Hockey coach Ēvalds Grabovskis laid to rest at Baltezers Cemetery
Latvian ice hockey coach Ēvalds Grabovskis, who died at the age of 85, was laid to rest on Friday at Baltezers Cemetery. He led the Latvian national team in 1995 and also worked with national sides abroad.
Ice hockey coach Ēvalds Grabovskis was laid to rest on Friday at Baltezers Cemetery in Latvia. He died over the previous weekend at the age of 85. Grabovskis was one of the notable figures in Latvian hockey history: he led the Latvian national team in 1995 and later spent two more seasons as an assistant to the head coach.
Career as a player and coach
As a player, Grabovskis was a defenceman and represented the teams RVR, Brocēni and Rīga Daugava. He later became a coach and led clubs including Rīga Dinamo and Latvijas Bērzs. He also worked abroad: in the 1980s he was in charge of the Bulgarian national team, and in the 1990s he worked with the Polish national team. He also coached teams in Latvia, Poland and Germany.
Work at the federation and books
Grabovskis worked in administration at the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation (LHF) and helped with the work of the youth national teams. He created a travelling exhibition devoted to the history of Latvian hockey and published two books: "Hokeja elpas skartie" (2016) and "Hokeja ģimene" (2022).
In 2019, he received the LHF award for lifetime contribution to hockey.
