David Aebischer
{{Short description|Swiss ice hockey player (born 1978)}}
{{Infobox ice hockey player
| alt =
| position = Goaltender
| catches = Left
| image = David Aebischer 14.09.2012.jpg
| image_size = 230px
| caption = Aebischer with the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers in 2012
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 1
| weight_lb = 185
| played_for = HC Fribourg-Gottéron
Colorado Avalanche
HC Lugano
Montreal Canadiens
Phoenix Coyotes
Rapperswil-Jona Lakers
HC Thurgau
| ntl_team = SUI
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|02|07}}
| birth_place = Geneva, Switzerland{{cite book |last1=Alain |first1=Thévoz |last2=David |first2=Aebischer |title= David Aebischer, Le récit d'une conquête|trans-title=David Aebischer, The Story of a Conquest|year=2001 |location=Fribourg |language= fr|isbn=2-9700313-0-2 |page=196 }}.
| career_start = 1996
| career_end = 2015
| draft = 161st overall
| draft_year = 1997
| draft_team = Colorado Avalanche
}}
David Aebischer (born February 7, 1978) is a Swiss former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League with the Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Canadiens and the Phoenix Coyotes. He was a member of the 2001 Stanley Cup champion Avalanche team, becoming the first Swiss native to achieve the feat. Aebischer also played several seasons in his native Switzerland with HC Fribourg-Gottéron, HC Lugano and the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the National League (NL).
Aebischer is currently a goalie coach for HC Fribourg-Gottéron.
Playing career
As a youth, Aebischer played in the 1992 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a team from Switzerland.{{cite web|url=https://www.publicationsports.com/ressources/files/439/Joueurs_Pro.pdf|title=Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA|year=2018|website=Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament|access-date=2019-02-02|archive-date=2019-03-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306085544/https://www.publicationsports.com/ressources/files/439/Joueurs_Pro.pdf|url-status=dead}}
Aebischer was drafted 161st overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. He moved to North America in 1997 and spent the 1997–98 season in the ECHL, first with the Chesapeake Icebreakers and then with the Wheeling Nailers. He spent the next two seasons with Colorado's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hershey Bears, with whom he compiled a 46-33-7 record. When the Avalanche traded backup goaltender Marc Denis to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the summer of 2000, Aebischer became the full-time backup to starting goaltender Patrick Roy.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
Aebischer played 26 games during his rookie season with Colorado. Aebischer made his NHL debut, and first NHL start on October 18, 2000 against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Columbus for his first NHL victory.{{cite web| url = https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/200010180CBJ.html | title = Avs beat Blue Jackets | website = hockeyreference.com | date = 2000-10-18 | access-date = 2012-02-04}} On October 26, 2000 in his second career start, Aebischer shut out the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago for his first NHL career shutout.{{cite web | url = https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/200010260CHI.html | title = Avalanche shut-out Blackhawks | website = hockeyreference.com | date = 2000-10-26 | access-date = 2012-02-26}} The year would prove a successful one, as Roy backstopped the Avalanche to their second Stanley Cup championship, defeating the New Jersey Devils in a seven-game final series.{{cite news|author=Kevin Allen|title=Avalanche beat Devils to capture Stanley Cup|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/cup01/games/2001-06-09-njcol.htm|newspaper=USA Today|date=2001-06-10|access-date=2010-11-21}} With the win, Aebischer became the first Swiss hockey player to win the Stanley Cup.{{cite web|title=Swiss ice hockey star steps out of the shadows|url=http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/index/Swiss_ice_hockey_star_steps_out_of_the_shadows.html?cid=3419608|publisher=swissinfo|date=2003-06-10|access-date=2010-11-19}}
Following two more seasons as the Avalanche backup, Aebischer became Colorado's starting goaltender following Roy's retirement in the summer of 2003. He played 62 games and posted 32 wins during the 2003–04 season. That season, he started his first career playoff game for the Avalanche and led Colorado to the second round, where they lost to the San Jose Sharks in six games. The following season, due to the NHL lockout, Aebischer returned to Switzerland and played for HC Lugano in the Nationalliga A.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
