Kim Michael Hirschovits-Gerz (born 9 May 1982) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward and current[update] sports manager of Kiekko-Espoo in the Mestis.[1] During his playing career, he skated in the Finnish Liiga (called SM-liiga until 2013) with HIFK, Jokerit, the Espoo Blues, and Oulun Kärpät; in the Swedish Elitserien with Timrå IK and Luleå HF; and in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and Dinamo Minsk. Hirschovits was drafted by the New York Rangers as their sixth-round pick, 194th overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.
| Kim Hirschovits | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Hirschovits with the Espoo Blues in 2013 | |||
| Born | 9 May 1982 Helsinki, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | |||
| Coached for | Kiekko-Espoo | ||
| National team |  Finland | ||
| NHL draft | 194th overall, 2002 New York Rangers | ||
| Playing career | 2001–2019 | ||
| Coaching career | 2019–present | ||
Following his retirement in 2019, Hirschovits stepped into role as sports manager Kiekko-Espoo. He also served as the team's head coach during the 2019–20 season and 2021–22 season.[2]
Playing career edit
Hirschovits started his professional playing career with HIFK in the 2000–01 SM-liiga season, but his career took off in the 2005–06 season, when he scored 40 points. Hirschovits then created controversy by signing with HIFK's local rival Jokerit, following in the footsteps of coach Doug Shedden. Hirschovits's career included a brief visit to North America in 2002, when he played six games with the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League (USHL).
In September 2006, he was the SM-liiga Player of the Month. In the 2008–09 season he led the SM-liiga in assists (48) and points (Veli-Pekka Ketola Trophy; 66) and was the January 2009 SM-liiga Player of the Month. In the 2014–15 season, he was named the Liiga Best Player of the regular season (Lasse Oksanen Trophy), won the Liiga Golden Helmet, led the Liiga in assists (45) and points (Veli-Pekka Ketola Trophy; 58), and was the February 2015 Liiga Player of the Month.[3]
International play edit
Hirschovits made his international debut on Team Finland on the Euro Hockey Tour's Moscow tournament in December 2006.
Career statistics edit
Regular season and playoffs edit
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1998–99 | HIFK | FIN U18 | 31 | 19 | 11 | 30 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1999–00 | HIFK | FIN U18 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1999–00 | HIFK | Jr. A | 40 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 45 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | HIFK | Jr. A | 35 | 24 | 20 | 44 | 41 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 6 | ||
| 2000–01 | HIFK | SM-l | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | HIFK | Jr. A | 5 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | HIFK | SM-l | 45 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | KJT | Mestis | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Chicago Steel | USHL | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | HIFK | SM-l | 55 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | HIFK | SM-l | 56 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 56 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 2004–05 | HIFK | SM-l | 55 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 61 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | ||
| 2005–06 | HIFK | SM-l | 53 | 14 | 26 | 40 | 69 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 16 | ||
| 2006–07 | Jokerit | SM-l | 54 | 19 | 40 | 59 | 62 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 14 | ||
| 2007–08 | Jokerit | SM-l | 54 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 99 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 2008–09 | HIFK | SM-l | 58 | 18 | 48 | 66 | 54 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 2009–10 | HIFK | SM-l | 54 | 18 | 26 | 44 | 62 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 | ||
| 2010–11 | Timrå IK | SEL | 52 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | HIFK | SM-l | 30 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | KHL | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 2012–13 | Luleå HF | SEL | 39 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Dinamo Minsk | KHL | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Blues | Liiga | 60 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 62 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | Blues | Liiga | 59 | 13 | 45 | 58 | 46 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2015–16 | Blues | Liiga | 25 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Kärpät | Liiga | 29 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | Espoo United | Mestis | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Espoo United | Mestis | 29 | 2 | 19 | 21 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Kiekko–Espoo | FIN.3 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| SM-l/Liiga totals | 689 | 141 | 302 | 443 | 691 | 77 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 94 | ||||
International edit
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Finland | WJC |  | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| Junior totals | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||
Records edit
- Recorded six assists in an SM-liiga game (January 9, 2007), a Jokerit club record. The league record, seven assists, dates back to 1982 and is held by Matti Forss.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Långkvist, Carl-Magnus; Oivo, Mikael (18 June 2018). "Lejonstjärnor delägare i nya Kiekko-Espoo – sportchefen Hirschovits fortsätter karriären". Yle (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- ^ "Kim Hirschovitsilta painokelvoton avautuminen voittopelin jälkeen – katso raju tunnereaktio". MTV Uutiset (in Finnish). 4 April 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- ^ "Player profile: Kim Hirschovits". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
External links edit
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Official website (Archived, 2008) (in Finnish)
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