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On Friday, September 4, the presentation and press conference for the 2026/2027 Optibet Hockey League (OHL) Baltic Championship season took place at the ATTA Centre. The event was attended by the heads of all three Baltic ice hockey federations, as well as representatives and players from all nine participating teams.
The new Baltic Hockey Championship season was officially opened by Latvian Ice Hockey Federation (LHF) President Aigars Kalvītis, Estonian Ice Hockey Association President Rauno Parras and Lithuanian Ice Hockey Association President Vaidas Budrauskas.
Aigars Kalvītis: “We are looking ahead to the new season with great expectations. It is encouraging to see new developments in the Optibet Hockey League this season, including the return of a Daugavpils team to the Baltic Hockey Championship, where it will compete together with Rīgas HS. I would like to thank Optibet, which has supported us for almost ten years. Without this support, our league would not have progressed and reached an international level to the extent that it has.
“I would also like to emphasise to our young hockey players and their parents the importance of choosing an environment where they can continue to develop and take the next step in their careers. As we saw at last year’s World Championship, OHL players are genuine candidates for the Latvian national team as preparations for the World Championship begin. Our goal should be for the OHL to become a talent development platform in the future. The Optibet Hockey League is proving that players have real opportunities here to develop to the level required to represent the Latvian national team at the World Championship.
“I wish for the overall level of the league to continue growing and hope that, in a few years, two or three OHL players will already be part of the Latvian national team.”
Rauno Parras: “This is a great opportunity to emphasise that at last year’s World Championship, the Estonian national team successfully earned promotion to Division I, Group A. One of the prerequisites for this achievement was our participation in this league, competing alongside teams from Latvia and Lithuania.
“We have always looked upon Latvian hockey with great admiration. At the moment, Estonia is represented by only one club in the championship, but it is a very strong team. We are very grateful for the opportunity to continue playing in this league. We hope that the league will continue to expand and develop, attracting more teams from across the Baltic states. I wish all the teams and players the best of luck for the upcoming season.”
Vaidas Budrauskas: “We are delighted to be part of such a strong championship. Participation in the Baltic Hockey Championship gives our clubs and players the opportunity to develop at a high level, which in the long term also strengthens our national team. We hope that teams from Klaipėda and Kaunas will join the championship in the near future, making the Baltic Hockey Championship even more competitive.”
The OHL season opening event continued with presentations by each participating team, during which managers, coaches and players spoke about their goals, preparation process and squad composition for the upcoming season.
The press conference concluded with an annual tradition – a joint photograph featuring the heads of the federations, OHL team representatives and players.
Key facts about the new season:
New developments:
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