The manager of Kyiv Capitals, Anastasia Zimina, has unveiled plans for the 2025/26 season. She confirmed that the team aims to compete in the Optibet League (Open Championship of Latvia).
She provided this information in an interview with the Latvian Hockey Federation.
"Yes, in the 2025/2026 season we plan to play in the Baltic Championship, the Optibet League. I know there are about 20,000 Ukrainians living in Riga. We invite all of them and look forward to seeing them at our games. Of course, we will be happy to see Latvians and every hockey fan; we would love to see a packed arena at our matches!
Currently, we are facing various challenges and addressing issues to implement this project. We are grateful for the support and hospitality of the Latvians. We hope for the support of Latvian fans, as our team will also include Latvian players," she stated.
Zimina added that she cannot yet disclose the names of the coaches and players who will be on the team but emphasized that the Kyiv Capitals project is a long-term one with solid plans.
"I cannot reveal the names of the coaches yet; it is too early. Regarding training venues – we are considering several rinks, and currently, the best option would be the "Inbox.lv" rink. We hope they will become our home next season.
We have a ten-year plan that includes the goal of building our own home, a hockey arena. We also have women's, men's, and youth teams, and we want to establish our own hockey school. Our aim is to develop players, and we expect that at least a few of them will play in the NHL. We will educate, invest, and strive for victories," the club manager added.
She stated that joining the Open Championship of Latvia is due to the country's better infrastructure and traditions in this sport.
"We call this a Ukrainian-European project. From the very beginning of the club's existence, we have emphasized that Ukrainian hockey is part of European hockey; we belong to the European hockey family and must continue to develop in this direction.
For us, this primarily means gaining experience and competing at this level – it is no secret that Latvia is a larger country than Ukraine in terms of hockey development, so we want to learn and ensure our hockey players gain experience playing abroad. At the same time, we want to keep our team as "Ukrainian" as possible, meaning we will have Ukrainian coaches, and most players will likely be Ukrainians.
We also want to attract those Ukrainian talents who are currently playing abroad. We see this project as a haven for Ukrainian players in Latvia, where they can grow, spend time together, and possibly rise to the level of the national team," concluded Ms. Anastasia.
Kyiv Capitals was founded in 2023. In their inaugural season, the team finished fourth in the Ukrainian championship. Last year, the capital team reached the finals, where they lost to Kremenchuk in seven matches.