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).
| Goran Bezina | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born | 21 March 1980 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 | ||
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 31 January 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 1 September 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 17 April 2018 Bezina agreed to a one-year contract extension with Geneva worth CHF 700,000.
On 2 August 2019 Bezina joined freshly promoted HC Sierre of the Swiss League (SL) on a one-year deal. On 5 May 2020 Bezina agreed to a one-year contract extension to remain with HC Sierre through the 2020/21 season.[7] On 22 June 2021 Bezina signed a new one-year contract extension with Sierre for the 2021/22 season.[8]
On 17 August 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | 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
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database