The Belarus Open League will see important changes next season. The three most important changes will be that non-Belarussian clubs will be allowed entry to the playoffs; that Ukraine again will take part in the league with the return of Sokol Kiev, and that Dinamo Riga will enter the league with a farm team.
The Belarus Open League will be expanded from 4 to 15 teams. Besides Sokol Kiev from Ukraine, Shakhter Soligorsk from Belarus will enter the league. The number of Latvian teams will be reduced from 4 to three as DHK Latgale and Ask/Ogre will return to the Latvian league. Metallurgs Lijepaja and HC Riga 2000 will still participate with the addition of Dinamo Riga's farm team. Dinamo Riga's farm team could be a U20 junior team, but this is still left undecided.
The most important innovation for the 2009/10 season is that the foreign teams will now be allowed entry to the playoffs. This also implies that the cap of maximum five foreign players will also apply to the Latvian and Ukrainian clubs.
BELARUS OPEN LEAGUE 2009-10: PARTICIPATING CLUBS:
 BELARUS
- Yunost Minsk
- HC Gomel
- Metallurg Zhlobin
- Khimvolokno Mogilev
- HC Vitebsk
- Keramin Minsk
- Neman Grodno
- Khimik-SKA Novopolotsk
- Shinnik Bobruisk
- HC Brest
- Shakhter Soligorsk
 LATVIA
- Metallurgs Lijepaja
- HC Riga 2000
- Dynamo Riga farm club
 UKRAINE
|
