The Most Famous

HOCKEY PLAYERS from Latvia

This page contains a list of the greatest Latvian Hockey Players. The pantheon dataset contains 676 Hockey Players, 13 of which were born in Latvia. This makes Latvia the birth place of the 10th most number of Hockey Players behind Germany, and Switzerland.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Latvian Hockey Players of all time. This list of famous Latvian Hockey Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Latvian Hockey Players.

1. Artūrs Irbe (b. 1967)

With an HPI of 51.77, Artūrs Irbe is the most famous Latvian Hockey Player. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages on wikipedia.

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 1991. Irbe played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, and Carolina Hurricanes. In 2004 Irbe returned to Europe to play until he retired in 2007. He has served as a goaltending coach with Dinamo Riga, the Washington Capitals, and the Buffalo Sabres, as well as internationally with the Latvia men's national ice hockey team. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2010. Irbe was rated number 93 on The Hockey News list of the Top 100 Goalies of All-Time in 2018.

2. Kārlis Skrastiņš (1974 - 2011)

With an HPI of 48.68, Kārlis Skrastiņš is the 2nd most famous Latvian Hockey Player. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Kārlis Skrastiņš (July 9, 1974 – September 7, 2011) was a Latvian professional ice hockey player. Skrastiņš was drafted by the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League in 1998 as a defenceman and spent twelve years in the league playing for the Predators, the Colorado Avalanche, the Florida Panthers, and the Dallas Stars. For the 2011-2012 season, Skrastiņš left the NHL and signed a contract to play in Russia for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). However, he never got to play a game for Lokomotiv as he was killed in the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash that killed almost the entire team on September 7, 2011.

3. Sandis Ozoliņš (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 46.99, Sandis Ozoliņš is the 3rd most famous Latvian Hockey Player. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Sandis Ozoliņš (born 3 August 1972), commonly spelled Sandis Ozolinsh in North America, is a Latvian former professional ice hockey player and coach. During his career in North America, Ozoliņš was a seven-time NHL All-Star, Stanley Cup champion (as a member of the 1995–96 Colorado Avalanche), and James Norris Memorial Trophy finalist. He is also the all-time leader for goals, assists, points, and games played by a Latvian in the NHL and holds several Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks franchise records. Ozoliņš was also the highest-paid sportsman in Latvian history, before NBA basketball player Andris Biedriņš succeeded him in 2008. He briefly became the head coach of Dinamo Riga in 2017. Ozoliņš was drafted in the 1991 NHL entry draft by the San Jose Sharks as the 8th pick of the second round, 30th overall. He played for the Sharks, Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and New York Rangers. He is often considered a prototype "offensive defenceman," becoming heavily involved in his team's offense and scoring opportunities. In 2014, Ozoliņš was awarded Order of the Three Stars for his long-standing contributions to Latvian ice hockey and sports.

4. Sergejs Žoltoks (1972 - 2004)

With an HPI of 45.29, Sergejs Žoltoks is the 4th most famous Latvian Hockey Player. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Sergei Zholtok (Russian: Сергей Жолток), also known as Sergejs Žoltoks (December 2, 1972 – November 3, 2004) was a Latvian professional ice hockey centre. He played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators from 1993 to 2004.

5. Herberts Vasiļjevs (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 42.42, Herberts Vasiļjevs is the 5th most famous Latvian Hockey Player. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Herberts Vasiļjevs (born 27 May 1976) is a retired Latvian professional ice hockey center and right winger. He played in 51 NHL contests and spent more than ten years in the German DEL with Krefeld Pinguine. He also represented the Latvian national teams at three Olympic Games.

6. Edgars Masaļskis (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 42.17, Edgars Masaļskis is the 6th most famous Latvian Hockey Player. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Edgars Masaļskis (born 31 March 1980) is a Latvian ice hockey coach and former player. Playing as a goaltender, Masaļskis represented the Latvian national team, and has played for a number of clubs, with five seasons in Liepājas Metalurgs as his longest stay at any club. He retired after the 2016–17 season, and joined Dinamo Riga's coaching staff on 2 October 2017.

7. Kaspars Daugaviņš (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 42.15, Kaspars Daugaviņš is the 7th most famous Latvian Hockey Player. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Kaspars Daugaviņš (born May 18, 1988) is a Latvian professional ice hockey player who plays for EC Kassel Huskies of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga 2. Daugaviņš has played professionally in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins. The Senators selected him in the third round, 91st overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

People

Pantheon has 16 people classified as Latvian hockey players born between 1967 and 1994. Of these 16, 14 (87.50%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Latvian hockey players include Artūrs Irbe, Sandis Ozoliņš, and Herberts Vasiļjevs. The most famous deceased Latvian hockey players include Kārlis Skrastiņš, and Sergejs Žoltoks. As of April 2024, 2 new Latvian hockey players have been added to Pantheon including Herberts Vasiļjevs, and Aleksandrs Ņiživijs.