Raphael Salvador Diaz (born January 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 ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who currently plays with

HC Fribourg-Gottéron HC Fribourg-Gottéron is a professional ice hockey team based in Fribourg, Switzerland, which competes in the National League (NL). The team is the sixth most attended team in Switzerland for the 2015/16 season with 6,156 spectators. History The ...

in 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). Diaz previously played with the Rangers during the 2014 season after the trade deadline. He began his professional career with EV Zug in 2003 and has also played with the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

and the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

. After returning to Switzerland with

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 ...

Diaz has won the 2019 Swiss Cup and the 2020-21 NL Championship Diaz was selected to play for 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 ...

at the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

. He previously represented Switzerland at the 2004

IIHF World U18 Championships The IIHF U18 World Championship is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation for national under-18 ice hockey teams from around the world. The tournament is usually played in April and is organized according to a sy ...

, the 2005 and 2006

IIHF World U20 Championship The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), or simply the "World Juniors" in ice hockey circles, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is t ...

, the 2008

Ice Hockey World Championship The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annua ...

, and captained the team at the 2017 Spengler Cup.

Playing career

As a youth, Diaz played in the 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, ...

with a team from Central

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. On May 13, 2011, Diaz signed a one-year

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the

of the NHL. He made his NHL debut October 6, 2011 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 ...

. Diaz scored his first NHL goal on October 18, 2011, against

Ryan Miller Ryan Dean Miller (born July 17, 1980) is an American former ice hockey goaltender who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) mostly for the Buffalo Sabres. Miller was drafted 138th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1999 NHL E ...

of the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

in the 2nd Period. He appeared as a rookie team member at the 2012 All Star game skills competition, as an injury replacement for

Adam Larsson Nils Erik Adam Larsson (born 12 November 1992) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected fourth overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 2011 ...

. He participated in the G Series NHL Skills Challenge Relay performing the control relay skill skating with the puck through a series of 6 cones. Diaz was traded to the

on February 3, 2014, for

Dale Weise Dale Kenton Weise (born August 5, 1988) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played for the New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, and Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey Leag ...

. On March 5, 2014, Diaz was traded to the

for a 5th-round pick in the

2015 NHL Entry Draft The 2015 NHL Entry Draft was the 53rd NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 26–27, 2015, at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The first three selections were Connor McDavid going to the Edmonton Oilers, Jack Eichel going to the Buffa ...

After attending the

training camp on a try-out, Diaz capped a successful pre-season by signing a one-year contract with the club on October 6, 2014. On July 1, 2015, the New York Rangers signed Diaz as a free agent to a one-year, $700,000 contract. In his return to the Rangers organization, Diaz was assigned to AHL affiliate, the

Hartford Wolf Pack The Hartford Wolf Pack are a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the XL Center. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. After a ...

for the duration of the 2015–16 regular season. On December 23, 2015, Diaz was signed by the

to a five-year, CHF 5 million contract starting in the 2016–17 season. On June 2, 2017, Diaz was named captain of EV Zug. He won his first NL title with Zug in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

. On January 27, 2021, Diaz was signed to a four-year deal by

, starting with the 2021–22 season and through the 2024–25 season.

Personal life

Diaz's father is originally from Spain, while his mother is Swiss. His name was originally 'Rafael,' and is still used by the Swiss national team, though as his passport uses 'Raphael,' he uses that as his official name. His sister Daniela Diaz also played hockey.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Raphael 1986 births Living people Calgary Flames players Hartford Wolf Pack players Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics Montreal Canadiens players New York Rangers players Olympic ice hockey players of Switzerland People from Baar, Switzerland Sportspeople from the canton of Zug Swiss ice hockey defencemen Swiss people of Spanish descent Undrafted National Hockey League players Vancouver Canucks players EV Zug players