Benjamin Conz Explained

Birth Date:1991 9, mf=yes
Birth Place:Saint-Ursanne, Switzerland
Height Ft:5
Height In:10
Weight Lb:205
Position:Goaltender
Catches:Right
League:NL
Team:HC Ajoie
Former Teams:Genève-Servette HC
SCL Tigers
HC Lugano
HC Fribourg-Gottéron
HC Ambrì-Piotta
Draft:Undrafted
Career Start:2008

Benjamin Conz (born September 13, 1991) is a Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender who currently plays for HC Ambrì-Piotta of the National League (NL). 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 competed in the Swiss League (SL). After moderate showing in the SL, he signed his first professional contract with Genève-Servette HC of the National League (NL). 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 NL, 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]

On June 21, 2017, Conz was shipped to HC Ambrì-Piotta despite one year remaining on his contract with Fribourg. He was signed to a one-year contract by Ambri with an option for a second year.[2] Ambri-Piotta exercised his option on February 1, 2018.

On November 11, 2018, Conz was signed to an early two-year contract extension by Ambri-Piotta through the 2020/21 season.[3] With a nagging hip injury following the 2018-19 season, Conz had to undergo surgery on May 20, 2019.[4] He was sidelined for 5 months and returned to game action on October 27, 2019 on a rehab assignment with the HCB Ticino Rockets of the Swiss League.[5] He eventually returned to play with Ambri-Piotta but sustained an adductor injury on December 8, 2019, forcing him to sit out a month of competition, including the 2019 Spengler Cup in which Ambri-Piotta was invited.[6]

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.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] Despite allowing the second most goals in the tournament at 34, he was selected to the tournament all-star team[10] and named the best goaltender.[11]

Awards

Career statistics

As of the end of the 2008–09 season.[12] [13]

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP W L T MIN GA SV%GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2007-08 4 0 2 0 179 15 0 5.06 - - - - - - - - - -
21 10 9 1 1234 52 2 2.53 - 3 0 3 0 140 10 0 4.29 -
2008-09 Switzerland U20 NLB 1 0 1 0 60 7 0 7.00 - - - - - - - - - -
NLA 23 9 13 1 1339 73 2 3.27 - 8 6 2 0 481 27 0 3.37 -
NLB 3 0 3 0 180 14 0 4.67 - 2 0 1 0 79 5 0 3.81 -
SCL Tigers NLA 46 20 19 7 2797 139 5 2.98 .906 4 0 3 1 245 14 0 3.43 -
NLA 50 26 18 6 2987 136 6 2.73 .907 6 2 3 0 310 19 0 3.68 .886
NLA 48 33 10 5 2922 109 5 2.24 .929 18 10 6 2 1123 44 1 2.35 .912
Fribourg-Gottéron 5 - - - 269 - 0 2.68 .898 - - - - - - - - -
Fribourg-Gottéron 3 2 0 0 129 4 0 1.86 .931 - - - - - - - - -
Fribourg-Gottéron NLA 48 28 16 3 2850 124 3 2.61 .916 10 6 3 1 599 24 1 2.41 .918
Fribourg-Gottéron ET 7 - - - 384 - 0 2.81 .920 - - - - - - - - -
Fribourg-Gottéron NLA 41 15 19 6 2324 129 1 3.33 .891 5 3 1 1 272 7 0 1.55 .939
Fribourg-Gottéron 4 1 2 1 248 11 0 2.67 .909 - - - - - - - - -
Fribourg-Gottéron NLA 48 24 20 4 2837 132 4 2.79 .907 5 1 3 1 312 14 1 2.69 .911
Fribourg-Gottéron CHL 4 1 3 0 206 15 0 4.37 .865 - - - - - - - - -
Fribourg-Gottéron NLA 45 14 27 2 2603 137 2 3.16 .891 9 7 2 0 501 10 3 1.20 .959
Fribourg-Gottéron CHL 10 6 3 1 585 22 1 2.26 .925 - - - - - - - - -
2016-17 Fribourg-Gottéron 2 1 1 0 119 5 0 2.53 - - - - - - - - - -
NL 45 17 23 0 2559 135 2 3.17 .899 10 - - - - - - 3.01 .915
2017-18 HC Ambrì-Piotta Swiss Cup 1 1 0 0 62 2 0 1.96 - - - - - - - - - -
HC Ambrì-Piotta NL 41 19 14 2 2260 91 4 2.42 .918 5 1 4 0 293 12 0 2.46 .923
HC Ambrì-Piotta NL 19 6 7 2 1001 38 2 2.28 .917 - - - - - - - - -
SL 3 1 1 1 184 8 0 2.62 .930 - - - - - - - - -
HC Ambrì-Piotta NL 16 3 9 1 856 37 0 2.59 .917 - - - - - - - - -
Bellinzona Rockets SL 3 2 0 0 174 3 1 1.04 .965 - - - - - - - - -
2020-21 HC Ambrì-Piotta Swiss Cup 1 1 0 0 60 2 0 2.00 - - - - - - - - - -
HC Ambrì-Piotta NL 26 11 10 1 1415 61 2 2.59 .917 - - - - - - - - -
HC Ambrì-Piotta NL 21 8 8 1 1151 62 0 3.23 .894 - - - - - - - - -
HC Ambrì-Piotta Spengler Cup 1 1 0 0 60 3 0 3.00 .897 - - - - - - - - -
HC Ambrì-Piotta NL 15 7 6 0 713 28 2 2.36 .920 1 0 0 1 60 1 0 1.00 .970
HC Ambrì-Piotta Spengler Cup 1 1 0 0 60 3 0 3.00 .824 - - - - - - - - -
SL totals14 3 7 1 775 47 1 3.64 .945 - - - - - - - - -
NL totals553 250 228 42 31841 1483 42 2.79 .909 84 36 30 7 4332 182 6 2.52 .921

