With new thinking / day

Since 2018, Oleg Sorokin has taken care of the Latvian U18 team. He has the seventh year at the helm of the Riga Hockey School, and as is often seen in the Baltic Hockey League games, Sorokin has a strong stance against his players. These are only young people, so there are different ways to teach them to move towards the stable basics of hockey. The former guard steered unit did not play in the elite group only in the first year. In all other championships, young Latvian players have not only been in the elite, but have also reached the quarter -finals four times.

The last six world U18 championships Latvian hockey players drafted in the NHL

• Arthur Shilov – Vancouver Canucks
• Raivis Ansons – Pittsburgh Penguins
• Dan Ločmelis – Boston Bruins
• Klav Weinberg – Tampabey Lightning
• Sandis Vilmanis – Florida Panthers
• Ēriks Mateiko – Washington Capitals
• Darel Ulyansky – Anaheim Ducks
• Mikus Vecvanags – Montreal Canadiens

Since 2018, at least one hockey player has been selected from the U18 national team in the NHL draft. The World Cup does not make scouts in the plates to write Latvian names with a pen, but at least with a pencil they are definitely noted.

« While waiting for the U20 Championship, everyone is mostly drafted, except for hockey players who enter the U20 team at a young age. Of course, you can also choose from the U20 Championship, but then you have to show good performance. But U18 is an important factor, especially for the Latvian team. In 2012, he first helped Ted Nolan in the Latvian adult national team, but since 2016, he fully focused on the coach’s work with the U20 team. He has helped many young Latvians on the other side of the ocean. « I can put a word or say something good, but of course I need to earn it. I will give you a shovel, but then you have to dig. I have to train at different levels – youth, junior, college. I’ve covered all the levels, so I have a lot.

In recent years, the U18 national team has been formed by hockey players from the Riga Hockey School team, and now more hockey players come from abroad – mostly Sweden and US clubs. « After a good championship, showing that they can play, Latvians are able to jump on the big stage right away. For example, as Shilov played. He was known, but I think the championship showed an even bigger jump. Collecting information about hockey players is important, including sources from where the information is obtained. Although the assistant head coach of the U18 national team and former captain of the national team Herbert Vasilyev once in Vancouver Canucks He only stopped in the organization for 18 games, and he was one of the sources of Canadian sports team information after goalkeeper Shilov was fully noticed during the U18 Championship.