Finland or Sweden would be better choice yet I guess these countries are not interested in bringing Dinamo Riga into their top tiers right away. Perhaps Allsvenskan or Mestis would be a possibility in future for Dinamo. I don't really see reason why our league (Slovak top tier) or Austrian league would have a serious interest only If Dinamo Riga would be willing to pay a shitload of money.

But never say never. First of all Dinamo needs to re-establish itself as a N.1 club in Latvia in near future.

NEHL	Teams		Arena	Population (metro)
1	Stockholm	Djurgardens	13,850	2,392,000
2	Stockholm	AIK	13,850	2,392,000
3	Gothenberg	Frolunda	-16,000	1,058,000
4	Malmo	Red Hawks	12,600	749,000
5	Uppsala	Almtuna IS	-10,000	295,000
6	Linkoping	HC	8,500	207,000
7	Karlstad	Farjestad BK	8,646	180,000
8	Gavle	Brynas IF	7,909	184,000
9	Orebro	HK	5,316	208,000
10	Jonkoping	HV71	7,000	171,000
11	Helsinki	HIFK	-10,500	1,671,000
12	Helsinki	Jokerit	13,349	1,671,000
13	Tampere	Ilves	13,455	448,000
14	Turku	TPS	11,820	362,000
15	Tampere	Tappara	13,455	448,000
16	Oulu	Karpat	6,768	258,000


NEHL	Teams		Arena	Population (metro)
1	Vaxjo	Lakers	5,700	157,000
2	Angelholm	Rogle BK	5,045	44,000/243,000
3	Timra	IK	6,000	19,000/ 126,000
4	Leksand	IF	7,650	69,000
5	Lulea	FH	6,150	78,000
6	Skelleftea	AIK	5,801	73,000
7	Aalborg	Pirates	5,200	217,000
8	Copenhagen	Eagles	12,500	2,100,000
9	Stavanger	Oilers	4,500	320,000
10	Oslo	Valerenga	5,300	1,600,000
11	Jyvaskyla	JYP	-7,000	212,000
12	Lahti	Pelicans	5,371	191,000
13	Kuopio	KalPa	5,300	168,000
14	Pori	Assat	6,300	137,000
15	Riga	Dinamo	10,300	1,100,000
16	Kaunas	Hockey	13,762	588,000


NEHL	Teams		Arena	Population (metro)
1	Vasteras	IK	4,902	199,000
2	Uema	IF Bjorkloven	5,400	131,000
3	Ornskoldsvik	Modo	7,600	56,000
4	Sodertalje	SK	6,200	101,000
5	Norkkoping	HC Vita Hasten	4,280	183,000
6	Karlskrona	HK	5,050	67,000
7	Herning	Blue Fox	11,000	88,000
8	Copenhagen	Mighty Bulls	12,500	2,100,000
9	Oslo	Gruner	6,500	1,600,000
10	Lillehammer-Hamer	Storhammer	11,000-7,500	30,000-88,000
11	Rauma	Lukko	5,400	66,000
12	Kouvola	KooKoo	5,950	61,000
13	Hameenlinna	HPK	5,360	67,000
14	Lapreenranta	SaiPa	4,820	73,000
15	Riga	HK Mogo	6,000	1,100,000
16	Tallin	Panter	5,840	455,000


NEHL	Teams		Arena	Population (metro)
1	Karlskoga	BIK	5,600	30,000
2	Nykoping	SK	5,500	58,000
3	Halmstad	Hammers	4,000	134,000
4	Boras	HC	3,949	114,000
5	Vasby	IK	3,650	2,392,000
6	Gothenberg		7,600	1,048,000
7	Ondense	Bull Dogs	3,280	205,000
8	Aarhus		5,001	350,000
9	Trondheim	Nidaros	3,000	280,000
10	Bergen	IK	-8,320	420,000
11	Vassa	Sport	4,512	67,000
12	Espoo	Keikko	6,982	1,671,000
13	Mikkeli	Jukurit	4,200	54,000
14	Joensuu	JoKP	4,800	76,000
15	Riga	HK Zemgale	10,300	1,100,000
16	Vilnius	Hockey Punks	8,750	810,000

Combine all of the Nordic countries while keeping relegation.

If you add up the spots in the Champions league from these countries, it would be 8. Top 8 teams go to the Champions league.