International

As of the end of the 2009–10 season.[14] [15] [16]

  
YearTeamCompResultGPWLTMINGASOGAASv%
2008SwitzerlandU188th42202401303.2585.56
2009SwitzerlandU188th62403272704.9587.50
2010SwitzerlandWJC4th73404283404.7689.31
2011SwitzerlandWJC5th6 2303641802.9791.80

Notes and References

  1. News: CANADA MUST PAY ATTENTION TO NIEDERREITER, CONZ. January 11, 2010. TSN.com.
  2. News: Agreement found - Benjamin Conz joins HC Ambri-Piotta. June 21, 2017. swisshockeynews.ch.
  3. News: Conz rinnova. November 11, 2018. hcap.ch.
  4. News: HCAP's Benjamin Conz out for 5 to 6 months. May 21, 2019. swisshockeynews.ch.
  5. News: Benjamin Conz to defend the HCB Ticino Rockets' net. October 27, 2019. swisshockeynews.ch.
  6. News: Out again - HCAP without goalie Benjamin Conz for weeks. December 10, 2019. swisshockeynews.ch.
  7. News: Benjamin Conz stops 39 as Switzerland beats Slovakia 4–1 at world juniors. January 11, 2010. NHL.com.
  8. News: Niederreiter shuts down Russia. IIHF. January 11, 2010.
  9. Web site: 2010 IIHF World U20 Championship – Goalkeeping statistics. IIHF. January 16, 2010.
  10. Web site: 2010 IIHF World U20 Championship – All Stars. https://web.archive.org/web/20210505223327/http://reports.iihf.hockey/Hydra/205/IHM205000_98_1_0.pdf. live. May 5, 2021. IIHF. January 16, 2010.
  11. Web site: 2010 IIHF World U20 Championship – Best Players Selected by the Directorate. https://web.archive.org/web/20210506095610/http://reports.iihf.hockey/Hydra/205/IHM205000_85I_1_0.pdf. live. May 6, 2021. IIHF. January 16, 2010.
  12. News: Draft Prospect Card – Benjamin Conz . January 12, 2010. nhl.com.
  13. News: SPL Tigers Spielerstatistken. January 12, 2010. scltigers.ch. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110707002703/http://www.scltigers.ch/statistik.aspx. July 7, 2011. mdy-all.
  14. News: IIHF U18 Championship Switzerland PLAYER STATISTICS BY TEAM 2007–2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20210509170053/http://reports.iihf.hockey/Hydra/148/IHM1480SUI_83_6_0.pdf. live. May 9, 2021. IIHF. January 12, 2010.
  15. News: IIHF U18 Championship Switzerland PLAYER STATISTICS BY TEAM 2008–2009. IIHF. January 12, 2010.
  16. News: IIHF WJC Championship Switzerland PLAYER STATISTICS BY TEAM 2009–2010. IIHF. January 12, 2010.

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