Kristiāns Pelšs (9 September 1992 – 11 June 2013) was a Latvian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player. He was the son of poet and translator Einārs Pelšs. At the time of his death, he played for the

Oklahoma City Barons The Oklahoma City Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team's first season was 2010–11 AHL season, 2010–11. They played their home games at the Cox Convention Center, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. H ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) as a prospect of the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Playing career

Pelšs was selected by the

in the 7th round (181st overall) of the

2010 NHL Entry Draft The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was the 48th NHL Entry Draft, held on June 25–26, 2010 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home arena of the Los Angeles Kings. This was the first time Los Angeles hosted the NHL Entry Draft. An unofficial re ...

. He made his European Elite debut with

DHK Latgale DHK Latgale was a Latvian hockey league team based in Daugavpils, Latvia from 2003 to 2012. The team played in the Latvian Hockey Higher League and in the Belarusian Extraleague The Belarusian Extraleague (abbreviated BHL, also known as th ...

of the

Belarusian Extraleague The Belarusian Extraleague (abbreviated BHL, also known as the Belarusian Open Championship), officially formed in 2006, is the top ice hockey league in Belarus. In its past, it has switched several times between being and not being an open leagu ...

during the 2008-09 season. In 2010, he moved to North America and signed to play major junior hockey in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL) with the

Edmonton Oil Kings The Edmonton Oil Kings are a major junior ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that play in the Western Hockey League. As of July 2008, they are owned by Daryl Katz's Oilers Entertainment Group, which also owns the Edmonton Oilers. ...

. Pelšs participated at the

2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2012 IIHF U20 World Championship (commonly known as the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships) was the 36th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. It was hosted in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It began on Decemb ...

as a member of the

Latvia men's national junior ice hockey team The Latvian men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team in Latvia. The team represents Latvia at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World U20 Championship. They have played at the top division of t ...

. On 1 May 2012, it was announced that Pelšs signed a three-year entry level contract with the

Death

On 11 June 2013, Pelšs drowned in the

Daugava River , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic Se ...

after leaping from the Stone Bridge in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, Latvia. It was confirmed that Pelšs' death was accidental. The Oil Kings established the Kristians Pelss Memorial Award in his honour, which is given "to the player who best exemplifies the traits" of Pelss.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* 1992 births 2013 deaths Edmonton Oil Kings players Edmonton Oilers draft picks HK Liepājas Metalurgs players Latvian ice hockey forwards Oklahoma City Barons players People from Preiļi Stockton Thunder players Deaths by drowning Accidental deaths in Latvia {{Latvia-icehockey-bio-stub

Playing career

Death

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

See also

References

External links