Balcers enjoying being back to his old stomping grounds in Norway
Due to the pandemic, many players in North America have been forced to find games in Europe and Rudolfs Balcers found a comfortable place in Stavanger, Norway. Currently playing for the Stavanger Oilers of the Eliteserien.
An interesting league with not much publicity, it holds 9 teams and doesn’t match the same playing level as the SHL and the Liiga but still offers a quality product. From an outside view, it’s odd to see a high-level player such as Balcers playing in a weaker league but his backstory provides a much better explanation.
Originally born in Latvia, Balcers moved to Norway during his childhood and grew up playing hockey in the Stavanger region. Dominating through all of minor hockey, at just 17-years-old Balcers finally broke into the pro league and thrived. In his first season with the Stavanger Oilers, Balcers produced 21 points in 36 games and the following season he scored 15 goals and 24 points in 43 games. The Balcers would head over to North America, joining the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL.
After four full seasons in North America, Balcers finally returned to Norway, returning to the league where it all started. The Senators prospect would score one goal and add 2 assists in his opening game in the league, a 5-4 victory.
🇳🇴 Highlights from #92 Rudolfs Balcers' 3-point game on Thursday (assist, goal, assist) in his season debut #SensInEurope pic.twitter.com/LJpFhVaWlO
— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) October 23, 2020
Balcers (#92), is without a doubt the most talented player on the ice during these games and has shown that up to this point. Producing 4 points in just 3 games so far and he’s been looking nasty while doing it.
The Latvian forward was recently signed on October 16th by the Senators on a one-year, two-way contract worth $735,000 in the NHL and $70,000 in the AHL. Hopes are that Balcers can make the team out of camp and never risk being sent down since Balcers is waiver-eligible.