I’m not stupid, I understood what the fate would be

In the 2015 National Hockey League (NHL) rookie draft, Balcer was selected by the San Jose Sharks team with number 142, and it was only the third highest result among Latvians, as Mārtiņš Dzierkals and Kārlis Čukste were selected before him. However, the man from Liepāja made his NHL debut already in the ranks of the Ottawa Senators.

“I was in several camps and felt comfortable. I spent my first professional season in the AHL very well, as I understood from the management, they were satisfied with my performance. The following season, I went to the camps with the same motivation. As far as I talked with the coaches, there was a good chance to get into the NHL team, but suddenly, out of nowhere, a change appeared. It also changed the course of the future. However, I was still young, I played well in the AHL, so I also got opportunities in Ottawa,” Balcer remembers the transfer.

Two seasons later, after a change of coach, the “Senators” placed the Latvian on the list of vulnerable players, and the “Sharks” immediately took him from it. “When I was traded to Ottawa during preseason camp, management called me in. There was also the general manager’s son, Doug Wilson Jr., who also worked for the Sharks for a long time. He said – we didn’t want to trade you away, but we couldn’t miss Eric Carlson. Two seasons later, when San Jose took me off the roster, Doug Wilson Jr. called and said, «Welcome back, Rudy! I told you we never wanted to trade you.» (Welcome back Rudy! I told you we didn’t want to trade you – English). It gave a pleasant feeling, you know that there are people in the team who care about you, who like you and give you a chance.”

He also spent two years in the “Sharks” team, but then ended up in the Florida “Panthers” organization. In the opening of the last season, the Florida club put Balcer on the field in the first line of forwards.

“I had four points in 14 games, but when you’re in the first two shifts, it’s not enough. Eric Staal was in preseason camp on a probationary contract. The contract was not signed with him, but he skated alone. When Florida placed Aaron Ekblad on the long-term injured list, it freed up some salary cap space and Staal was signed as the fourth-inning center fielder the roster needed at the time. As Ekblad recovered, he could no longer be activated because the salary cap had been reached. I started in the first shift, then dropped to the third, later the fourth shift. I’m not stupid, I understood what the fate would be,” Balcer remembers how he once again ended up on the list of vulnerable players. The attacker says that at that time he hoped that no team would choose him and he would end up in the “Panthers” farm club.

“I was picked up by Tampa Bay at the last minute though. I sat and thought: what the hell? What’s the deal? I have to go to Tampa now? The Tampa Bay Lightning were monsters at that point. I talked to the agent and we understood that they took me because they saw something in me. That’s why I went to Tampa motivated and positively charged. However, the shoulder flew out in the first substitution of the third game. That’s where the season ended,” says Balcers. After recovering from a shoulder injury, he never made it to the top of the farm club. Last season, the Florida “Panthers” reached the NHL finals, where they lost to the Vegas “Golden Knights” represented by Theodore Blüger.

In the summer, Balcer signed a one-season contract with the Zurich Lions, aiming to return to the NHL this year, but in the winter he decided to extend the agreement with the Swiss team.

“It was a difficult situation. It seems that the season did not go as well as I had hoped. If he had accumulated 60 points in 50 games, he would definitely pause longer and evaluate his options. On the other hand, with the kind of statistics I had this season, I would have to wait all summer. In Europe, contract signing is done differently than in North America, especially in Switzerland. They sign contracts with foreign players very early, most already in the middle of the season, so there are not many places left for the next season. I didn’t want to risk it; if I don’t get anything in the NHL that I really want, I would miss the opportunity of Zurich. If there is one place in Europe you want to play, Zurich is at the top of the list. I can’t sit and think about the future because it’s unpredictable. I’m looking at what’s available now and what the possibilities are,” says the forward, who had 38 points in 50 games in the regular season, but currently has eight points in 13 duels in the playoffs.

On Thursday, Balcers did not finish the fourth match of the final series of the Swiss championship, in which “Lions” beat “Lausanne” represented by Ronald Kēnins with 3:0, however, today the Zurich team revealed that the injury is not serious. Balcers, if his health allows, has always rushed to help the Latvian national team at the first opportunity and was one of the members of the bronze team and the leaders in the attack last year.

Read an extensive interview with Rūdolfs Balcers about the Latvian national team and his career in the April issue of “Sporta Avīze” magazine.