“Latvian Hockey Star Rodrigo Ābols Shines in Swedish Elite League and World Championships”

In demand in Sweden and of special value in the Latvian national unit. The lack of high-level center forwards in Latvian hockey has been a pain for several decades, so the “center” of the leading shift, Rodrigo Ābols, is especially expected when he arrives at the training camp of the national team.

Rodrigo has spent five seasons in the Swedish elite league. This season, he performed the duties of the team captain – this is a recognition that no Latvian puck master in the ice hockey powerhouse of Sweden had earned before Ābol.

For the next two weeks, the number one sporting event in Latvia will be the world hockey championship in Riga. The home team’s first game was on Friday, May 12, against Canada, in which they had to capitulate with 0:6.

The Latvian hockey team has been playing in the top group since 1997. What is the first world championship you remember?

I know that at one time there was a play-off procedure, after which the points won in the first stage of the group tournament were taken with them to the second stage. The first memorable championship was in 2006 in Riga.

In 2000, your father Artis Ābols was part of the Latvian national team, when Latvia beat the star-studded Russian national team 3:2 in St. Petersburg.

It’s a dark picture for me – I don’t remember anything. Now I know what curious pucks were thrown, but I was four years old at the time, and I remember nothing. Every year we watched the world championship matches – away or at home – but in 2006 I became more interested.