Almost a Baltic League

After an aborted tentative in 2018 and a tournament plagued by Covid-19 outbreak two seasons ago, the idea of a multi-national League between the Baltic countries seems now to have been partially realized. With no teams from Estonia, but the next Optibet Hokeja Liga (OHL), the Latvian domestic League, will count with the partecipation of the three strongest Lithuanian teams: reigning champion Hockey Punks Vilnius, iconic Energija Elektrenai, back to complete in Latvia after 10 years and ambitious Kaunas City.

The next league will allign also the Dinamo Riga, withdrew from the KHL for the well-known political reasons linked to the war in Ukraine. Other returning teams are Hs Prizma Riga, HS Rīga, champion HK Zemgale/LLU, that will compete also in Finnish Mestis Liga, Dinaburga Daugavpils and HK Mogo/LSPA Riga. 2022-2021 champion and last season silver medalist Olimp Riga and HK Liepaja won't partecipate in the 2022-2023 season that will start on September 3

The winner of the OHL playoffs will be crowned the Baltic champion. Meanwhile, the teams that occupy the highest positions from Latvia and Lithuania will be recognized as the champions of their countries.

The teams will play a four-round tournament. Eight teams will advance to the playoffs.

"We are pleased to expand the territories of the OHL league and increase the total number of teams.The participation of Lithuanian teams will definitely help further promote and develop hockey in the Baltic region" said President of the Latvian Hockey Federation (LHF) Aigars Kalvītis

"I am sure that the joint Lithuanian and Latvian hockey league will further increase the interest in this sport in both countries and raise the overall level of hockey.This is a great opportunity for our teams to participate in a higher-level championship, so that hockey fans can see many exciting battles with their neighbors." stressed Dainius Zubrus, president of the Lithuanian Hockey Association (AHL):

Tweets by @eurohockey