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	(1967-03-16) March 16, 1967 (age 58) 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. In the following year, Kerčs played one game with the Providence Bruins, before returning to Russia.

International

Kerčs played internationally for Latvia between 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	Dinamo Rīga	USSR		8	0	0	0	6		—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	Latvijas Berzs	USSR-3		—	18	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—
1985–86	Dinamo Rīga	USSR		23	5	2	7	16		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	Dinamo Rīga	USSR		26	5	4	9	10		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	Dinamo Rīga	USSR		50	14	4	18	28		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	Dinamo Rīga	USSR		39	6	7	13	41		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Dinamo Rīga	USSR		46	9	11	20	22		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Dinamo Rīga	USSR		46	16	17	33	46		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Stars Rīga	CIS		27	7	9	16	20		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Pārdaugava Rīga	IHL		42	23	14	37	28		2	1	2	3	2
1992–93	Pārdaugava–2 Rīga	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	Pārdaugava Rīga	IHL		11	4	0	4	4		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	EHC Biel	NDA		2	0	1	1	4		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Providence Bruins	AHL		1	0	0	0	15		4	0	2	2	0
1995–96	Allianse Rīga	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	SM-l		46	14	17	31	57		4	1	0	1	2
1998–99	Revierlöwen Oberhausen	DEL		38	10	23	33	18		—	—	—	—	—
1999–2000	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 OP	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		1	0	0	0	0
2004–05	HK Gomel	BEL		4	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Vilki OP	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 OP	LAT		—	10	7	17	44		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	ASK/Ogre	LAT		40	23	34	57	64		10	11	7	18	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		—	—	—	—	—		9	4	10	14	10
2010–11	DHK Latgale	LAT		34	16	37	53	16		5	4	3	7	6
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
USSR/CIS totals				265	62	54	116	189		—	—	—	—	—
LAT totals				196	124	178	302	259		39	23	30	53	58
NHL totals				5	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—

• LAT totals do not include stats from the 2005–06 season.

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
1994	Latvia	OGQ		4	7	2	9	2
1996	Latvia	WC B		7	3	6	9	20
1996	Latvia	OGQ		4	1	8	9
1997	Latvia	WC		8	4	4	8	6
1998	Latvia	WC		6	3	1	4	2
1999	Latvia	WC		6	2	1	3	12
1999	Latvia	WC Q		3	0	0	0	2
2000	Latvia	WC		7	1	2	3	0
2001	Latvia	OGQ		3	1	4	5	6
2001	Latvia	WC		6	1	0	1	4
2002	Latvia	OG		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				84	35	46	81	74