Ralfs Freibergs (born 17 May 1991) is a Latvian professional ice hockey defenceman for HC Litvínov of the Czech Extraliga (ELH).
| Ralfs Freibergs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
17 May 1991 Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| ELH team Former teams |
HC Litvínov HK Prizma Riga Dinamo Juniors Riga Dinamo Riga PSG Berani Zlín HC Kometa Brno HC Oceláři Třinec Iserlohn Roosters | ||
| National team |
 Latvia | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2013–present | ||
Playing career edit
After first playing professionally in his native Latvia, Freibergs moved to North America as a junior and played college ice hockey for Bowling Green State University.
On 8 August 2014, Freibergs signed his first North American professional contract in agreeing to a one-year American Hockey League deal with the St. John's IceCaps.[1] Freibergs appeared in 5 games with the IceCaps. However, he was reassigned to ECHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign for the majority of the campaign.
Leading into the 2015–16 season, Freibergs accepted an invitation to the Grand Rapids Griffins training camp on 28 September 2015. He was reassigned and signed an ECHL contract with affiliate Toledo Walleye on 6 October 2015.
On 15 July 2016, Freibergs returned to his native Latvia as a free agent from North America, signing a contract with Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).[2]
International play edit
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Latvia
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
 |
2023 Finland/Latvia | |
Freibergs competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics, being the only active college player to compete in the men's tournament. His first appearance was in the third game when he logged 4:56 of ice time.[3] Freibergs also competed in the elimination round games against Switzerland and Canada.[4][5]
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on 25 April 2014, that Freibergs was excluded from the 2014 Winter Olympics after failing doping test.[6]
He represented Latvia at the 2023 IIHF World Championship where he recorded one goal and three assists and won a bronze medal, Latvia's first ever IIHF World Championship medal.[7]
Career statistics edit
Regular season and playoffs edit
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2006–07 | Prizma/Rīga 86 | LAT U18 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2007–08 | Prizma/Rīga 86 | LAT U18 | 22 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | HS Rīga/Prizma–Hanza | LAT | 23 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Texas Tornado | NAHL | 26 | 1 | 17 | 18 | 36 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2010–11 | Texas Tornado | NAHL | 53 | 7 | 48 | 55 | 45 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 2011–12 | Lincoln Stars | USHL | 60 | 8 | 35 | 43 | 40 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2012–13 | Bowling Green State University | CCHA | 8 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Bowling Green State University | WCHA | 37 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | St. John's IceCaps | AHL | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Ontario Reign | ECHL | 52 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Toledo Walleye | ECHL | 61 | 2 | 27 | 29 | 61 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Dinamo Rīga | KHL | 38 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Aukro Berani Zlína | ELH | 52 | 3 | 23 | 26 | 42 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2018–19 | PSG Berani Zlín | ELH | 52 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 38 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 2019–20 | PSG Berani Zlín | ELH | 52 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | HC Kometa Brno | ELH | 29 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | HC Oceláři Třinec | ELH | 15 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | Dinamo Rīga | KHL | 34 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Iserlohn Roosters | DEL | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| ECHL totals | 113 | 5 | 41 | 46 | 77 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| ELH totals | 200 | 13 | 74 | 87 | 130 | 27 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 16 | ||||
International edit
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Latvia | U18 D1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2009 | Latvia | WJC | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | |
| 2009 | Latvia | U18 D1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| 2010 | Latvia | WJC | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | |
| 2011 | Latvia | WJC D1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
| 2013 | Latvia | WC | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2014 | Latvia | OG | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2016 | Latvia | WC | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 2016 | Latvia | OGQ | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 | Latvia | WC | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | Latvia | WC | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2019 | Latvia | WC | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 27 | |
| 2021 | Latvia | WC | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | Latvia | OGQ | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2022 | Latvia | OG | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2023 | Latvia | WC | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | |
| Junior totals | 27 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 36 | |||
| Senior totals | 66 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 51 | |||
References edit
- ^ "IceCaps re-sign Fredheim, sign Freibergs". St. John's IceCaps. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
- ^ "Riga add players to squad". sportacentrs.com (in Latvian). 15 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
- ^ "Bowling Green impacts thrilling day at Sochi". Bowling Green Falcons. 15 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
- ^ "Latvia take on Switzerland" (PDF). IIHF. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ "Canada defeat courageous Latvia" (PDF). IIHF. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ^ "IOC sanctions Latvian Ice Hockey Player Ralfs Freibergs for failing anti-doping test at Sochi 2014". olympics.com. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ "Latvia wins historic bronze in OT". IIHF. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
External links edit
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Ralfs Freibergs at Olympedia
- Ralfs Freibergs at Olympics.com
- Ralfs Freibergs at the Latvijas Olimpiskā komiteja (in Latvian) (English translation, archive)
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