Eliezer Sherbatov

Eliezer "Eli" Sherbatov (Hebrew: אליעזר שרבטוב‎; born 9 October 1991 in Rehovot, Israel) is an Israeli-Canadian ice hockey player who has recently signed one year contract with Polish team TH Unia Oswiecim of the Polska Hokej Liga. He last played for HC Košice of the Slovak Extraliga. He is the first Israeli to have played in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League, having played for HC Slovan Bratislava.[1]

Eliezer Sherbatov
Sherbatov with Beibarys Atyrau in 2017
Born (1991-10-09) 9 October 1991
Rehovot, Israel
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 193 lb (88 kg; 13 st 11 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shoots Left
team
Former teams		 Unia Oswiecim
Bisons de Neuilly-sur-Marne
HC Astana
HC Beibarys
HC Slovan Bratislava
Berlin Blackjacks
HC Košice
National team  Israel
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2009–present

Sherbatov, who is Jewish,[2] moved with his family from Israel to Laval, Quebec when he was two years old. His parents were originally from Moscow, Russia and fans of the Montreal Canadiens. According to Sherbatov, his family was permitted entry into Canada by immigration officials because his father said he wanted him to be like Guy Lafleur.[3]

Early life

Eliezer Alexeevich Sherbatov was born to a Russian Jewish family. He is the youngest child. His brother, Yoni Sherbatov is a professional MMA fighter. At the age of two he moved with his family to Canada, to the city of Lasalle. His father was a big fan of the Montreal Canadiens. According to Eliezer, the immigration service allowed his family to enter Canada only after the words of his father that he wanted his son to become like number 10, Guy Lafleur.[4] Eliezer's dream was to play in the KHL since childhood. in 2017, he became the first Israeli to play in the Kontinental Hockey League.[5][6]

Playing career

Junior

At the age of thirteen, Sherbatov made his debut in the Israeli hockey league as part of the adult "Metulla" team. In the 2004/05 season he managed to win bronze medals of the championship together with the team. In total, Eliezer played for "Metulla" until 2008.

In 2008, Sherbatov attended training camp with the Montreal Junior Hockey Club, and spent the 2008–09 season with Laval-Bourassa Rousseau Sports of the Quebec Midget AAA Hockey League where he led the team in scoring. He made 61 (29 goals + 32 assists) points in 45 games, becoming the third in the league for leading scorers. In the playoffs, he helped the team win the championship while leading the playoffs with 15 goals in 18 games.[4]

Sherbatov began playing major junior hockey in Canada during the 2009–10 season with the Montreal Junior Hockey Club, playing in 62 games and recording 30 (12 goals + 18 assists) points. He played 37 games with Montreal again in 2010–11 before being traded to the Baie-Comeau Drakkar.

Professional

France

Sherbatov spent the 2011-12 season with the Bisons de Neuilly-sur-Marne team, playing in the Magnus League. Over the season, he scored 14 (6 + 8) points in 24 games. Despite the fact that Neuilly-sur-Marne left the elite division following the season, Sherbatov signed a one-year contract extension with the club.

The second season in Neuilly-sur-Marne was a productive one for Sherbatov, where he gained an average of two points per game. He finished sixth in league scoring and 3rd in assists. He also finished first in goals, assists and points in his team. At the end of the season Eliezer was leased to the junior club Francais Volants in Paris. He played three games for the Volants in the playoffs, in which he scored 8 (4 goals + 4 assists) points. He was the key player for the team's victory in the playoffs.

Kazakhstan

From the 2013-14 season through the 2016-17 season, Sherbatov played the Kazakhstan Hockey Championship[7], starting with a season with HC Astana which saw him finish tied for first on the team in points with forty (16 goals and 24 assists).[8] After a dip in production in his first season with Beibarys Atyrau in 2014-15, he bounced back in 2015-16 with the best totals in his years in Kazakhstan, leading the team in points with 45[9] and finishing third in the entire league in assists with 33[10] during the regular season, which saw Beibarys finish second. During the playoffs, Sherbatov played a vital role in their championship win, leading the team in goals (6), points (10), and plus-minus (+8) [9][11] - he finished fourth in points, second in goals, and first in plus-minus in the Kazakhstani playoffs on the whole. [12]

He would lead Beibarys in scoring a second consecutive regular season in 2016-17, finishing seventh in the league with 43 points[13], but Beibarys would exit the playoffs quite early, and that summer, he would leave for Slovakia.

He did briefly return to Kazakhstan in the 2018-2019 season, as he moved to Arlan Kokshetau, but never actually played a game for the team before leaving a month later.[7]

Slovakia

Sherbatov first played in Slovakia in the 2017-18 season. He signed with HC Slovan Bratislava, becoming the first Israeli to play in the KHL, scoring a goal and 3 assists in 35 games[7]. In February 2019, after brief stints in North America (Berlin Blackjacks) and Latvia (HK Kurbads)[7], and the aforementioned no-games stint with Arlan, Sherbatov moved to HC Košice[14], making his team debut in a 3-2 win over HC Nové Zámky[15] and scoring his first goal in a 5-1 loss against HC '05 Banská Bystrica[16].

Poland

In June 2020 Sherbatov signed one year contract with Polish club Unia Oswiecim.

