Reto Berra

Reto Berra
Born (1987-01-03) January 3, 1987
Bülach, Switzerland
Height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams		 Florida Panthers
Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)
ZSC Lions
HC Davos
SCL Tigers
EV Zug
EHC Biel
Calgary Flames
Colorado Avalanche
National team   Switzerland
NHL Draft 106th overall, 2006
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 2003–present

Reto Berra (born January 3, 1987) is a Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender who currently plays for the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League (AHL). Berra played seven seasons in Switzerland's National League A, spending time with the GCK Lions, HC Davos and SCL Tigers before joining EHC Biel in 2009 where he was the team's starting goaltender for four years. He was an NHL draft pick of the St. Louis Blues, selected in the fourth round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and was traded to the Calgary Flames, with whom he made his NHL debut in 2013–14. Internationally, Berra has played with the Swiss National Team on several occasions; he has appeared in two World Championships. At the 2013 tournament, he shared goaltending duties with Martin Gerber and helped lead Switzerland to a silver medal, the nation's first medal in 60 years.

Playing career

Berra in December 2013

Berra played youth hockey in his home town of Bülach, where he became a goaltender full-time at age 11.[1] He played his first professional game in 2003–04 in the National League B (NLB) for GCK Lions, and two years later played his first National League A (NLA) games with ZSC Lions.[2] He caught the attention of the St. Louis Blues during the 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, and the team selected him with their fourth round pick, 106th overall, at the 2006 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft. Berra opted to remain in Switzerland where he was the back-up goaltender for the Lions, SCL Tigers and HC Davos. He was a member of HC Davos' Swiss championship team in 2009.[1]

Berra with EHC Biel in 2010

Moving to EHC Biel for the 2009–10 NLA season, Berra became the team's starting goaltender and appeared in 40 games, posting a win-loss record of 16–20 and a goals against average (GAA) of 3.36.[2] He improved over the following seasons, culminating in 2011–12 when he was named the NLA's goaltender of the year after posting a 23–26 record with Biel and a 2.45 GAA.[1] As he played with Biel in the 2012–13 NLA season, Berra's NHL playing rights were traded by the Blues on 1 April 2013. The Calgary Flames acquired his rights, along with Mark Cundari and a first round draft selection, in exchange for defenceman Jay Bouwmeester.[3]

After completing his fourth season with Biel, Berra believed his career had progressed to the point where he could succeed in North America.[1] He signed a one-year contract with Calgary for the 2013–14 NHL season.[4] The Flames wanted Berra to gain playing experience in North America and assigned him to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat to start the season. After nine appearances with the Heat in which he recorded a 2.66 GAA and a .908 save percentage, Berra was recalled to Calgary.[5] Berra made his NHL debut on 3 November 2013, making 42 saves for his first win as the Flames defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, 3–2.[6]

Berra appeared in 29 games for the Flames and posted a 9–17–2 record with a 2.95 GAA.[7] On 5 March 2014, the Flames traded him to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a second round draft pick.[8] Before making his debut with the Avalanche and as an impending free agent at season's end, Berra was signed to a three-year contract extension to assume the backup role to Semyon Varlamov on 13 March 2014.[9]

On January 16, 2015, while playing for the Lake Erie Monsters, Berra became the 11th goalie in AHL history to score a goal, when he shot the puck the length of the ice to score in an empty net against the Chicago Wolves.[10]

Approaching the final year of his contract and having been surpassed to third choice on the depth chart by Calvin Pickard, Berra was traded by the Avalanche to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Rocco Grimaldi on June 23, 2016.[11]

International play
Medal record
Representing   Switzerland
World Championships
2013 Sweden/Finland

Berra has represented Switzerland at several international tournaments. He played with the national junior team three times; the first was at the 2005 IIHF World U18 Championships where Berra appeared in two games, winning one, for the ninth place Swiss. He also played in two World Junior Championships, appearing in all six of his nation's games each in 2006 and 2007 as Switzerland finished seventh both years.[12] With the senior team, Berra appeared in four of his nation's seven games at the 2012 IIHF World Championship where he posted a record of 1–3 and had a GAA of 3.01.[13]

At the 2013 IIHF World Championship, Berra split goaltending duties with Martin Gerber.[1] Berra appeared in four games, winning all four and posting a GAA of 1.00.[14] The unheralded Swiss team went on a "Cinderella run" at the championship, winning their first nine games of the tournament.[15] The ninth win came in the semi-final as Berra led his team to an upset win over the United States. He recorded a shutout in a 3–0 win that guaranteed the Swiss their first World Championship medal in 60 years. Berra described the victory: "I think it's the biggest win since a long, long time for Switzerland and also I think for a lot of players it was the most important game in their life today."[16] The tournament ended in disappointment for the Swiss as, with Gerber in goal, they lost the gold medal game, 5–1 to Sweden.[17] The silver medal matched the best finish in Swiss history.[16]

