| Ralfs Freibergs | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 17, 1991, Riga, Latvia |
| Height Weight |
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb) |
| Position | Defenseman |
| Shoots | Left |
| Tipsport Extraliga team F. teams |
HC Kometa Brno Latvijas hokeja līga HC Prizma/Hanza Riga BHL Dinamo Juniors Riga NAHL Texas Tornado USHL Lincoln Stars NCAA Bowling Green State Univ. AHL St. John's IceCaps ECHL Ontario Reign Toledo Walleye KHL Dinamo Riga Tipsport Extraliga Berani Zlín |
| Ntl. team |  Latvia
|
| Playing career | 2006–present |
Ralfs Freibergs (born 17 May 1991) is a Latvian professional ice hockey defencemen, who currnently plays for the HC Kometa Brno of the Tipsport Extraliga.
After first playing professionally in his native Latvia, Freibergs moved to North America as a junior and played collegaite hockey with the Bowling Green State University in NCAA league. Freibergs was a member of Latvia men's national ice hockey team and he has played in 2013 IIHF World Championship as well as the 2014 Winter Olympics.
On August 8, 2014, Freibergs signed his first North American professional contract in agreeing to a one-year AHL deal with the St. Johns IceCaps [1], but he played most of the season in ECHL for Ontario Reign. Freibergs played next season for Toledo Walleye of ECHL. After that season, Freibergs moved back in Europe.
He spent the 2016-17 season in his native Latvia playing for Dinamo Riga of the KHL. Since 2017, he is playing in Czechia. In 2017-2020, Freibergs played for Berani Zlín of the Tipsport Extraliga and since 2020, he is playing for HC Kometa Brno.
International play[]
Freibergs participated at many junior championships. He played at the 2008 and 2009 World U18 Championships Division I, 2009 and 2010 World Junior Championships and at the 2011 World Junior Championship Division I.
His first senior big international tournament was 2013 World Championship.
Freibergs competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics being the only active NCAA hockey player to compete in the men's tournament. His first appearance was in the third game when he logged 4:56 of ice time.[2] Freibergs also competed in the elimination round games against Switzerland and Canada.[3][4]
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on April 25, 2014, that Freibergs was excluded from the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. Freibergs provided a urine sample on 22 February whose A and B samples indicated the presence of dehydrochloromethyl-testosterone metabolite 18-nor-17b-hydroxymethyl-17a-methyl-4- chloro-5b-androst-13-en-3a-ol.[5]
Freibergs also participated at the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 World Championships and also at the 2016 Olympic Qualification, but Latvia did not qualify at the 2018 Olympics.
References[]
- ↑ "IceCaps re-sign Fredheim, sign Freibergs". St. John's IceCaps (2014-08-08). Retrieved on 2014-08-08.
- ↑ "Bowling Green impacts thrilling day at Sochi". Bowling Green Falcons (2014-02-15). Retrieved on 2014-02-15.
- ↑ "Latvia take on Switzerland". International Ice Hockey Federation (2014-02-17). Retrieved on 2014-02-17.
- ↑ "Canada defeat courageous Latvia". International Ice Hockey Federation (2014-02-21). Retrieved on 2014-02-21.
- ↑ "Disciplinary commission release statement". International Olympic Committee (2014-02-22). Retrieved on 2014-02-22.