Aleksandrs Kerčs

Aleksandrs Kerčs
Born	(1967-03-16) 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

Aleksandrs Kerčs (sometimes anglicised as Alexander Kerch, 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.

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						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1984–85	Dynamo Riga	Soviet		8	0	0	0	6		—	—	—	—	—
1985–86	Dynamo Riga	Soviet		23	5	2	7	16		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	Dynamo Riga	Soviet		26	5	4	9	16		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Dynamo Riga	Soviet		50	14	4	18	28		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Dynamo Riga	Soviet		39	6	7	13	41		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Dynamo Riga	Soviet		46	9	11	20	22		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Dynamo Riga	Soviet		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	LHL		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	LHL		29	28	21	49	42		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	EV Landsberg	Ger-2		47	39	52	91	52		4	3	2	5	0
1997–98	Tappara	SM-liiga		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	LHL		10	11	5	16	35		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Molot-Prikamye Perm	RUS2		6	0	4	4	2		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				5	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
• Aleksandrs Kerčs at the Latvijas Olimpiskā komiteja (archived) (in Latvian)
• Aleksandrs Kercs at Olympics.com
• Aleksandrs Kerčs at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)