International play

Sherbatov has played extensively for the Israel national ice hockey team, drawing international attention when he first played in the 2005 IIHF World U18 championship Division III, in Bulgaria, at the age of 13, becoming the youngest player to step on the ice in an under-18 world championship.[4][17] He played again with the under-18 team in 2006 and 2008. In his first tournament, he scored 9 (4 goals + 5 assists) points in 5 games and helped the team win a bronze medal which also became the first medal that won in an under 18 world championship tournament. In the second championship, the 2006 IIHF World U18 Championship, in Romania, Sherbatov scored 14 (6 goals + 8 assists) points, which helped the team to rise to the second division by winning the silver medal. Unfortunately, Sherbatov's next participation in the 2008 IIHF World U18 championship Division II, in Estonia, ended with the return of the Israeli team to the third division.

Sherbatov started playing with the senior national team at the 2010 IIHF World Championship Division II in Estonia at age 19.[18] He scored 6 (3 goals + 3 assists) points in five games, which did not save the Israeli team from relegation to the third division. Sherbatov became an internet sensation after scoring a highlight goal against Greece at the 2011 IIHF World Championship Division III, in South Africa.[19] Sherbatov led the tournament in points, goals, assists and +/-, earning 26 (14 goals + 12 assists) points in just four games. He was named best forward of the tournament. At the 2012 IIHF World Championship division II tournament in Bulgaria, Sherbatov again excelled, gaining 14 (5 goals + 9 assists) points which helped the Israeli team stay in the second division. The last time Sherbatov stepped on the ice for the national team was in the 2014 world championship division II, in Serbia, where he put up 9 (3 goals, 6 assists) points in 5 games.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004–05 HC Metulla Israel — — — — — — — — — —
2005–06 HC Metulla Israel — — — — — — — — — —
2006–07 HC Metulla Israel — — — — — — — — — —
2007–08 HC Metulla Israel — — — — — — — — — —
2008–09 Laval-Bourassa Rousseau QMAAA 45 29 32 61 30 18 15 3 18 14
2009–10 Montreal Juniors QMJHL 62 12 18 30 12 7 1 3 4 2
2010–11 Montreal Juniors QMJHL 37 3 6 9 17 — — — — —
2010–11 Baie-Comeau Drakkar QMJHL 21 3 3 6 0 — — — — —
2011–12 Bisons de Neuilly-sur-Marne FRA 20 5 7 12 12 4 1 1 2 0
2012–13 Bisons de Neuilly-sur-Marne FRA.1 25 20 31 51 12 2 0 1 1 2
2013–14 HC Astana KHC 51 16 24 40 16 4 0 1 1 12
2014–15 Beibarys Atyrau KHC 51 5 12 17 44 15 4 1 5 6
2015–16 Beibarys Atyrau KHC 53 12 33 45 24 15 6 4 10 4
2016–17 Beibarys Atyrau KHC 46 15 28 43 22 2 0 1 1 0
2017–18 HC Slovan Bratislava KHL 35 1 3 4 33 — — — — —
KHL totals 35 1 3 4 33 — — — — —

International
Year National Team Tournament Place GP G. A TP PIM +/−
2005 Israel (U18) IIHF World U18 Championship Div.III 3 5 4 5 9 4 1
2006 Israel (U18) IIHF World U18 Championship Div.III 2↑ 5 6 8 14 8 5
2008 Israel (U18) IIHF World U18 Championship Div.II 6↓ 5 2 2 4 8 -24
2010 Israel IIHF World Championship Div.II 6↓ 5 3 3 6 12 -11
2011 Israel IIHF World Championship Div.III 1↑ 4 14 12 26 0 22
2012 Israel IIHF World Championship Div.II 5 5 9 5 14 0 6
2014 Israel IIHF World Championship Div.II 6↓ 5 3 6 9 2 -8
Total (Junior) 15 12 15 27 20 -18
Total (Men) 19 29 25 53 10 9

See also

References
  1. "Щербатов Элиэзер:Континентальная Хоккейная Лига (КХЛ)". www.khl.ru. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  2. "Professional Hockey Review: 2010–11; Canadian Hockey Leagues (Senior A)". Jewish Sports Review. 8 (87): 7–8. September 2011.
  3. "Q & A ('Q' Moment) With Montreal Junior Eliezer Sherbatov". Evenstrength.com. 9 July 2010. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  4. "Sherbatov a Montréal Junior". Thesuburbannews.ca. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  5. ""Я буду первым евреем в КХЛ" - Как пройти путь от чемпионата Израиля до КХЛ". Sports.ru (in Russian). 3 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  6. IIHF. "First Israeli in KHL". www.iihf.com. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  7. "Eliezer Sherbatov". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  8. "Elite Prospects - HK Astana". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  9. "Elite Prospects - Beibarys Atyrau". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  10. "Elite Prospects - Kazakhstan Stats 2015-2016". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  11. "Elite Prospects - Beibarys Atyrau". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  12. "Elite Prospects - Kazakhstan Stats 2015-2016". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  13. "Kazakhstan Stats 2016-2017". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  14. "Oceliarov posilnia Roman Derljuk a Eliezer Šerbatov". www.hckosice.sk (in Slovak). 26 January 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  15. "Po odhodlanom výkone zaslúžené body z novozámockého ľadu". www.hckosice.sk (in Slovak). 1 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  16. "Pod Urpínom sme ťahali za kratší koniec". www.hckosice.sk (in Slovak). 13 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  17. "Israeli hockey player shocks world". Ynetnews. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  18. "Sherbatov, 17, beats the odds". .canada.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  19. "Sherbatov goal". Youtube.com. 9 July 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2013.


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