Vitālijs Samoilovs

Vitālijs Samoilovs is a former Latvian professional ice hockey player who played in the Soviet Championship League. He played for Dynamo Riga and Sokil Kyiv.
The best season of his career was 1987-88, in which he made the Soviet National Team, but as a back-up goaltender, he never actually played in a national team game. He was the third-string goaltender at the 1987 Canada Cup and didn't appear in any games. He was selected for the gold-medal-winning Soviet team at the 1988 Winter Olympics but was Sergei Mylnikov back-up. Also, he was Yevgeni Belosheikin back-up at the 1987 Ice Hockey World Championships where he won a silver medal. Lastly, that season, he led Dinamo Riga to a surprising third-place finish in the Championship League.
The following year an injury caused him to lose his starting job in Riga to Arturs Irbe.