Alone in the Tissot Arena. The coronavirus pandemic prematurely ended Jonas Hiller’s 17-year career. Image: KEYSTONE
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interview
A virus ends Jonas Hiller’s career: “There would be even worse scenarios”
Jonas Hiller was a top hockey goalkeeper for 17 years. In the NHL and the Swiss Nati, but also in Davos, Lausanne and finally in Biel. The coronavirus pandemic has now ended the 38-year-old’s career prematurely. In the interview, Hiller explains why it could have been worse.
Until recently, it was still a running gag inside the EHC Biel cabin. Now it has been a reality for a few days. Jonas Hiller’s long, successful career has ended. Ended prematurely because the championship had to be canceled due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus.
The 437-fold NHL goalie and long-term support of the Swiss national team looks back on his career in conversation with watson.
How does it feel now that your career is over so unexpectedly early?
Jonas Hiller: Of course it’s a strange feeling. On the other hand, it doesn’t feel much different at the moment than the other years when the season is over. It is probably rather strange when summer training doesn’t start again in a few weeks.
Do you almost prefer that with a line without sentimentalities or would you rather have had a farewell game?
In the playoffs there would never have been a farewell game anyway, because every game is about everything. Sure, I dreamed my end of career differently and at the same time there would be even worse scenarios to quit. For example, to be eliminated with 0: 4 in the first playoff round. Then my career would have been finished the same day, but with a lot more negative emotions. Or we would have reached the final, led 3-0 in the series and then the season would have been stopped because of the virus.
So you stick to the resignation even after this unsatisfactory end?
Yes. At least I can now say that I celebrated a win in my last game. Otherwise, this is only possible if you become a master. So you can see it positively. For me, the demolition is not a reason to take on an entire season again.
How did the topic of resignation accompany you this season?
Mainly by someone constantly asking me if I don’t want to continue playing (laughs). Not much has changed for me. Sure, sometimes thoughts came up like: This may be the last time I play here. But I never got the feeling that it could be the wrong decision.
Why did you choose to withdraw?
There are several things that come together. On the one hand, I had to listen to my body. I realized that it took me longer and longer to relax. I had to push the body more and more to keep the level. On the other hand, I was also a little afraid that at some point I would no longer be able to achieve the performance that I expected from me. When I do something, I do it right. That’s why I prefer to stop a little earlier.
But you never lacked motivation.
But it certainly goes in this direction. The overcoming is greater. You are no longer with the same passion for training as when you were 20 years old. I had to push myself more and the next morning it is even harder to get out of bed. At the same time, when I’m on the ice, there is ambition. In the end, I’m just not willing to do the full sacrifice that it takes every day.
Biel’s goalie Jonas Hiller’s helmet bears the first names of his family members. Image: KEYSTONE
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Can a perfectionist and such an ambitious person like you be without top-class sport at all?
We will see that then (laughs). It will certainly be a whole new situation that I cannot prepare for. Maybe then in a year I’ll say it was the worst decision of my life. But actually I am not at all worried that I will get bored. There are so many things that interest me that I still want to do. Things I put off because of ice hockey.
What will you do next summer when all of your former teammates are in summer training or in the championship?
We have wanted to go on a long trip with the family for a long time. We have never had time for that. In autumn we plan to go to Australia for a long time.
What will you miss from professional ice hockey?
Of course, the mood in the dressing room. The feeling of more than 20 people, all with the same goal and everyone trying to do their part. I will definitely miss this team idea.
Did you actually dream of the NHL as a junior in Herisau?
Dreamed already. But it was really just a dream, not a realistic career goal. Everything was too far away for that. A dream came true for me when I signed in Davos. So I was happy that I could earn my money as an ice hockey professional in Switzerland.
Jonas Hiller wins the championship cup in 2007. Image: PHOTOPRESS
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In 2007 you made the jump. From Appenzell via Davos to California on the big hockey stage. What were the biggest challenges and changes?
There have been moments when I wondered what I was doing there. When I went to Anaheim, I was Swiss champion and goalie in the national team, I could have probably switched to practically any team. Then I came to a metropolis in Anaheim and didn’t know anyone. There were six or seven other goalkeepers in the training camp and suddenly I was one of many again.
But you bit through.