Aebischer returned to the Avalanche for the 2005–06 season. He was unable to duplicate his pre-lockout form and his inconsistent play led to him being traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for goaltender José Théodore on March 8, 2006, a day before the NHL trade deadline.{{cite web|url=http://canadiens.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=333539&page=NewsPage&service=page|title=Habs acquire Aebischer from Colorado|publisher=canadiens.nhl.com|date=2006-03-08|access-date=2009-03-28|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504115517/http://canadiens.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=333539&page=NewsPage&service=page|archive-date=2009-05-04}}
That summer, Montreal re-signed him to a one-year deal worth $1.9 million.{{cite web|url=http://canadiens.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=333637&page=NewsPage&service=page|title=Canadiens re-sign Aebischer|publisher=canadiens.nhl.com|date=2006-07-12|access-date=2009-03-28|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504115522/http://canadiens.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=333637&page=NewsPage&service=page|archive-date=2009-05-04}} He served as Cristobal Huet's backup for the 2006–07 season and posted a 13–12–3 record. The Canadiens failed to make the playoffs and Montreal opted not to re-sign Aebischer.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
On July 19, 2007, Aebischer signed a one-year, $600,000 contract with the Phoenix Coyotes.{{cite web|url=http://coyotes.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=334800&page=NewsPage&service=page|title=Coyotes sign David Aebischer|publisher=coyotes.nhl.com|date=2007-07-19|access-date=2009-03-28|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504115239/http://coyotes.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=334800&page=NewsPage&service=page|archive-date=2009-05-04}}{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/coyotes/2007-09-25-aebischer-coyotes_N.htm?csp=34|title=Ex-Av Aebischer embraces shot in Phoenix | publisher =USAtoday.com | date = 2007-09-25 | access-date = 2009-03-28 | first=Greg | last=Boeck}} However, he lost the goaltending battle in training camp to Alex Auld and Mikael Tellqvist, and was waived. He went unclaimed and was subsequently assigned to the Coyotes AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage. On November 23, 2007, Aebischer was loaned to HC Lugano to make room on the San Antonio roster for goaltender Alex Auld.{{cite web|title=Phoenix Coyotes loan goalie David Aebischer to Swiss team Lugano|url=http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=344279|publisher=NHL.com|date=2007-11-23|access-date=2010-11-21}}
{{MedalTableTop| name = | David Aebischer.jpg | 200px}}
{{MedalCountry | {{ih|SUI}} }}
{{MedalSport | Ice hockey}}
{{MedalCompetition|World Junior Championships}}
{{MedalBronze|1998 Helsinki|}}
{{MedalBottom}}
In August, 2011, after four seasons back in his native Switzerland, Aebischer was invited to the training camp of the Winnipeg Jets for the 2011–12 season on a tryout contract.{{cite news|title=David versus Goliaths... and more|url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/David-versus-Goliaths-and-more-128101103.html|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|author=Ed Tait|date=2011-08-19|access-date=2011-08-20}} On October 5, 2011, it was announced that Aebischer would play with the Jets' AHL affiliate, the St. John's IceCaps.{{cite web|title=Jets sign G Aebischer to AHL contract|url=https://www.tsn.ca/ahl/story/?id=377456|publisher=TSN|date=2011-10-05|access-date=2011-10-10}}
On July 1, 2012, Aebischer again left North America and signed a one-year contract with the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the National League A.{{cite web | url = http://www.lakers.ch/index.php/news/aktuell/216-transferaebischer | title = Lakers sign Aebischer | publisher = Rapperswil-Jona Lakers | date = 2012-07-01 | access-date = 2012-07-01 | language = de | archive-date = 2012-10-24 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121024083002/http://www.lakers.ch/index.php/news/aktuell/216-transferaebischer | url-status = dead }}
In the 2014–15 season, Aebischer played five games with HC Thurgau of the National League B before announcing his retirement from his playing career to focus for a coaching role on January 25, 2015.{{cite web | url = http://www.nationalleague.ch/NL/aktuell/de/sportinformationen_news.php?news=20150124_brz007_1 | title = David Aebischer ends his career | publisher = National League A | date = 2015-01-25 | access-date = 2015-01-25 | language = de | archive-date = 2020-10-22 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201022155442/https://www.sihf.ch/de/national-league/?news=20150124_brz007_1 | url-status = dead }}
International play
Aebischer has represented Switzerland internationally on many occasions. His first international experience came in the 1997 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, hosted by Switzerland. The Swiss finished in 7th place. Aebischer returned as Switzerland's starting goaltender the following year at the 1998 World Juniors and led the team past the quarterfinal round and to a bronze medal finish, defeating the heavily favoured Czech Republic in the bronze medal match. Aebischer has also appeared for Switzerland in five IIHF World Championships and two Winter Olympic Games.