Hiller and Berra returned to the Swiss team for the 2014 Winter Olympics.[7] Berra appeared in one of Switzerland's four games, a 1–0 defeat.[18]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2003–04 GCK Lions NLB 1 0 0 0 14 0 0 0.00 1.000 — — — — — — — —
2004–05 GCK Lions NLB 3 2 1 0 180 12 0 4.00 — — — — — — — —
2005–06 GCK Lions NLB 15 2 7 0 835 51 1 3.56 — — — — — — — —
2005–06 ZSC Lions NLA 2 0 1 0 90 6 0 3.99 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 GCK Lions NLB 6 4 2 0 359 18 0 3.01 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 ZSC Lions NLA 2 1 0 0 78 4 0 3.08 4 0 3 188 9 0 2.87
2007–08 HC Davos NLA 16 9 7 0 966 44 0 2.73 — — — — — — — —
2008–09 HC Davos NLA 8 3 4 0 445 20 0 2.70 4 3 1 216 5 0 1.39
2008–09 SCL Tigers NLA 2 1 1 0 120 9 0 4.50 .875 — — — — — — — —
2008–09 EV Zug NLA 6 1 5 0 368 17 0 2.77 .918 — — — — — — — —
2009–10 EHC Biel NLA 40 16 20 0 2319 130 3 3.36 10 3 7 582 33 0 3.40
2010–11 EHC Biel NLA 41 17 24 0 2452 122 3 2.99 .889 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 EHC Biel NLA 49 23 26 0 2865 117 7 2.45 .916 5 1 4 302 18 0 3.57 .889
2012–13 EHC Biel NLA 49 24 25 0 2973 149 3 3.01 .906 7 3 4 455 24 0 3.17 .901
2013–14 Abbotsford Heat AHL 9 4 3 1 473 21 0 2.66 .908 — — — — — — — —
2013–14 Calgary Flames NHL 29 9 17 2 1648 81 0 2.95 .897 — — — — — — — —
2013–14 Colorado Avalanche NHL 2 0 1 1 72 7 0 5.83 .781 — — — — — — — —
2014–15 Colorado Avalanche NHL 19 5 4 1 748 33 1 2.65 .918 — — — — — — — —
2014–15 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 5 3 1 1 303 13 0 2.57 .914 — — — — — — — —
2015–16 Colorado Avalanche NHL 14 5 8 0 718 29 2 2.41 .922 — — — — — — — —
2015–16 San Antonio Rampage AHL 16 7 7 0 884 50 0 3.39 .901 — — — — — — — —
NLA totals 215 95 113 0 12736 618 16 2.36 — 30 10 19 1743 89 0 2.44 —
NHL totals 64 19 30 4 3189 150 3 2.82 .906 — — — — — — — —

International

Year Team Event Result GP W L T/OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2005 Switzerland WJC-18 9th 1 1 1 0 120 9 0 4.50 .885
2006 Switzerland WJC 7th 6 2 2 2 359 14 0 2.34 .910
2007 Switzerland WJC 7th 6 3 3 0 360 19 0 3.17 .899
2012 Switzerland WC 11th 4 1 3 0 239 12 0 3.01 .880
2013 Switzerland WC 2nd, silver medalist(s) 4 4 0 0 240 4 1 1.00 .967
2014 Switzerland Oly 9th 1 0 1 0 59 1 0 1.02 .968
2014 Switzerland WC 10th 6 3 3 0 362 16 0 2.65 .902
2015 Switzerland WC 8th 5 0 5 0 310 18 0 3.48 .876
2016 Switzerland WC 11th 6 2 3 0 372 21 0 3.39 .881
Junior totals 14 5 5 2 838 42 0 3.01 —
Senior totals 26 10 15 0 1582 72 1 2.80 .899

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Forbes, Bryce (2013-07-11). "Berra ready for his first season in North America". Calgary Flames Hockey Club. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  2. 1 2 "Reto Berra player card". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  3. ↑ "Flames trade Jay Bouwmeester to Blues". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2013-04-01. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  4. ↑ "Flames sign Reto Berra". Calgary Flames Hockey Club. 2013-04-17. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  5. ↑ Gilbertson, Wes (2013-11-02). "Flames place Joey MacDonald on waivers, recall goalie Reto Berra". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  6. ↑ "Flames beat Blackhawks 3–2 in overtime". ESPN. 2013-11-03. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  7. 1 2 Frei, Terry (2014-03-05). "Reto Berra goes from Flames to Avs at deadline; Paul Stastny stays put". Denver Post. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
  8. ↑ "Flames trade G Berra to Avalanche for second rounder". The Sports Network. 2014-03-05. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
  9. ↑ "The Colorado Avalanche sign Reto Berra to three-year extension". swisshockeynews.ch. 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  10. ↑ "Reto Berra, AHL netminder, celebrates in style after scoring goal". CBC. Retrieved 2015-01-17.
  11. ↑ "Panthers deal Grimaldi to Avs for Berra". The Sports Network. 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
  12. ↑ Podnieks, Andrew, ed. (2011). IIHF Guide & Record Book 2012. International Ice Hockey Federation. p. 443. ISBN 978-0-7710-9598-6.
  13. ↑ "Player statistics by team – Switzerland" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  14. ↑ "Player statistics by team – Switzerland" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 2013-05-19. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  15. ↑ Peters, Chris (2013-05-19). "Sweden downs Switzerland, wins gold at World Hockey Championship". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  16. 1 2 "Sweden, Switzerland will play for world hockey gold". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2013-05-18. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  17. ↑ "Sweden nabs gold at hockey worlds on home soil". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2013-05-19. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
  18. ↑ "Player statistics by team – Switzerland" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 2014-02-18. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
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