In the report about the team’s performance at the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship the board deemed the 13th-place finish unsatisfactory after having set a top-10 placement as the minimum goal.

The former Latvian national team player Beliavski took over for 2014/15 from Ted Nolan, who left the national team for the Buffalo Sabres.

At the recent Worlds the Latvians had a 2-5 record and secured their spot in the top division only on the last day thanks to gaining one point in a 3-2 shootout loss against France.

At the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, Latvia will play in Group A in Moscow that also includes host Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark and Kazakhstan.

Latvia will also host one of the three Final Olympic Qualification groups for PyeongChang 2018 where the Baltic nation will battle it out against Germany, Austria and a qualifier in the tournament held 1-4 September 2016.