There is the cold way of evaluating a career. Take the case of Damien Brunner, who hung up his skates at the age of 38 this Friday. The Zurich resident notably wore the jerseys of Zug and Lugano, teams which were eyeing great honors. But in almost 20 years at the highest level, he has won nothing. He doesn’t have a gold medal in the buffet. No portrait with a trophy in the corridor.
But there is another way to judge a career. And that of Damien Brunner was that of a pioneer who forever marked the history of Swiss hockey.
Firstly for administrative reasons. In 2009, at a time when trades were as rare as hairs on a bald man’s head, he was skating for Kloten and his sporting director (Roland Habisreutinger) had sold him to Zug in exchange for a forward (Thomas Walser ) which turned out to be a flop. He played 750 matches at the highest level (not counting those with the Swiss team) while Walser played 66. We can reasonably think that this transaction launched his career and served as a warning to other sports directors. Some of them have probably given up on going down this path so as not to run the risk of looking like donkeys.
Then for sporting reasons.
In Zug, Damien Brunner became the first Swiss to win the scoring rankings since the introduction of the play-offs. A performance (associated with the lobbying of Henrik Zetterberg) which opened the doors to the NHL where he became the first Swiss forward to establish himself, to assume a role in a top 6 and to harbor no complexes in the league. most competitive in the world. A sequence illustrates this audacity: on January 21, 2013, during his second NHL game, he made an extraordinary gesture on a shot on goal to offer victory to his team.
-He had above average playing intelligence, he was skillful, he was robust, he had confidence in these qualities.
He probably helped put Switzerland on the map for recruiters and, indirectly, opened the door to the new generation.
Looking back, Damien Brunner can only regret one thing: having listened too much to his agent who did not always provide him with the best advice.
Let’s say that he would probably have a portrait with a trophy if he had not passed through the “New Jersey” and “Lugano” boxes when he was still a star player.
