The manager of Kyiv Capitals, Anastasia Zimina, shared insights about the team's plans for the upcoming 2025/26 season. She confirmed that the team intends to compete in the Optibet League (Open Championship of Latvia).
She revealed this in an interview with the Latvian Hockey Federation.
"Yes, for the 2025/26 season, we plan to participate in the Baltic Championship, the Optibet League. I know there are about 20,000 Ukrainians in Riga, and we invite them all to our games. Of course, we will be delighted to see Latvian fans as well, and we hope to fill the arena for our matches!"
"Currently, we are facing various challenges as we work on implementing this project. We are grateful for the support and hospitality from the Latvians. We really hope for the backing 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 but emphasized that the Kyiv Capitals project is long-term with solid plans.
"I cannot mention the coaches' names yet; it is too early. As for training facilities, we are looking at various rinks, and so far, the best option seems to be 'Inbox.lv'. We hope that they will become our home next season.
We have a ten-year plan that includes the goal of building our own hockey arena. We also have women's, men's, and youth teams, and we aim to establish our hockey school. Our objective is to develop players, and we expect that at least a few of them will play in the NHL. We will teach, invest, and strive for victories," the club manager added.
She stated that the decision to enter the Open Championship of Latvia was influenced by the country's superior infrastructure and traditions in this sport.
"We refer to this as 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 grow in this direction.
First and foremost, this means gaining experience and competing at a higher 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 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 likely, most players will be Ukrainians.
We also aim to attract those Ukrainian talents currently playing abroad. We see this project as a haven for Ukrainian players in Latvia, where they can develop, spend time together, and perhaps rise to the national team level," Ms. Anastasia concluded.
Kyiv Capitals was founded in 2023. In its 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.
