Damien Brunner (born March 9, 1986) is a Swiss professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

currently playing with EHC Biel of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL). He has also played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

for the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

and the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

Playing career

Brunner was born in

Kloten, Switzerland Kloten is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (german: Glatttal). History Kloten is first mentioned in 1155 as ''Chlotun''. Geography Kloten is located in the G ...

, on March 9, 1986. As a youth, he played in the 1999 and 2000

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

s with a team from

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

. He played for the

Kloten Flyers EHC Kloten is an ice hockey team based in the city of Kloten in Switzerland. The team plays in the National League (NL). It has one of the best youth systems in Swiss ice hockey as its youth teams have won 19 championships during the last 50 year ...

of the

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and is the top tier of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league ha ...

in 2006–07 and 2007–08. In 2008–09, he moved to

EV Zug EV Zug is a professional men's ice hockey team from Zug, Switzerland. It is a member of the National League and plays its home games at the Bossard Arena. History EV Zug won its first championship in the 1997–98 season, and the second one in t ...

. In 2011–12, Brunner had 60 points in 45 games. He led the NLA in points and was named the league's forward of the year."Damien Brunner"
eliteprospects.com. Retrieved January 18, 2013. On July 1, 2012, Brunner signed a one-year entry-level contract with the

of the NHL. He then returned to EV Zug for the 2012–13 season until the

2012–13 NHL lockout The 2012–13 NHL lockout was a labor dispute between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) that began at 11:59 pm EDT on September 15, 2012. A tentative deal on a new collective barga ...

was resolved, where he started the shortened season with the Red Wings. He netted the game-winning shootout goal against the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

, in his second game with the Red Wings. He scored his first NHL goal the next day against

Kari Lehtonen Kari Lehtonen (born November 16, 1983) is a Finland, Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Atlanta Thrashers and Dallas Stars. He was selected second overall in the 200 ...

of the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

. Brunner played in the

2010 IIHF World Championship The 2010 IIHF World Championship was the 74th IIHF World Championship, an annual international ice hockey tournament. It took place between 7 and 23 May 2010 in Germany. The games were played in the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, SAP Arena in Mannhei ...

as a member of the

Switzerland men's national ice hockey team The Switzerland men's national ice hockey team (german: Schweizer Eishockeynationalmannschaft; french: Équipe de Suisse de hockey sur glace; it, Nazionale di hockey su ghiaccio della Svizzera) is a founding member of the International Ice Hock ...

. After turning down two and three-year contract offers from the Detroit Red Wings, Brunner became an

Unrestricted Free Agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. On September 16, 2013 he was signed by the New Jersey Devils on a pro tryout contract and attended the team's training camp. On September 24, 2013, he was signed by the New Jersey Devils to a two-year, $5 million contract. On December 5, 2014, the Devils placed Brunner on waivers after he was benched for the entire third period in a 5-3 win against the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

on December 4. He cleared waivers the following day. He had 2 goals and 5 assists in 17 games. With little interest in playing in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

, Brunner agreed to mutually terminate his contract with the Devils and on December 12, 2014, he returned to Switzerland where he signed a five-year contract with

HC Lugano Hockey Club Lugano, often abbreviated to HC Lugano or HCL, is a professional ice hockey club based in Lugano, Switzerland. The team competes in the National League (NL) and has won seven Swiss championships. History The founding of HC Lugano took ...

worth CHF 6 million. Near the end of the 2017–18 regular season, Brunner broke his leg, forcing him to sit out the end of the regular season as well as the playoffs. On May 19, 2018, Brunner and HC Lugano parted ways -with one year remaining on his contract- and immediately signed a two-year deal worth CHF 2 million with EHC Biel. On August 26, 2019, Brunner was signed to an early three-year contract extension by Biel through the 2022–23 season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brunner, Damien 1986 births Living people Detroit Red Wings players EHC Biel players EHC Bülach players EV Zug players HC Lugano players HC Thurgau players Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics EHC Kloten players New Jersey Devils players Olympic ice hockey players of Switzerland Swiss expatriate sportspeople in the United States Swiss ice hockey left wingers Undrafted National Hockey League players People from Bülach District Sportspeople from the canton of Zürich