Career statistics
=Regular season and playoffs=
| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="width:75%; text-align:center;" | ||||||||||||||||
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" | ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | ! colspan="10" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" | Regular season ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | ! colspan="8" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Season ! Team ! League ! GP !! W !! L !! T !! OTL !! MIN !! GA !! SO !! GAA !! SV% ! GP !! W !! L !! MIN !! GA !! SO !! GAA !! SV% | ||||||||||||||||
| 1994–95
| SUI U20 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3.58 | —
| 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 2.50 | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1995–96 | HC Fribourg–Gottéron | SUI U20 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3.20 | —
| 3 | — | — | — | — | — | 3.01 | — |
| 1996–97
| HC Fribourg–Gottéron | SUI U20 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2.65 | —
| 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 2.22 | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1996–97 | HC Fribourg–Gottéron | NDA | 10 | — | — | — | — | 577 | 34 | 0 | 3.54 | —
| 3 | 1 | 2 | 184 | 13 | 0 | 4.24 | — |
| 1997–98
| ECHL | 17 | 5 | 7 | 2 | — | 930 | 52 | 0 | 3.35 | .897
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1997–98 | ECHL | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | — | 564 | 30 | 1 | 3.19 | .858
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1997–98
| AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | 79 | 5 | 0 | 3.76 | .853
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1997–98 | HC Fribourg–Gottéron | NDA | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1.00 | —
| 4 | — | — | 240 | 17 | — | 4.25 | — |
| 1998–99
| Hershey Bears | AHL | 38 | 17 | 10 | 5 | — | 1932 | 79 | 2 | 2.45 | .920
| 3 | 1 | 2 | 152 | 6 | 0 | 2.37 | .925 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1999–00 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 58 | 29 | 23 | 2 | — | 3259 | 180 | 1 | 3.31 | .902
| 14 | 7 | 6 | 788 | 40 | 2 | 3.05 | .917 |
| 2000–01
| NHL | 26 | 12 | 7 | 3 | — | 1393 | 52 | 3 | 2.24 | .903
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00
| — | |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2001–02 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 21 | 13 | 6 | 0 | — | 1184 | 37 | 2 | 1.88 | .931
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 1.79 | .929 |
| 2002–03
| Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 22 | 7 | 12 | 0 | — | 1235 | 50 | 1 | 2.43 | .916
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2003–04 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 62 | 32 | 19 | 9 | — | 3703 | 129 | 4 | 2.09 | .924
| 11 | 6 | 5 | 662 | 23 | 1 | 2.08 | .922 |
| 2004–05
| NLA | 18 | 12 | 2 | 3 | — | 1019 | 41 | 0 | 2.41 | .933
| 4 | 1 | 3 | 240 | 10 | 0 | 2.50 | .939 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2005–06 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 43 | 25 | 14 | — | 2 | 2477 | 123 | 3 | 2.98 | .900
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2005–06
| NHL | 7 | 4 | 3 | — | 0 | 418 | 26 | 0 | 3.73 | .892
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2006–07 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 32 | 13 | 12 | — | 3 | 1760 | 93 | 0 | 3.17 | .900
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007–08
| NHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | 60 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 | .909
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2007–08 | AHL | 5 | 2 | 3 | — | 0 | 302 | 13 | 0 | 2.58 | .898
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007–08
| HC Lugano | NLA | 26 | 12 | 14 | — | — | 1576 | 69 | 2 | 2.63 | .921
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2008–09 | HC Lugano | NLA | 49 | 27 | 22 | — | — | 2953 | 140 | 2 | 2.84 | .923