Yes, it was a great motivation for me. I said to myself that I can grow and improve even more. I have searched my whole career through challenges that have allowed me to grow. That is probably the reason why I have achieved so much.
How did you have to change your game for the NHL?
Of course there were things that I had to adjust. One of the reasons I went to the Ducks was goalie coach François Allaire, whom I knew from summer camps in Switzerland. I knew he could help me adapt to the faster and more intense North American game as quickly as possible. How you stop the puck in the end doesn’t change fundamentally. It was about details – like how I read the game.
You were at the height of your career, playing the All Star Game in 2011. And then came the mysterious symptoms called vertigo.
Yes, they were basically just balance problems. In retrospect, I am sure that was due to a concussion. I took a shot to the head in the all-star game and think that was the reason, even if it was excluded at the time. The interaction between the organ of balance and the eyes no longer worked. I didn’t have huge problems in everyday life. But on the ice, when it came to chasing a puck in a split second, I noticed that my eyes couldn’t keep up.
That sounds frustrating …
Especially because otherwise I just worked even harder on challenges to master them. In this case it was not possible. The more I pushed myself, the worse the situation got. It was difficult to take back and take my time. At the same time, it was also frustrating because nobody could tell me exactly how long the problems were going to last.
Did you think about the end of your career back then?
No, not then. Sure, I thought about what could be when it doesn’t get any better. But you can’t change it, you just have to give yourself time. What helped me: I started looking at the larger picture. I was wondering how I am today compared to a week or two ago. Then I noticed the improvements. I realized that it won’t get better overnight. Fortunately, it leveled off again over the summer.
Jonas Hiller 2014 in his last season at Anaheim. Image: AP / FR171029 AP
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But you recovered and showed solid performance at Anaheim until you no longer received a contract in 2014. Why actually?
At the time, we were already discussing an extension of the contract. Then suddenly I didn’t play much anymore. After the Olympic Games it was said that they still wanted to keep me. But when Frederik Andersen and John Gibson suddenly got the preference in the playoffs, I knew that I was on the siding. Nobody in this business will tell you exactly why this happened. I am thankful that I was able to be in one place for seven years, and not everyone can do that.
When you signed in Calgary, did you know what kind of coach Bob Hartley is?
I quickly phoned him before signing. I was glad that I got a contract somewhere again on good terms. Basically it is the case that you sign the contract with the team and not with the trainer. In retrospect, it can be said that it might have been better to sign somewhere else. But the first season in Calgary was actually very positive.
But by the second year at the latest, you had your problems with Hartley.
The relationship with him was special anyway. He is generally a coach who has been tough on the players. He asked a lot and even after a 5-0 win, he went through every detail that was not good. If you are successful, you can handle it. But in season two, when the team was no longer successful, it was extremely exhausting. I no longer had the feeling that he was still building on me. If you no longer have this grip and you always have the feeling that the trainer is just waiting for you to make a mistake so that he can replace you again, it will be very difficult.
Jonas Hiller had a difficult relationship with Bob Hartley. Image: X02835
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What were your thoughts when his name came up in the ice hockey abuse debate this fall?
(hesitates) I think there are many coaches who do everything for success in this business. The line between maximum push and going too far is extremely narrow.
Is it part of the sport? Can it be part of the sport?
It shouldn’t. At the same time, I believe that it is also a business that is sometimes about more than just sport. Certain people try to gain an advantage by all means and these means are not always fair. I don’t think that’s good at all. But the bigger the business gets, the greater the risk of crossing this line.
Have you seen episodes in your NHL career that have physically or psychologically abused players?
Well, when the trainer tells you “you are bad and you play a pond together”, that already plays into your psyche. Either you think he’s right. Or you say: It’s just against me. I don’t remember Hartley physically abusing someone. When Arno Del Curto threw the trash can through the cloakroom in Davos, we had to be afraid that it would hit someone (grins). I never felt that Hartley was deliberately trying to hurt people. He just lived out the emotions very much. Emotions that we don’t really want to banish from our sport.
Do you think you could have played longer in the NHL?
I think so. But this last season in Calgary was difficult. If you feel your boss doesn’t believe in you, it is difficult to do the job right. For me it was a great way to do a cut and start over. I was not afraid that I had forgotten about ice hockey this year. If I had been 25 years old, I would have stayed and would have fought my way up through the AHL. But at the age of 35, nine seasons in the NHL and a two-year-old daughter, the time has just come to return home.