Jakub97 · Aug 24, 2023

Lackhalak said:
NEHL Teams Arena Population (metro)
1
Stockholm Djurgardens
13,850
2,392,000
2
Stockholm AIK
13,850
2,392,000
3
Gothenberg Frolunda
-16,000
1,058,000
4
Malmo Red Hawks
12,600
749,000
5
Uppsala Almtuna IS
-10,000
295,000
6
Linkoping HC
8,500
207,000
7
Karlstad Farjestad BK
8,646
180,000
8
Gavle Brynas IF
7,909
184,000
9
Orebro HK
5,316
208,000
10
Jonkoping HV71
7,000
171,000
11
Helsinki HIFK
-10,500
1,671,000
12
Helsinki Jokerit
13,349
1,671,000
13
Tampere Ilves
13,455
448,000
14
Turku TPS
11,820
362,000
15
Tampere Tappara
13,455
448,000
16
Oulu Karpat
6,768
258,000
NEHL Teams Arena Population (metro)
1
Vaxjo Lakers
5,700
157,000
2
Angelholm Rogle BK
5,045
44,000/243,000
3
Timra IK
6,000
19,000/ 126,000
4
Leksand IF
7,650
69,000
5
Lulea FH
6,150
78,000
6
Skelleftea AIK
5,801
73,000
7
Aalborg Pirates
5,200
217,000
8
Copenhagen Eagles
12,500
2,100,000
9
Stavanger Oilers
4,500
320,000
10
Oslo Valerenga
5,300
1,600,000
11
Jyvaskyla JYP
-7,000
212,000
12
Lahti Pelicans
5,371
191,000
13
Kuopio KalPa
5,300
168,000
14
Pori Assat
6,300
137,000
15
Riga Dinamo
10,300
1,100,000
16
Kaunas Hockey
13,762
588,000
NEHL Teams Arena Population (metro)
1
Vasteras IK
4,902
199,000
2
Uema IF Bjorkloven
5,400
131,000
3
Ornskoldsvik Modo
7,600
56,000
4
Sodertalje SK
6,200
101,000
5
Norkkoping HC Vita Hasten
4,280
183,000
6
Karlskrona HK
5,050
67,000
7
Herning Blue Fox
11,000
88,000
8
Copenhagen Mighty Bulls
12,500
2,100,000
9
Oslo Gruner
6,500
1,600,000
10
Lillehammer-Hamer Storhammer
11,000-7,500
30,000-88,000
11
Rauma Lukko
5,400
66,000
12
Kouvola KooKoo
5,950
61,000
13
Hameenlinna HPK
5,360
67,000
14
Lapreenranta SaiPa
4,820
73,000
15
Riga HK Mogo
6,000
1,100,000
16
Tallin Panter
5,840
455,000
NEHL Teams Arena Population (metro)
1
Karlskoga BIK
5,600
30,000
2
Nykoping SK
5,500
58,000
3
Halmstad Hammers
4,000
134,000
4
Boras HC
3,949
114,000
5
Vasby IK
3,650
2,392,000
6
Gothenberg
7,600
1,048,000
7
Ondense Bull Dogs
3,280
205,000
8
Aarhus
5,001
350,000
9
Trondheim Nidaros
3,000
280,000
10
Bergen IK
-8,320
420,000
11
Vassa Sport
4,512
67,000
12
Espoo Keikko
6,982
1,671,000
13
Mikkeli Jukurit
4,200
54,000
14
Joensuu JoKP
4,800
76,000
15
Riga HK Zemgale
10,300
1,100,000
16
Vilnius Hockey Punks
8,750
810,000

Combine all of the Nordic countries while keeping relegation.

If you add up the spots in the Champions league from these countries, it would be 8. Top 8 teams go to the Champions league.

I really do love the idea, believe me yet very unlikeable in my opinion.

Denmark and Norway may have finances (although Norwegian hockey federation is currently in minus 8 mil. kroner) however still not enough popular sport with huge comercial interest. Unfortunately.

Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania are right now in development of their own league which can be hopefully taken seriously in next 5 years from now and eventually get to comparable quality with Mestis/ Slovak 2 league or very optimistically close to Allsvenskan.

So far even Sweden and Finland do not see a reason to merge and create one championship.
They will rather keep playing with their own toys and keep building their own playground and I don't blame them for it.

GX · Aug 25, 2023

Jakub97 said:
So far Tallinn lucks more than competitive, Kurbads and Zemgale will do their best to keep high standards - rest of the 6 teams should not be so so far away when it comes to quality.

Should be better season this time.

I really doubt Panter is a contender at this point. They have a team that lost to a weaker version of Kurbads last season. Addition of Kiik, Linde and Kinebuchi look solid, though.

Like last year, Mogo is going for a mix of experienced core + some B-list junior players. They've added Meija, Sarkanis and Bajaruns.

Zemgale looks decent, however, Cimermanis retiring is a big issue for the goalie line. Let's see whether Bajaruns-Galejs can step up and be their #1 goalie.

My version of the current power ranking:
1. Mogo
2. Kurbads
3./4. Panter/Zemgale

We don't know enough about the other rosters, however, they shouldn't be able to crack Top 2 and unlikely to have a shot at Top 4 either.

zero100scout · Aug 28, 2023

HC Panter with the most expensive tickets in the league?

Piletid – HC Panter

hcpanter.ee

13.50EUR base ticket price online, 15EUR in person, really high for the Baltic league

Zemgale played practice games against TUTO hockey (Mestis) & TUTO's U20 team in the meantime
1-4 loss against the main team & a 9-2 win over the U20 team

Baltic Hockey League

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