Bernd Brückler (born August 26, 1981 is an Austrian former 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 h ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

who played in the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL), the Finnish

Liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding lea ...

, and the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

(KHL).

Playing career

Brückler started his hockey career with Graz EC in the Austrian league, and has represented the

Tri-City Storm The Tri-City Storm is a Tier I junior ice hockey team based in Kearney, Nebraska, that plays in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Its name refers to the three central Nebraskan cities of Kearney, Hastings, and G ...

and the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

in North America. He was drafted by the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

as their fifth-round pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, 150th overall. After short stints with several minor league teams, Brückler finished the 2005–06 season by taking the

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

Blues of the Finnish

SM-liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

into the playoffs. He posted a fantastic save percentage in his nine regular season games, registering three shutouts. On 23 April 2009, Brückler left Finland and signed with Kontinental Hockey League club Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. On 6 May 2011, Brückler signed a one-year contract with the KHL's Sibir Novosibirsk. In December 2013, Brückler and Finnish hockey writer Risto Pakarinen wrote a book "This is Russia: Life in the KHL – Doctors, bazas and millions of air miles", about Brückler's time in the KHL. On September 8, 2015, Brückler was signed as a free agent from Champions EC Red Bull Salzburg, to EC KAC as an injury replacement on a one-year contract.

Awards and honors

References

External links

* 1981 births Austrian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Austrian ice hockey goaltenders Charlotte Checkers (1993–2010) players Espoo Blues players Expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Graz 99ers players Hartford Wolf Pack players HC Sibir Novosibirsk players EC KAC players Living people Philadelphia Flyers draft picks EC Red Bull Salzburg players Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod players Toledo Storm players Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans {{Austria-icehockey-bio-stub