Damien Brunner

Damien Brunner (born March 9, 1986) is a Swiss professional ice hockey forward currently playing with EHC Biel of the National League (NL). He has also played in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings and the New Jersey Devils.

Damien Brunner
Brunner with the Devils in 2014
Born (1986-03-09) March 9, 1986
Kloten, Switzerland
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Right
NL team
Former teams		 EHC Biel
Kloten Flyers
HC Thurgau
EV Zug
Detroit Red Wings
New Jersey Devils
HC Lugano
National team   Switzerland
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2006–present

Playing career
Brunner as a member of the Detroit Red Wings.

Brunner was born in Kloten, Switzerland, on March 9, 1986.[1] As a youth, he played in the 1999 and 2000 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a team from Zürich.[2]

He played for the Kloten Flyers of the National League A in 2006–07 and 2007–08. In 2008–09, he moved to EV Zug. 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.[3]

On July 1, 2012, Brunner signed a one-year entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL.[4] He then returned to EV Zug for the 2012–13 season[3] until the 2012–13 NHL lockout was resolved, where he started the shortened season with the Red Wings. He netted the game-winning shootout goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets, in his second game with the Red Wings. He scored his first NHL goal the next day against Kari Lehtonen of the Dallas Stars.[5]

Brunner played in the 2010 IIHF World Championship as a member of the Switzerland men's national ice hockey team.[6]

After turning down two and three-year contract offers from the Detroit Red Wings, Brunner became an Unrestricted Free Agent. 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.[7]

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 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, 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 worth CHF 6 million.[8]

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.[9]

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
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2002–03 Kloten Flyers SUI U20 6 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
2003–04 Kloten Flyers SUI U20 21 9 5 14 8 — — — — —
2004–05 Kloten Flyers SUI U20 43 33 24 57 62 9 6 1 7 26
2005–06 Kloten Flyers SUI U20 18 13 25 38 28 — — — — —
2005–06 EHC Winterthur SUI.3 17 18 11 29 28 7 5 6 11 4
2006–07 Kloten Flyers NLA 42 9 9 18 22 11 1 0 1 4
2007–08 Kloten Flyers NLA 50 5 2 7 6 5 0 0 0 0
2008–09 Kloten Flyers NLA 12 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2008–09 HC Thurgau NLB 3 1 3 4 4 — — — — —
2008–09 EV Zug NLA 35 12 14 26 16 10 3 2 5 4
2009–10 EV Zug NLA 47 23 35 58 22 13 5 5 10 6
2010–11 EV Zug NLA 40 19 27 46 34 8 4 4 8 2
2011–12 EV Zug NLA 45 24 36 60 48 9 3 11 14 6
2012–13 EV Zug NLA 33 25 32 57 49 — — — — —
2012–13 Detroit Red Wings NHL 44 12 14 26 12 14 5 4 9 4
2013–14 New Jersey Devils NHL 60 11 14 25 26 — — — — —
2014–15 New Jersey Devils NHL 17 2 5 7 8 — — — — —
2014–15 HC Lugano NLA 20 11 5 16 30 3 0 1 1 0
2015–16 HC Lugano NLA 36 13 21 34 18 14 7 7 14 12
2016–17 HC Lugano NLA 33 8 18 26 45 2 0 1 1 2
2017–18 HC Lugano NL 24 7 7 14 8 — — — — —
2018–19 EHC Biel NL 50 18 19 37 22 12 5 4 9 4
2019–20 EHC Biel NL 23 9 8 17 4 — — — — —
NLA/NL totals 490 183 233 416 324 87 28 35 63 40
NHL totals 121 25 33 58 46 14 5 4 9 4

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2010 Switzerland WC 5th 7 1 4 5 2
2012 Switzerland WC 11th 7 3 4 7 6
2014 Switzerland OG 9th 4 0 0 0 0
2014 Switzerland WC 10th 7 3 3 6 4
2015 Switzerland WC 8th 8 1 4 5 8
2017 Switzerland WC 6th 7 2 1 3 4
Senior totals 40 10 16 26 24

References
  1. "Damien Brunner". redwings.nhl.com. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  2. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
  3. "Damien Brunner". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  4. "Red Wings sign Swiss forward Damien Brunner". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  5. "Lehtonen and Stars hold off Red Wings 2-1". nhl.com. Retrieved 2013-01-22.
  6. IIHF (2010). IIHF Media Guide & Record Book 2011. Moydart Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-9867964-0-1.
  7. "Devils sign Brunner to multi-year contract". National Hockey League. 2013-09-24. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
  8. "Lugano agree to terms with Damien Brunner" (in Italian). HC Lugano. 2014-12-12. Archived from the original on 2014-12-13. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
  9. "Damien Brunner leaves HC Lugano for EHC Biel". swisshockeynews.ch. 2018-05-19. Retrieved 2018-05-19.
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