Andres Ambühl becomes the record player in the National League – an honor

Ice cream master Zaugg

Andres Ambühl celebrates his 1270th game in the top league with HC Davos against SC Bern this evening and becomes a record player. He and Wayne Gretzky have something in common: their records are for eternity and the result of the lightness of being playful.

Andres Ambühl turned 41 on September 14th and is still playing formidable hockey. He runs and runs and runs. Times may change, Andres Ambühl remains.

From the very beginning it is clear that he will go far. The first scouting report about him says at the beginning of his career at HC Davos under Arno Del Curto: “Won the elite junior titles in 2000 and 2001 with the HCD and was captain of the U18 World Cup silver team in 2001. Goal-dangerous two-way player Center with no weaknesses and amazing game intelligence.” He will be in the World Cup finals with the national team in 2013 and 2024. He will not be at the Silver World Cup in 2018. Arno Del Curto gave him recovery time and advised him not to take part in the World Cup.

More than 1000 games and almost a quarter of a century of top hockey. Garnished with the titles from 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2015. Most of the time in Davos at the top. He was only down in the flats for a short time: during the 2009/10 season in America (with the Rangers farm team, AHL/50 games/27 points) and from 2010 to 2013 in Zurich (champion in 2012). He is now the last Mohican of glory: the last active player from the first HCD championship team of the Arno Del Curto era in spring 2002.

In North America, Andres Ambühl would be marketed as “Heidiland-Gretzky”. He is a real mountain farm boy from Graubünden. From the Sertigtal near Davos. True Swiss sports romance. It is the landscape that inspired Johanna Spyri to write “Heidi”, a classic of world literature.

It’s not about glorifying the roots of Graubünden’s best player since Bibi Torriani romantically or even ironically. Let the hockey gods be in front of you. In fact, his origins, his grounded, friendly and humble nature, his calmness and his quiet self-confidence are important reasons why he has become a world-class striker, not just a record holder in our top league.

He is now also the World Cup record holder with 141 appearances. No player in the world has played more World Cup games. Both records – like most of Wayne Gretzky’s records – will last forever and will almost certainly never be surpassed.

What enhances the league record of the HCD leader (captain since 2014): He is not still in the team for the sake of the legend and the record. He would have his place this season even if his name were Fritz Meier: He still has almost 15 minutes of ice time per game and he already has three scorer points.

With a height of 176 centimeters, the 336-time international also confirms a cliché: small, light runners who fence with a foil run longer than big, heavy and powerful titans who use a two-handed sword. Speed, energy and cleverness are better for athletic longevity than force, power and water displacement. Andres Ambühl runs easier and therefore longer than the competition. He has mastered the rare art of the lightness of being playful.

The question, of course, is: What did Andres Ambühl do to stop the aging process? Herbal tea or marmot ointment for muscles and joints from the Sertigtal? He once said: “I haven’t actually done anything to stop this process and I don’t live any differently today than I did ten years ago. I guess I’m lucky enough to have a naturally robust constitution and I’ve been largely spared from injuries.”

He hasn’t even changed his diet: “It’s too much effort for me to study what I should and shouldn’t eat. I eat what I ate as a boy and what I like. Everyone should eat as they like. That’s also good for your well-being.”

The robust nature, this “Heidiland DNA”, certainly plays a central role in his longevity as a player. Of course he feels that he is no longer 20 and he has spoken about it. «First and foremost, I notice that everyone around me in the dressing room is getting younger. In certain areas, however, I notice that I have gotten older. For example, as you get older, you pay more attention to regeneration than you did a few years ago. Not necessarily because of fatigue, but above all to avoid injuries.”

But all the analyzes fall short when it comes to understanding this career. The secret to his success is actually quite simple: it is the passion for this game that made this unique career possible and has sustained him over the years. The passion of the eternal player. This passion inspires all the greats of world ice hockey, from Andres Ambühl to Wayne Gretzky. It may be that passion isn’t everything. But without this passion everything is nothing.

Andres Ambühl’s contract expires in the spring. We shouldn’t completely rule out an extension yet. What he will do after his resignation is already clear: his colleagues are of the opinion that he should become sports director. Andres Ambühl is considered a walking hockey encyclopedia. As someone who knows everything about hockey and the strengths and weaknesses of the players.

But doesn’t the HCD already have a capable sports director in Jan Alston? Yes, he did. That doesn’t have to be a problem: following the SCB model, the HCD can also employ a senior and a junior sports director. Andres Ambühl could enter the business at HCD as sub-sports director.