Great news for JKH GKS Jastrzebie supporters as the club has re-signed one of their leading scorers. Latvian forward Vitālijs Pavlovs has re-upped with the club on a one-year agreement. He finished third on the team in scoring for the 2022 season.

The 32-year-old forward has a wealth of experience in Latvia and across different Eastern European leagues. Early in his career, he played for Metalurgs Liepaja in Belarus’ top league and Latvia. He moved to the Kazakhstan league in 2012. After one strong year, he signed a KHL contract with Dinamo Riga. He would get loaned to the Mestis for most of the 2013 season. He would then play for Dinamo Riga in the KHL until 2021, except for one season in the ECHL with the Colorado Eagles. In 281 KHL games, he recorded 19 goals and 22 assists for 41 points. He split the 2021 season between the Latvia league and the ICEHL before landing in Poland for 2022. In his first year with JKH GKS Jastrzebie, he scored 13 goals and assisted on 31 in 54 games.

The Latvian flavor continues in JKH GKS Jastrzebie. He will be the sixth Latvian under contract. He is also a key piece to get back with how much offensive firepower the team loses. He is the only one of the club’s top five scorers to return for the 2023 season.

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