Helmuts Balderis
Helmuts Balderis-Sildedzis (born 31 July 1952) is a former Soviet and Latvian professional ice hockey player.[1][2] He played on the right wing and participated at the 1980 Winter Olympics, where the Soviet team unexpectedly lost to the United States.He was the best player of the Latvian SSR in the 1970s and 1980s and the most prolific scorer from the republic, tallying 333 goals in Soviet league play.Balderis was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars, playing 26 games and scoring 3 goals with 6 assists.Balderis played several games for the newly recreated Latvian national team (in 1992), serving as its captain and scoring 2 goals.
Latvian SSRSoviet UnionRight WingDinamo RigaCSKA MoscowMinnesota North StarsLatviaNHL draftice hockeyOlympic Games1980 Lake PlacidWorld Championships1978 Czechoslovakia1979 Soviet Union1983 West Germany1976 Poland1977 AustriaSovietLatvian1980 Winter Olympicsunexpectedly lostNational Hockey LeagueInternational Ice Hockey Federation Hall of FameSoviet national team1976 Canada Cup1977 World Championshipsnewly recreated Latvian national teamLatvian Ice Hockey FederationSoviet leagueIzvestia TrophyLatvian LeagueRegular seasonPlayoffsSeason1973–741974–751975–761976–771977–781978–791979–801980–811981–821982–831983–841984–851989–901991–92HK Sāga Ķekava Riga1992–931993–941994–951995–96Latvian Olympic CommitteeVladislav TretiakSoviet MVPBoris MikhailovVictor ShalimovSoviet Scoring ChampionVladimir PetrovSergei MakarovLatvian national ice hockey team