| 7 | 3 | 4 | 452 | 26 | 0 | 3.45 | .895 |
| 2009–10
| HC Lugano | NLA | 48 | 23 | 24 | — | — | 2897 | 156 | 2 | 3.23 | .916
| 4 | 0 | 4 | 240 | 22 | 0 | 5.50 | .836 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2010–11 | HC Lugano | NLA | 35 | 10 | 18 | — | 3 | 2038 | 109 | 3 | 3.21 | .872
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2011–12
| AHL | 31 | 15 | 12 | — | 2 | 1722 | 82 | 1 | 2.86 | .895
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 4.56 | .833 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2012–13 | NLA | 40 | 13 | 21 | — | 1 | 2256 | 146 | 2 | 3.88 | .897
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2013–14
| Rapperswil–Jona Lakers | NLA | 43 | 9 | 28 | — | 3 | 2364 | 148 | 0 | 3.76 | .872
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2014–15 | NLB | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4.93 | .856
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NDA/NLA totals ! 270 !! — !! — !! — !! — !! 15,740 !! 844 !! 11 !! 3.22 !! — ! 22 !! — !! — !! 1356 !! 88 !! — !! 3.89 !! — | ||||||||||||||||
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan=3 | NHL totals ! 214 !! 106 !! 74 !! 12 !! 5 !! 12,230 !! 513 !! 13 !! 2.52 !! .912 ! 13 !! 6 !! 5 !! 697 !! 24 !! 1 !! 2.07 !! .922 |
=International=
| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" ID="Table3" style="text-align:center; width:40em" | ||||||||
| ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Year ! Team ! Event ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" | ! GP !! W !! L !! T !! MIN !! GA !! SO !! GAA !! SV% | ||||||||
| 1996
| EJC | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3.95 | .884 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1997 | WJC | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 300 | 10 | 0 | 2.00 | .917 |
| 1998
| Switzerland | WJC | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 379 | 10 | 0 | 1.58 | .951 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1998 | WC | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 376 | 18 | 0 | 2.87 | .895 |
| 1999
| Switzerland | WC | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 173 | 13 | 1 | 4.51 | .833 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2002 | Switzerland | OLY | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 6 | 0 | 4.44 | .806 |
| 2005
| Switzerland | WC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 60 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 | .903 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2006 | Switzerland | OLY | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 200 | 7 | 0 | 2.10 | .940 |
| 2006
| Switzerland | WC | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 359 | 16 | 0 | 2.67 | .882 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2007 | Switzerland | WC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 60 | 6 | 0 | 6.00 | .793 |
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan=3 | Senior totals ! 25 !! 7 !! 10 !! 6 !! 1309 !! 69 !! 1 !! 3.16 !! .876 |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{icehockeystats}}
- [http://www.hockeygoalies.org/bio/aebischer.html Aebischer at hockeygoalies.org]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aebischer, David}}
Category:Chesapeake Icebreakers players
Category:Colorado Avalanche draft picks
Category:Colorado Avalanche players
Category:HC Fribourg-Gottéron players
Category:Hershey Bears players
Category:Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Category:Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Category:Montreal Canadiens players
Category:Olympic ice hockey players for Switzerland
Category:Sportspeople from Fribourg
Category:Phoenix Coyotes players
Category:SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers players
Category:St. John's IceCaps players
Category:San Antonio Rampage players
Category:Stanley Cup champions