Rūdolfs Balcers (born 8 April 1997) is a Latvian professional

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 ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for the

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa ...

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) while under contract to the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

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 ...

(NHL). He was selected by the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

, 142nd overall, in the

2015 NHL Entry Draft The 2015 NHL Entry Draft was the 53rd NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 26–27, 2015, at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The first three selections were Connor McDavid going to the Edmonton Oilers, Jack Eichel going to the Buffa ...

. Balcers played three seasons for the

Stavanger Oilers Stavanger Ishockeyklubb, commonly referred to as Stavanger Oilers, is a Norwegian ice hockey team based in Stavanger, Norway. They currently play in the Fjordkraftligaen, which is the top division in Norwegian ice hockey. As of 2018, it is the ...

before moving to North America in 2016, where he spent one season with the

Kamloops Blazers The Kamloops Blazers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Conference, is based out of Kamloops, British Columbia, and play home games at Sandman Centre. The Blazers o ...

of 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). After one season in the

(AHL) with the Sharks minor league affiliate, the

San Jose Barracuda The San Jose Barracuda are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. The team will play at Tech CU Arena beginning in the 2022-23 season. The Barracuda is a relocation of the ...

, Balcers was traded to the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

in 2018, and made his NHL debut with the team in 2019. He rejoined the Sharks in 2021.

Playing career

As a junior, Balcers played in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

with

Lørenskog is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. A suburb of Oslo, it is part of the Oslo urban area and the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Romerike. The administrati ...

until joining the

in the 2013–14 season. The youngest player on the Oilers in 2014–15, he recorded 21 points in 38 regular season as the club won the league championship, and was selected by the

in the fifth round, 142nd overall, at the

. After three seasons with Stavanger Oilers he moved to continue his development in North America, joining major junior club the

of the

(WHL) for the 2016–17 season. Balcers made a seamless transition to the WHL appearing in 66 games with the Blazers, finishing with 40 goals, the most on the team. Having experienced a successful season with Blazers, he was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with his draft team, the San Jose Sharks, on 13 July 2017. After attending the Sharks 2017 training camp, he was assigned by the Sharks to begin his North American professional career with AHL affiliate, the

. In the 2017–18 season, Balcers led the Barrcuda with 23 goals and 25 assists for 48 points in 67 games. He was selected to represent the Barracuda at the 2018 All-Star Classic. In September 2018, Balcers was traded by the Sharks to the

as part of a package of players, prospects and draft picks for

Erik Karlsson Erik Sven Gunnar Karlsson (; born 31 May 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Karlsson was drafted in the first round, 15th overall, by the Otta ...

. Assigned to the Senators' AHL affiliate the

Belleville Senators The Belleville Senators are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2017–18 season as the top minor league affiliate of the National Hockey League team, the Ottawa Senators. Based in Bellevill ...

to start the season, Balcers was leading the team in goals and points when he was recalled by Ottawa in early January 2019. He made his NHL debut with the Senators on 5 January 2019, against the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

, and scored his first goal in the next game, on 6 January against the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

. After missing most of the 2019–20 season with an MCL injury, Balcers signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Senators in October 2020. Shortly after that, he was loaned back to Stavanger until the start of the delayed 2020–21 season. Balcers compiled seven goals and eight assists in just 10 games in his return with the Stavanger Oilers before returning to the Senators organization. Approaching the conclusion of training camp, Balcers was placed on waivers by the Senators and subsequently claimed by his original club, the San Jose Sharks, on 12 January 2021. He scored his first goal for the Sharks, in a 5–4 win over the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

on 20 February 2021. On 22 July 2021, Balcers signed a two-year, $3.1 million contract with the Sharks. Following the 2021–22 season, despite having recorded career best marks with 11 goals and 23 points through 61 regular season games, Balcers was placed on unconditional waivers by the Sharks in order to buyout the remaining season of his contract on 12 July 2022. On 14 July, Balcers as a free agent agreed to a one-year, $750,000 contract with the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

. He made his Panthers debut on the opening night of the 2022–23 season, in a 3–1 victory over the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

on 13 October. Despite contributing with two goals and two assists through 14 games with the Panthers, Balcers was placed on waivers due to other roster considerations on 11 November 2022. The following day on 12 November, Balcers was claimed off waivers by rival club, the

International play

After representing

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

at the junior level, Balcers was selected by head coach

Bob Hartley Robert "Bob" Hartley (born September 7, 1960) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach. He most recently served as the head coach of Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He has additionally coached the Latvia men's national ...

for the 2018 World Championship. In his senior debut game against

, he scored two goals including the overtime-winning goal. The four goals and six points he scored in eight games led the Latvian team.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balcers, Rudolfs 1997 births Living people Belleville Senators players Expatriate ice hockey players in Canada Expatriate ice hockey players in Norway Expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Florida Panthers players Kamloops Blazers players Latvian expatriate ice hockey people Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Latvian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Latvian ice hockey left wingers Ottawa Senators players San Jose Barracuda players San Jose Sharks draft picks San Jose Sharks players Sportspeople from Liepāja Stavanger Oilers players Syracuse Crunch players Tampa Bay Lightning players