- David Aebischer
-
David Aebischer 
Born February 7, 1978
Fribourg, SwitzerlandHeight 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight 187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb) Position Goaltender Catches Left Nationalliga A team
Former teamsWinnipeg Jets
Colorado Avalanche
Montreal Canadiens
Phoenix CoyotesNational team 
SwitzerlandNHL Draft 161st Overall, 1997
Colorado AvalanchePlaying career 1996–present David Aebischer (born February 7, 1978), is a Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the St. John's IceCaps of the American Hockey League (AHL). Before returning to North America in 2011 Aebischer had spent four seasons with HC Lugano of the Nationalliga A in Switzerland. He has also played for the NHL's Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Canadiens and Phoenix Coyotes. He was a member of the 2001 Stanley Cup champion Avalanche team.
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Playing career
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 back-up goaltender Marc Denis to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the summer of 2000, Aebischer became the full-time back-up to starting goaltender Patrick Roy.
Aebischer played 26 games during his rookie season with Colorado. It 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.[1] With the win, Aebischer became the first Swiss hockey player to win the Stanley Cup.[2]
Following two more seasons as the Avalanche's back-up, 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.
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 his being traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for goaltender José Théodore on March 8, 2006, a day before the NHL trade deadline.[3]
That summer, Montreal re-signed him to a one year deal worth $1.9 million.[4] He served as Cristobal Huet's back-up 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.
On July 19, 2007, Aebischer signed a one-year, $600,000 contract with the Phoenix Coyotes.[5][6] 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.[7]
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.[8] On October 5th, 2011, it was announced that Aebischer will play with the Jets' AHL affiliate, the St. John's IceCaps.[9]
Medal record Competitor for SwitzerlandIce hockey World Junior Championships Bronze 1998 Helsinki Ice hockey 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 for the first time and to a third place finish, upsetting 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
Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1996–97 HC Fribourg-Gottéron NLA 10 — — — 577 34 1 3.54 — 3 1 2 185 13 0 4.24 — 1997–98 HC Fribourg-Gottéron NLA 1 1 0 0 60 1 0 1.00 — 4 0 4 240 17 0 4.25 — 1997–98 Chesapeake Icebreakers ECHL 17 5 7 2 930 52 0 3.35 .897 — — — — — — — — 1997–98 Wheeling Nailers ECHL 10 5 3 1 564 30 1 5.54 .858 — — — — — — — — 1997–98 Hershey Bears AHL 2 0 0 1 79 5 0 3.76 .853 — — — — — — — — 1998–99 Hershey Bears AHL 38 17 10 5 1932 79 2 2.45 .920 3 1 2 152 6 0 2.37 .925 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 Colorado Avalanche NHL 26 12 7 3 1393 52 3 2.24 .903 1 0 0 1 0 0 0.00 - 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 — — — — — — — — 2003–04 Colorado Avalanche NHL 62 32 19 9 3702 129 4 2.09 .924 11 6 5 662 23 1 2.08 .922 2004–05 HC Lugano NLA 18 13 2 3 1019 41 0 2.41 .932 4 1 3 240 10 0 2.50 .938 2005–06 Colorado Avalanche NHL 43 25 14 2 2476 123 3 2.98 .900 — — — — — — — — 2005–06 Montreal Canadiens NHL 7 4 3 0 418 26 0 3.73 .892 — — — — — — — — 2006–07 Montreal Canadiens NHL 32 13 12 3 1760 93 0 3.17 .900 — — — — — — — — 2007–08 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 1 0 1 0 60 3 0 3.00 .909 — — — — — — — — 2007–08 San Antonio Rampage AHL 5 2 3 0 302 13 0 2.58 .898 — — — — — — — — 2007–08 HC Lugano NLA 26 12 14 0 1576 69 2 2.63 .920 5 4 1 301 14 0 2.79 .892 2008–09 HC Lugano NLA 49 27 22 0 2953 140 2 2.84 .922 7 3 4 452 26 0 3.45 .894 2009–10 HC Lugano NLA 46 23 22 1 2751 139 2 3.03 .908 4 0 4 237 22 0 5.57 .835 2010–11 HC Lugano NLA 36 12 24 0 2088 108 3 3.10 .885 — — — — — — — — NHL totals 214 106 74 17 12229 513 13 2.52 .912 13 6 5 697 24 1 2.07 .922 AHL totals 103 48 36 8 5572 277 3 2.98 .907 17 8 8 940 46 2 2.94 .918 International
Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SA SO GAA SV% 1997 Switzerland WJC 5 3 1 1 300 10 — 0 2.00 — 1998 Switzerland WJC 6 4 2 0 379 10 — 0 1.58 — 1998 Switzerland WC 7 2 4 1 376 18 — 0 2.87 — 1999 Switzerland WC 4 1 3 0 173 13 — 1 4.51 — 2002 Switzerland Oly 2 1 0 0 81 6 31 0 4.44 .806 2005 Switzerland WC 1 0 0 1 60 3 31 0 3.00 .903 2006 Switzerland Oly 4 1 0 2 200 7 117 0 2.10 .940 2006 Switzerland WC 6 2 2 2 359 16 136 0 2.67 .882 2007 Switzerland WC 1 0 1 0 60 6 29 0 6.00 .793 Junior int'l totals 11 7 3 1 679 20 — 0 1.76 — Senior int'l totals 25 7 10 6 1309 69 — 1 3.16 — References
- ^ Kevin Allen (2001-06-10). "Avalanche beat Devils to capture Stanley Cup". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/cup01/games/2001-06-09-njcol.htm. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
- ^ "Swiss ice hockey star steps out of the shadows". swissinfo. 2003-06-10. http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/index/Swiss_ice_hockey_star_steps_out_of_the_shadows.html?cid=3419608. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
- ^ "Habs acquire Aebischer from Colorado". canadiens.nhl.com. 2006-03-08. http://canadiens.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=333539&page=NewsPage&service=page. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ "Canadiens re-sign Aebischer". canadiens.nhl.com. 2006-07-12. http://canadiens.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=333637&page=NewsPage&service=page. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ "Coyotes sign David Aebischer". coyotes.nhl.com. 2007-07-19. http://coyotes.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=334800&page=NewsPage&service=page. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ Boeck, Greg (2007-09-25). "Ex-Av Aebischer embraces shot in Phoenix". USAtoday.com. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/coyotes/2007-09-25-aebischer-coyotes_N.htm?csp=34. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ "Phoenix Coyotes loan goalie David Aebischer to Swiss team Lugano". NHL.com. 2007-11-23. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=344279. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
- ^ Ed Tait (2011-08-19). "David versus Goliaths... and more". Winnipeg Free Press. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/David-versus-Goliaths-and-more-128101103.html. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
- ^ "Jets sign G Aebischer to AHL contract". TSN. 2011-10-05. http://www.tsn.ca/ahl/story/?id=377456. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
External links
Categories:- 1978 births
- Chesapeake Icebreakers players
- Colorado Avalanche draft picks
- Colorado Avalanche players
- HC Fribourg-Gottéron players
- HC Lugano players
- Hershey Bears players
- Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics
- Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics
- Living people
- Montreal Canadiens players
- Olympic ice hockey players of Switzerland
- People from Fribourg (city)
- Phoenix Coyotes players
- San Antonio Rampage players
- Stanley Cup champions
- St. John's IceCaps players
- Swiss ice hockey players
- Wheeling Nailers players
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