Aleksandrs Kerčs
Aleksandrs Kerčs (sometimes anglicised as Alexander Kerch,[1] Russian: Александр Ярославович Керч, Aleksandr Jaroslavovich Kerch; born March 16, 1967) is a retired Soviet and Latvian professional ice hockey left winger who played five games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers. He also appeared in several World Championships and the 2002 Winter Olympics for the Latvian national team. Previously, he represented the Soviet Union at the 1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
| Aleksandrs Kerčs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
March 16, 1967 Arkhangelsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Left Wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
USSR Dinamo Riga NHL Edmonton Oilers Nationalliga A EHC Biel SM-liiga Tappara DEL Revierlöwen Oberhausen | ||
| National team |
 Latvia | ||
| NHL Draft |
60th overall, 1993 Edmonton Oilers | ||
| Playing career | 1984–2013 | ||
Career
Kerčs enjoyed a lengthy career in European professional leagues, interrupted by a brief stint in North America for the 1993–94 season.
The Edmonton Oilers acquired the third-round draft pick of the New York Rangers (60th overall) along with Roman Oksiuta in a trade that saw Kevin Lowe join the Rangers. The Oilers used the pick on Kerčs, a 26-year-old of the Russian Elite League. Kerčs came to North America for the following season, where he spent the majority of the year with the Cape Breton Oilers of the AHL. He scored at a better than point-per-game clip in the minors and went pointless in five games with the Oilers. The following year, Kerčs played one game with the Providence Bruins, before returning to Russia.
International
Kerch played internationally for Latvia between the years 1993-2005, and was part of the team that won the World Championships B-pool in 1996.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1984–85 | Dynamo Riga | USSR | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Dynamo Riga | USSR | 23 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Dynamo Riga | USSR | 26 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Dynamo Riga | USSR | 50 | 14 | 4 | 18 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Dynamo Riga | USSR | 39 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Dynamo Riga | USSR | 46 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Dynamo Riga | USSR | 46 | 16 | 17 | 33 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Rigas Starts | CIS | 27 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Pardaugava Riga | IHL | 42 | 23 | 14 | 37 | 28 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1992–93 | Pardaugava Riga II | LAT | 7 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Cape Breton Oilers | AHL | 57 | 24 | 38 | 62 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Pardaugava Riga | IHL | 11 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | EHC Biel | NLA | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 1994–95 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1995–96 | Riga/Alianse | LAT | 29 | 28 | 21 | 49 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | EV Landsberg | GER-2 | 47 | 39 | 52 | 91 | 52 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1997–98 | Tappara | FIN | 46 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 57 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1998–99 | Revierlöwen Oberhausen | DEL | 38 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Revierlöwen Oberhausen | DEL | 55 | 14 | 27 | 41 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Revierlöwen Oberhausen | DEL | 57 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 48 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Berlin Capitals | DEL | 56 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 52 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2002–03 | HK Rīga 2000 | EEHL | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | SKA Saint Petersburg | RSL | 17 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | HK Rīga 2000 | EEHL | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Vilki Riga | LAT | 10 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Molot-Prikamye Perm | RUS-2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Nyköpings Hockey | SWE-2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | HK Gomel | BEL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Vilki Riga | LAT | 9 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Fischtown Pinguins | GER-2 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06 | Khimik Voskresensk | RUS-2 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Vilki Riga | LAT | — | 10 | 7 | 17 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | ASK/Ogre | LAT | 40 | 23 | 34 | 57 | 64 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 18 | — | ||
| 2007–08 | ASK/Ogre | LAT | 41 | 26 | 47 | 73 | 68 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 10 | ||
| 2008–09 | ASK/Ogre | BEL | 38 | 10 | 32 | 42 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | ASK/Ogre | LAT | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 10 | 16 | — | ||
| 2010–11 | DHK Latgale | LAT | 34 | 16 | 37 | 53 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | HK SMScredit | LAT | 14 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 | ||
| 2012–13 | HK Ozolnieki/Monarhs | LAT | 12 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| LAT totals | 196 | 134 | 185 | 319 | 303 | 25 | 21 | 27 | 48 | 24 | ||||
| NHL totals | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Soviet Union | WJC | 6 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 20 | |
| 1993 | Latvia | WC-C | 7 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 4 | |
| 1996 | Latvia | WC-B | 7 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 20 | |
| 1997 | Latvia | WC | 8 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | |
| 1998 | Latvia | WC | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | |
| 1999 | Latvia | WC | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 | |
| 2000 | Latvia | WC | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2001 | Latvia | WC | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2002 | Latvia | OLY | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2002 | Latvia | WC | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2003 | Latvia | WC | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2004 | Latvia | WC | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | |
| Junior totals | 6 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 20 | |||
| Senior totals | 70 | 26 | 32 | 58 | 64 | |||
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Aleksandrs Kerčs at the Latvijas Olimpiskā Komiteja (in Latvian)
- Aleksandrs Kercs at the International Olympic Committee
- Aleksandrs Kerčs at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)