Ankipans Invites 53 Players to Latvia U17 Hockey Camp
Latvia's U17 national ice hockey team head coach Girts Ankipans has called up 53 candidates for a November training camp in Riga. The camp will end with a friendly against the OHL club Mogo/RSU.
Girts Ankipans, head coach of Latvia's under-17 national ice hockey team, has named 53 players for a training camp in Riga during the international break in November. The camp will end with a friendly against Mogo/RSU, a club in the Optibet Hockey League (OHL), Latvia's top domestic league. It is a preparation stage for the youth national team ahead of upcoming international tournaments.
Who is invited
The squad includes eight goaltenders, 18 defencemen and 27 forwards. The candidates come from Latvian clubs such as Riga Hockey School, HS Falcons, Mogo/RSU, Prizma, Dinaburga and Liepāja teams. Young players based abroad, in Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Canada and the Czech Republic, have also been invited. Most candidates were born in 2010, and some in 2011.
Schedule
From Monday to Wednesday the candidates, split into two groups, will train at the ice rink of the Volvo Sports Centre. On Thursday an intra-squad friendly is planned, and on Friday the camp will conclude with the friendly against Mogo/RSU. Both games will be played at the Daugava ice rink and will be streamed live on latvijashokejs.tv.
Coaching staff
Head coach Ankipans will be assisted at the camp by Aleksandrs Nizivijs, Ronalds Ozolins and Karlis Zakrevskis. Raivis Miezans will be in charge of the players' physical preparation. The coaching staff will assess the candidates' performance and readiness for the upcoming international tournaments.
