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Goran Bezina

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Goran Bezina
Born (1980-03-21) 21 March 1980 (age 44)
Split, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 225 lb (102 kg; 16 st 1 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for HC Fribourg-Gottéron
Phoenix Coyotes
Medveščak Zagreb
Genève-Servette HC
HC Sierre
National team   Switzerland
NHL draft 234th overall, 1999
Phoenix Coyotes
Playing career 1997–2022

Goran Bezina (born 21 March 1980) is a Swiss former professional ice hockey defenseman who played most of his career with Genève-Servette HC of the National League (NL). He also played with the Arizona Coyotes in the National Hockey League (NHL), Medveščak Zagreb of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the NL and HC Sierre of the Swiss League (SL).

Playing career

As a youth, Bezina played in the 1994 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a team from Switzerland.[1]

A product of Monthey-Chablais HC, Bezina made his debut in the Swiss top-flight National League A (NLA) for HC Fribourg-Gottéron during the 1998-99 season and was drafted 234th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. From 2001 to 2004, he played within the Phoenix Coyotes organization with three NHL appearances for the Coyotes and 204 contests for their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons.[2]

Bezina spent most of his professional career with Genève-Servette HC of the National League A (NLA) and left the club after twelve years (ten of those as a captain) upon the conclusion of the 2015-16 season. In the course of his Genève-Servette stint, Bezina appeared in 639 NLA contests, scoring 384 points.[3] In June 2016, he put pen to paper on a contract with Medvescak Zagreb of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL),[4] but returned to Genève-Servette on January 31, 2017.[5] He eventually played 10 games with the team this year, tallying 3 assists. At the end of the season, Bezina was not offered a contract extension, making him a free agent.

On September 1, 2017, a few days before the start of the 2017–18 season, Bezina unexpectedly returned to Geneva on a 1-year deal worth CHF 750,000. He agreed to reduce his salary to play his 14th season with the Grenats.[6] On April 17, 2018, Bezina agreed to a one-year contract extension with Geneva worth CHF 700,000.

On August 2, 2019, Bezina joined freshly promoted HC Sierre of the Swiss League (SL) on a one-year deal. On May 5, 2020, Bezina agreed to a one-year contract extension to remain with HC Sierre through the 2020/21 season.[7] On June 22, 2021, Bezina signed a new one-year contract extension with Sierre for the 2021/22 season.[8]

On August 17, 2022, Bezina officially retired from professional hockey.

International play

Representing the Swiss national team, Bezina played at the 2006 Olympic Games and eleven World Championships.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1997–98 Villars HC SUI–3 24 7 5 12 — — — — — —
1998–99 HC Fribourg–Gottéron SUI U20 22 11 6 17 64 7 2 3 5 2
1998–99 HC Fribourg–Gottéron NDA 38 0 0 0 14 — — — — —
1999–2000 HC Fribourg–Gottéron SUI U20 2 0 1 1 16 2 1 1 2 8
1999–2000 HC Fribourg–Gottéron NLA 44 3 6 9 10 4 0 0 0 6
1999–2000 EHC Visp SUI–2 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2000–01 HC Fribourg–Gottéron NLA 44 10 10 20 44 5 1 1 2 12
2001–02 Springfield Falcons AHL 66 2 11 13 50 — — — — —
2002–03 Springfield Falcons AHL 64 3 4 7 27 6 0 1 1 0
2003–04 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2003–04 Springfield Falcons AHL 74 11 10 21 65 — — — — —
2003–05 Genève–Servette HC NLA 33 7 12 19 51 4 0 0 0 8
2005–06 Genève–Servette HC NLA 32 8 14 22 38 5 1 2 3 33
2006–07 Genève–Servette HC NLA 41 13 20 33 72 5 0 0 0 5
2006–07 EC Red Bull Salzburg AUT 1 1 0 1 2 8 4 8 12 12
2007–08 Genève–Servette HC NLA 48 11 25 36 46 16 4 6 10 16
2008–09 Genève–Servette HC NLA 48 11 19 30 97 4 1 2 3 2
2009–10 Genève–Servette HC NLA 47 7 19 26 34 20 4 12 16 22
2010–11 Genève–Servette HC NLA 50 8 22 30 70 6 4 3 7 29
2011–12 Genève–Servette HC NLA 50 7 20 27 58 — — — — —
2012–13 Genève–Servette HC NLA 46 10 21 31 40 — — — — —
2013–14 Genève–Servette HC NLA 50 8 24 32 81 12 0 4 4 35
2014–15 Genève–Servette HC NLA 40 2 14 16 24 12 2 3 5 12
2015–16 Genève–Servette HC NLA 50 6 13 19 73 11 0 6 6 8
2016–17 KHL Medveščak Zagreb KHL 56 4 11 15 57 — — — — —
2016–17 Genève–Servette HC NLA 6 0 3 3 2 4 0 0 0 8
2017–18 Genève–Servette HC NL 36 5 6 11 34 5 0 0 0 4
2018–19 Genève–Servette HC NL 42 3 5 8 20 6 0 0 0 6
2019–20 HC Sierre SUI–2 32 3 9 12 39 — — — — —
2020–21 HC Sierre SUI–2 46 6 17 23 52 4 1 1 2 12
2021–22 HC Sierre SUI–2 49 3 13 16 57 6 1 1 2 6
NDA/NLA/NL totals 745 119 253 372 808 132 19 47 66 221
AHL totals 204 16 25 41 142 6 0 1 1 0
NHL totals 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1998 Switzerland EJC 6 0 1 1 6
1999 Switzerland WJC 6 1 1 2 2
2000 Switzerland WJC 7 0 0 0 8
2001 Switzerland WC 6 0 1 1 43
2003 Switzerland WC 6 1 1 2 0
2004 Switzerland WC 7 0 1 1 4
2005 Switzerland OGQ 3 0 0 0 0
2005 Switzerland WC 7 1 0 1 8
2006 Switzerland OG 6 0 2 2 0
2006 Switzerland WC 6 2 1 3 4
2007 Switzerland WC 7 1 1 2 6
2008 Switzerland WC 7 0 2 2 6
2009 Switzerland WC 6 0 0 0 6
2010 Switzerland WC 7 0 2 2 16
2011 Switzerland WC 3 1 0 1 4
2012 Switzerland WC 5 1 1 2 29
Junior totals 19 1 2 3 16
Senior totals 76 7 12 19 126

References

  1. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Goran Bezina | LNH.com - Joueurs". www.nhl.com. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  3. ^ "Actualité - Goran Bezina évoluera bel et bien en KHL | Planète Hockey". Planète Hockey. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Finally in Croatia - Bezina signs with Medvescak". www.medvescak.com. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  5. ^ Club, www.gshc.ch, GSHC - Site officiel du Genève-Servette Hockey. "Goran Bezina de retour aux Vernets - Genève-Servette Hockey Club". www.gshc.ch (in French). Retrieved 1 February 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Goran Bezina has agreed to terms with Genève-Servette HC". www.swisshockeynews.ch. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  7. ^ "Goran Bezina jouera un an de plus avec Sierre". www.planetehockey.com. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  8. ^ "One more season in Sierre - Goran Bezina is not ready to retire". swisshockeynews.ch. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
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