RIGA – Leonids Beresnevs was named new head coach of the Latvian U18 national team that will participate in the 2010 IIHF World U18 Championship in Minsk and Bobruisk, Belarus, April 13-23.

The 51-year-old replaces Aleksandrs Klinsovs, who resigned due to health reasons.

Latvia was promoted to the top division last year and will face Russia, Finland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in Group B in Minsk.

Beresnevs was the head coach of the men’s national team 1996-1999 and 2004-2006. He led Latvia to the top division in 1996 and to the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. He was replaced before the 2006 IIHF World Championship on home ice in Riga following the last-place finish at the Olympics.

After leaving the national team, he was a coach in the Latvian league for the Tartu Big Diamonds (Estonia) and ASK Ogre. Since 2009 he is the head coach of the Dinamo Riga Juniors, the farm team of the KHL club, in the Belarusian Extraliga.

The team will travel to a tournament in the Moscow suburb of Podolsk, Russia, on March 15 where Beresnevs will be assisted by former national team player Leonids Tambijevs. On March 27 and 28, there will be internal games between the U18 and U20 national team before Beresnevs will select the roster.

On April 10, the Latvian team will leave for Belarus and play an exhibition game against Sweden on April 11 prior to the World U18 Championship.

MARTIN MERK