Why did you go to EHC Biel when you returned to Switzerland? There would have been other clubs that looked after you.
I knew that a whole club, a whole region, was counting on me. But the whole package was just right too. I had already spent the summers in Bern before and therefore built a house in the region. The goal of the return was also that we as families can build a life again. It would have made little sense to sign in Lugano, only to return to the Bern region shortly thereafter.
Was there anything you missed when you returned from the NHL?
The challenge of competing against the best players in the world every day. It made it out.
What didn’t you miss at all?
Traveling by plane is cool on the one hand, but on the other hand I really enjoyed sleeping in my own bed every night in Switzerland.
You were 34 years old when you returned to Switzerland. Did you feel old in the dressing room?
A little bit. I was the oldest in the cloakroom in Calgary for two years and then of course it was no different in Biel. But less of the mood in the cabin, but more of the expectations that people and I had of myself.
Were you able to take on the role as you imagined from the start?
I think so. I was in focus right from the start. The teammates watched what I do. I was never the loud guy in the dressing room telling other players what to do. But I like to set a good example. If I give full commitment and pull it through, the others will follow suit.
What can you give teenagers like Janis Moser for the course of their careers?
Exactly this example of full commitment. I have to show them that even when I am 38 and still have a successful career, I prepare well every day and always work on myself. If I just tell them, it doesn’t do anything. That would not be believable.
You are a hobbyist and have often screwed and screwed on your hockey equipment. What was your biggest brainstorm?
Carbon ice skates and shells. That didn’t really exist before. I came up with this idea out of necessity because my original plastic trays were no longer produced. So I thought about what other material could be used without having to invest thousands of francs in the production of molds. If you can make a carbon mask, then a shell for the skate. Almost all goalies now play with it because the power transmission is simply much more direct than with plastic.
You already have several projects running alongside ice hockey. Among other things, you are part owner of a company that produces kites and boards for kitesurfing. Why did you do that?
For me, it was created out of self-interest. I am a passionate kite surfer myself. Abroad I became more of a patriot and when I had the opportunity to start producing kites at a Swiss company, I really wanted to get hold of them. But I didn’t make it possible for me to sit in the office immediately the day after I retired from ice hockey.
Jonas Hiller is a passionate kite surfer and co-owner of the Swiss company Gin Kiteboarding. Image: www.ginkites.com
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How did you get kitesurfing?
I’ve tried practically all water sports. Sailing was too boring for me and I did not progress fast enough in windsurfing. Kitesurfing looked cool and it really grabbed me when I tried it.
The company pays attention to environmentally friendly production. How big is the topic of environmental protection for you personally?
A lot has changed in the past few years. When kitesurfing, it is still logical, you do your sport in nature, you are dependent on it. At the same time, when I think back how many thousands of kilometers I have already covered on the plane, it was of course not sustainable. But right now with the family, these thoughts are already coming, especially if you have a warm winter like this year. I prefer to take the train instead of the plane. I want to leave a good future for my children.
You also have a car collection at the same time.
(laughs) Yes, of course it’s not that easy to agree. On the one hand, that’s one of my passions. On the other hand, I sometimes have a guilty conscience when I’m at the petrol station and let petrol in knowing that it’s a fossil fuel. For me, the following applies: when I drive one of my cars, I do it in a more targeted and conscious manner. It’s not that I always have to drive the fastest car into town. I also often take the bike.
Can environmental protection still be reconciled with professional sports today?
In ice hockey, a lot of energy is used for cooling systems. You travel a lot too… If you let go of everything that pollutes the environment, you couldn’t do much more. At the same time, I believe that you are aware of problems. Everyone should think about where you can be a little more sustainable. It is not realistic to reduce CO2 emissions to zero overnight. But if everyone contributes their part, the small contributions become a large contribution.
Will you be seen in ice hockey again after your career end?
At the moment I don’t have the feeling that I have to go to the ice rink immediately to start a coaching career. I have, of course, gained knowledge and experience that would be a shame not to pass it on. But then being a goalie trainer somewhere and then even more standing in the ice rink beforehand doesn’t really appeal to me. Maybe more at junior level or at camps.
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