Helmut Balderis

Helmut Balderis

Born: July 31, 1952
Age: 72
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Biography

Helmuts Balderis-Sildedzis (born 31 July 1952 in Riga, Soviet Union) is a retired Latvian ice hockey player. He played right wing.

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Playing career

Balderis played in the Soviet Hockey League for Dinamo Rīga (1969-77 and 1980-85) and CSKA Moscow (1977-80). He was the leading scorer in the 1977 and 1984 seasons, winning the Player of the Year award in 1977. He was the best Latvian player of the 1970s and 1980s and the most prolific scorer from that nation, tallying 333 goals in Soviet league play.

Balderis played for the Soviet national team, on the losing side of the Miracle on Ice game in 1980 but winning World Championships in 1978, 1979 and 1983. Balderis represented the Soviet Union in five IIHF World Championships (1976-1979, 1983), 1976 Canada Cup and 1980 Winter Olympics. He was named Best Forward in the 1977 World Championships. He was not selected for the USSR's 1984 Olympic team and played in only one major international tournament after he left CSKA Moscow to go back to play for Dinamo Riga in 1980.

In 1985, Balderis retired and became a coach in Japan. He returned in 1989, when Soviet players were allowed to play in the NHL. Balderis was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars, playing 26 games and scored 3 goals with 6 assists. He became the oldest ever player drafted by an NHL team (36) and the oldest player to score his first goal (37). He retired again after one season in Minnesota, but came out of retirement for the second time when Latvia regained its independence. Balderis played several games for the newly created Latvian national team (in 1992), serving as its captain and scoring 2 goals. He later coached the team and served as its general manager. He is currently a member of the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation (Latvijas Hokeja Federācija; LHF).

In 1998, he was inducted into IIHF International Hockey Hall of Fame.

Awards

  • Soviet league First All-Star Team (1977)
  • Izvestia Trophy (Soviet league top scorer) (1977, 1983)
  • Soviet league player of the year (1977)
  • World Championships All-Star Team (1977)
  • Named Best Forward at World Championships (1977)
  • Leading scorer of the Latvian league (1993)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1967-68 Dinamo Riga Soviet-2
1968-69 Dinamo Riga Soviet-3
1969-70 Dinamo Riga Soviet-2 12 12
1970-71 Dinamo Riga Soviet-2 10 10
1971-72 Dinamo Riga Soviet-2 14 9 23
1972-73 Dinamo Riga Soviet-2 27 15 42
1973-74 Dinamo Riga Soviet 24 9 6 15 13
1974-75 Dinamo Riga Soviet 36 34 14 48 20
1975-76 Dinamo Riga Soviet 36 31 14 45 18
1976-77 Dinamo Riga Soviet 35 40 23 63 57
1977-78 CSKA Moscow Soviet 36 17 17 34 30
1978-79 CSKA Moscow Soviet 41 24 24 48 53
1979-80 CSKA Moscow Soviet 42 26 35 61 21
1980-81 Dinamo Riga Soviet 44 26 24 50 28
1981-82 Dinamo Riga Soviet 41 24 19 43 48 9 15 5 20 2
1982-83 Dinamo Riga Soviet 40 32 31 63 39
1983-84 Dinamo Riga Soviet 39 24 15 39 18
1984-85 Dinamo Riga Soviet 39 31 20 51 52
1989-90 Minnesota North Stars NHL 26 3 6 9 2
1991-92 HK Sāga Ķekava Riga Latvia 7 23 18 41 27
1991-92 RSHVM-Energo Riga CIS-3 16 14 12 26 10
1991-92 Vecmeistars Riga Latvia 7 23 18 41 27
1992-93 Latvijas zelts Riga Latvia 22 76 66 142 16
1993-94 Latvijas zelts Riga Latvia 7 9 9 18 39
1994-95 Essamika Ogre Latvia 1 0 1 1 0
1995-96 Essamika Ogre Latvia 30 18 36 54
Latvia totals 53 126 130 256
Soviet totals 462 333 247 580 399 9 15 5 20 2

International

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1971 Soviet Union EJC 5 10 1 11 4
1976 Soviet Union WC 10 3 7 10 6
1976 Soviet Union CC 5 2 3 5 6
1977 Soviet Union WC 9 8 7 15 4
1978 Soviet Union WC 10 9 2 11 8
1979 Soviet Union Ch-Cup 3 1 1 2 0
1979 Soviet Union WC 8 4 5 9 9
1980 Soviet Union Super-S 5 5 2 7 2
1980 Soviet Union OLY 7 5 4 9 5
1983 Soviet Union WC 10 4 5 9 22
Senior totals 67 41 36 77 52

[ Source: Wikipedia ]


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