BK ALUM BERZKALNS STEPPING UP IN 2ND USHL SEASON

MUSKEGON, Mich. — In multiple ways, Rudolfs Berzkalns has already made his mark on North American hockey.

 

But there’s no sign of contentedness with the way ‘Rudy’ has gone about his business since arriving in Rochester from his native Latvia prior to the 2022-23 hockey season.

 

After two outstanding seasons with BK Selects, the 17-year-old Boston College recruit is holding down a regular lineup spot with the defending United States Hockey League champion Muskegon Lumberjacks, while also looking forward to again competing in the IIHF World Junior Championship come late December.

 

Quite a ride, and one he hopes is just getting started.

 

“I think it’s been great,” Berzkalns said after a November practice at Trinity Health Arena, just off the shores of Lake Michigan. “The first year (in the USHL) was kind of a learning step, just figuring things out. This year has been so much better confidence-wise. I think we have a great team again and I think I’m doing better as well.”

 

Competing last season as a 16-year-old in a league that allows players as old as 20, the 6-foot-4 Berzkalns earned his way into the Lumberjacks’ lineup for 43 games, notching five goals and three assists in a supporting role as Muskegon won the USHL’s Clark Cup postseason title. 

 

But even in a transition year, Berzkalns continued to blaze his own trail, as he became the first BK alum to play for his nation in the annual World Juniors. On the strength of a surprising round-robin win over host Canada, Latvia made the quarterfinals and ensured it would remain in the World Juniors this year. 

 

“It was a big booster, for sure,” Berzkalns said. “Beating Team Canada with 20,000 in the building was an unbelievable feeling. It gave me a lot of confidence, seeing that I could play with the top guys. I played against first-round (NHL) picks in that tournament.”

 

Knowing how far he’s come in a short span, it’s no surprise Berzkalns has taken a noticeable step forward in Year 2 of his USHL experience. In just 20 games, he’s already surpassed last season’s goal and point totals, with six and 13, respectively.

 

The left-handed shooter has developed into a reliable weapon on the Muskegon power play, and Berzkalns was also trusted to score the shootout-winning goal Nov. 14 in Madison, Wisc.

 

“I think you’re just seeing more maturity in Rudy’s game overall,” said Lumberjacks head coach Colten St. Clair. “It’s the details. He’s wanting the puck a little more, he’s a little more physical, but not in a way that takes away from his skill. You’re seeing him more willing to get a little bit dirty so he can hold onto pucks for a few more seconds, and you’re seeing him get to the net.

 

“I think he’s taking a step with how he believes in himself against high-caliber players, and his hunger in wanting to get better. I think he understands the type of player he needs to be.”

 

St. Clair described Berzkalns as a “modern power forward,” with a potent combination of rangy size and on-the-puck skill. The Muskegon bench boss noted that he has to be careful when urging Berzkalns to assert himself physically, because he doesn’t want the player to forget how much he can impact a game offensively.

 

“For his size, he’s really smooth,” St. Clair said. “A lot of guys his age, at 6-4, they’re a little clunky at times or not as coordinated, but Rudy’s an athlete. We’re trying to put that all together and work to use that size to his advantage. 

 

“Just find ways to keep offensive posture around the net, so he can get second and third chances, and be a little heavier underneath the (faceoff) dots. … I think we’re starting to see what Rudy is going to be. It’s great to see.”

 

Berzkalns, who lists Vegas’ Mitch Marner and Florida’s Alexander Barkov as some of his role models, figures to be of interest this season as NHL scouts make the USHL rounds. He’s draft-eligible for 2026, a date he’s had his eye on since arriving in Rochester in 2022.

 

In his first year with BK Selects, Berzkalns was a key contributor to the 14U team winning the USA Hockey national championship, scoring 75 points (38 goals) in 74 games. During that season, Ben McManama joined the 14U coaching staff as an assistant; Berzkalns caught his attention immediately, and not just for his obvious physical talent.

 

“Midway through the year he started to come out of his shell,” said McManama, who Berzkalns listed as his most influential coach at BK. “I loved to work with him because we could have adult conversations about hockey. He was quiet at first, but I loved when he would ask questions. That’s when you can build (hockey) IQ.”

 

Berzkalns kept up the point-per-game pace as a 15O standout — 24 goals and 63 total points in 60 games, in addition to a six-game cameo with the 18U squad. That performance led to a first for a BK player: A tender agreement to join the Lumberjacks for 2024-25. (James Scantlebury added himself to that list last season, securing an agreement with the Chicago Steel.)

 

To hear St. Clair tell it, BK’s off-ice experience aided in Berzkalns being able to make the leap to top-tier juniors as much as anything he did at the rink. 

 

“Places like BK teach you how to live on your own a little bit, so when you do go to juniors, it’s not as much of a leap,” said St. Clair. “It’s time management and it’s overall development. You’re away from your parents for the first time and you’re trying to figure out how bad you want to make it in this game. 

 

“That’s where BK did such a good job with Rudy in getting him adapted and ready to be a junior player.”

 

No matter what might be ahead for Berzkalns — increased USHL success, college hockey, NHL draft — he can always look back at his two seasons at BK Selects as a foundation he could build upon.

 

“It was great being around the older guys who had been through it and committed to college,” he said. “I learned a lot from them and the coaching staff. I think it just made me a better person, off the ice and on it, too.”