Benjamin Conz
| Benjamin Conz | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
September 13, 1991 Saint-Ursanne, Switzerland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb) | ||
| Position | Goalie | ||
| Catches | Right | ||
| NLA team | HC Fribourg-Gottéron | ||
| Played for |
NLA HC Lugano SCL Tigers Genève-Servette HC | ||
| National team |
 Switzerland | ||
| Playing career | 2008–present | ||
Benjamin Conz (born September 13, 1991) is a Swiss ice hockey goaltender. He currently plays for the HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the National League A (NLA) in Switzerland. He was eligible for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but went undrafted, being drafted 185th overall in the 2010 KHL Junior Draft by SKA St. Petersburg instead.
Playing career
Benjamin started his career in the 2007–08 with the Swiss U20 team, which competes in National League B (NLB or Nationalliga B in Swiss German). After moderate showing in the NLB, he signed his first professional contract with Genève-Servette HC of National League A (NLA or Nationalliga A in Swiss German). He posted a 2.50 GAA in 21 games played with Servette. For the 2009–2010 season, he was on loan to the SCL Tigers, also in the NLA, located in Langnau im Emmental. He was ranked as the fourth best international goaltender by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau in 2010, and entered into the 2010 NHL Entry Draft but he still went undrafted. TSN's hockey analysts Pierre McGuire and Gord Miller both compared Conz favourably to Conn Smythe winner and Stanley Cup champion Jean-Sébastien Giguère.[1]
International play
At the 2010 IIHF World U20 Championships, Conz led the Swiss team to impressive fourth place finish. He managed an upset of the Slovaks by stopping 39 shots in a 4–1 victory.[2] This victory advanced Switzerland to the knockout round to face the highly favoured Russian squad. Against the Russian, Conz had another impressive match where he made 50 saves on 52 shots, as the Swiss advanced 3–2.[3] After losing to the Canadians 6–1 and Swedes 11–4 and out of the medals, Conz finished the tournament with a 4.76 GAA and an 89.31% save percentage, an impressive feat due to the workload the over-matched Swiss defence allowed on Conz. He faced more than 300 shots on goal, making him the tournament's busiest goalie, and his 284 saves in seven games were tournament best.[4] Despite allowing the second most goals in the tournament at 34, he was selected to the tournament all-star team[5] and named the best goaltender.[6]
Awards
- Named to the World Junior all-star team in 2010.[5]
- IIHF Best Player Award at the goaltender position at the World Juniors in 2010.[6]
Career statistics
Club Stats
As of the end of the 2008–09 season. [7] [8]
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | Sv% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | Servette | NLA | 21 | – | – | – | 1233 | 51 | 2 | 2.50 | 90.6 |
| 2009–10 | SCL Tigers | NLA | 15 | – | – | – | 875 | 44 | 1 | 2.93 | 92.00 |
International statistics
As of the end of the 2009–10 season. [9] [10] [11]
| Year | Team | Comp | Result | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | Sv% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Switzerland | U18 | 8th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 240 | 13 | 0 | 3.25 | 85.56 |
| 2009 | Switzerland | U18 | 8th | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 327 | 27 | 0 | 4.95 | 87.50 |
| 2010 | Switzerland | WJC | 4th | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 428 | 34 | 0 | 4.76 | 89.31 |
References
- ^ "CANADA MUST PAY ATTENTION TO NIEDERREITER, CONZ". TSN.com. January 11, 2010.
- ^ "Benjamin Conz stops 39 as Switzerland beats Slovakia 4–1 at world juniors". NHL.com. January 11, 2010.
- ^ "Niederreiter shuts down Russia". IIHF.com. January 11, 2010.
- ^ "2010 IIHF World U20 Championship – Goalkeeping statistics" (PDF). IIHF.com. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
- ^ a b "2010 IIHF World U20 Championship – All Stars" (PDF). IIHF.com. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
- ^ a b "2010 IIHF World U20 Championship – Best Players Selected by the Directorate" (PDF). IIHF.com. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
- ^ "Draft Prospect Card – Benjamin Conz". nhl.com. January 12, 2010.
- ^ "SPL Tigers Spielerstatistken". scltigers.ch. January 12, 2010.
- ^ "IIHF U18 Championship Switzerland PLAYER STATISTICS BY TEAM 2007–2008" (PDF). IIHF.com. January 12, 2010.
- ^ "IIHF U18 Championship Switzerland PLAYER STATISTICS BY TEAM 2008–2009" (PDF). IIHF.com. January 12, 2010.
- ^ "IIHF WJC Championship Switzerland PLAYER STATISTICS BY TEAM 2009–2010" (PDF). IIHF.com. January 12, 2010.