Latvian hockey players this week started preparations for the qualification tournament for the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina, which will take place in Riga from August 29 to September 1.
“We are starting training, but the team is not yet fully formed. There are some players who were not released by the clubs from the beginning, so the rest will join during the week. We currently have 22 players who are preparing. The rest will be added during the week,” explained Vītoliņš.
He added that before the upcoming tournament, hockey players are in a positive mood to start the season in the national team.
“Everyone is ready, maybe just in different physical forms. We found out that in the Czech Republic they train twice a day on the ice, so the fatigue can be great. Our task here will be not to strain them too much, let’s try to balance everything,” said the coach.
He revealed that they also contacted Ronald Kēnin, Tom Anderson, Denis Smirnova and Ivara Punnenova, who represent teams in Switzerland, but at the moment these hockey players also have to fight for a place in their clubs.
“They have a good training process in the clubs and if they come here, they can suddenly be screened there. It is difficult to make such a choice. For example, Ronalds Kēniņš had an operation after the season and you cannot know what his condition is. There is not as much time as before of the world championship,” said Vītoliņš.
The coach emphasized that, compared to the World Championship, before the qualification for the Olympic Games, there is a much shorter time to prepare the players of the national team.
“We will not change the pattern of the game. It shows that we know how to play that hockey well. It’s just that everything we pulled out during the month before the World Championship, now we have to put it together more closely. The boys know everything we want from them,” said the coach.
The list of 34 candidates also includes four representatives of National Hockey League (NHL) teams – Arturs Shilovs (Vancouver “Canucks”), Uvis Balinskis (Florida “Panthers”), Zemgus Girgensons (Tampa Bay “Lightning”) and Rodrigo Abols (Philadelphia “Flyers”). . Latvian national team manager Rūdolfs Kalvītis emphasized that NHL clubs have not objected to Latvians playing in the national team.
“No club had to be hacked, everyone was responsive. NHL and IIHF [Starptautiskajai Ledus hokeja federācijai] there is an agreement, so everything went very smoothly,” added the manager of the national team.
Besides Latvia, France, Slovenia and Ukraine will fight for a ticket to the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. The road sign to the 2026 Winter Olympic Games will be won by the strongest team in the final round of this qualification.
2024-08-19 13:59:47