Mathias Seger (born 17 December 1977) is a Swiss former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers and the ZSC Lions of the National League (NL). Seger began his professional career with SC Rapperswil-Jona in 1996. He played three seasons with Rapperswil-Jona before joining the Lions in 1999. With the Swiss men's national team he won a silver medal at the 2013 World Championships. Seger also won the 2009 Champions League as well as six National League titles, all with the ZSC Lions. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2020.[1]

Mathias Seger
Born (1977-12-17) 17 December 1977 (age 46)
Flawil, Switzerland
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for SC Rapperswil-Jona
ZSC Lions
National team   Switzerland
Playing career 1996–2018

Medal record
Men's Ice hockey
Representing  Switzerland
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2013 Sweden/Finland

Playing career

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Seger was selected to play for the Switzerland men's national ice hockey team at the 2010 Winter Olympics. He also represented Switzerland at the 1996 and 1997 IIHF World U20 Championship, and the 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Ice Hockey World Championship, and the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics.

By playing his 16th World Championship in 2014, Seger set a record for most appearances.[2] On 7 January 2014 Seger was named to Switzerland's official 2014 Winter Olympics roster, marking his fourth Olympic appearance.[3]

On 28 February 2017 Seger agreed to a one-year contract extension with the Lions for a reported worth of CHF 1.5 million.

In the summer of 2017, Seger was stripped of Zurich captaincy for undisclosed reasons. Patrick Geering became the new captain of the team. After winning his sixth Swiss championship title with the ZSC Lions in 2018, he announced the end of his playing career. He played a total of 1167 games in the National League, as well as 327 games with the Swiss national team.[4]

On 4 February 2020 he was announced as an inductee into the player category of the IIHF Hall of Fame.[1] The induction ceremony was scheduled during the 2020 IIHF World Championship, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The IIHF Hall of Fame class of 2020/2022 was inducted during the 2022 IIHF World Championship.[5][6]

In 2020 he was introduced in to the IIHF All-Time Switzerland Team.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1993–94 EHC Uzwil SUI.2 U20
1993–94 EHC Uzwil SUI.3
1994–95 EHC Uzwil SUI.2 U20
1994–95 EHC Uzwil SUI.3 32 2 6 8
1995–96 EHC Uzwil SUI.3
1996–97 SC Rapperswil–Jona NDA 45 0 1 1 32 3 0 0 0 0
1996–97 EHC Wetzikon SUI.3 1 0 2 2
1997–98 SC Rapperswil–Jona NDA 39 7 7 14 52 7 0 3 3 12
1998–99 SC Rapperswil–Jona NDA 42 6 9 15 66 5 0 0 0 14
1999–2000 ZSC Lions NLA 41 5 15 20 64 15 2 4 6 24
2000–01 ZSC Lions NLA 44 4 12 16 40 16 2 4 6 18
2001–02 ZSC Lions NLA 29 4 11 15 22 17 0 4 4 22
2002–03 ZSC Lions NLA 44 4 10 14 58 12 1 2 3 6
2003–04 ZSC Lions NLA 43 3 9 12 56 13 1 3 4 4
2004–05 ZSC Lions NLA 25 3 9 12 54 15 2 3 5 30
2005–06 ZSC Lions NLA 44 8 19 27 96
2006–07 ZSC Lions NLA 44 4 7 11 80 5 0 0 0 6
2007–08 ZSC Lions NLA 50 14 13 27 80 17 0 5 5 20
2008–09 ZSC Lions NLA 45 4 22 26 80 4 0 0 0 2
2009–10 ZSC Lions NLA 47 8 43 51 80 7 2 5 7 8
2010–11 ZSC Lions NLA 48 5 17 22 102 5 1 1 2 4
2011–12 ZSC Lions NLA 43 4 17 21 30 14 2 4 6 4
2012–13 ZSC Lions NLA 50 9 23 32 50 12 0 9 9 18
2013–14 ZSC Lions NLA 45 5 14 19 66 17 2 1 3 26
2014–15 ZSC Lions NLA 42 1 14 15 20 12 2 3 5 10
2015–16 ZSC Lions NLA 50 4 12 16 24 4 0 0 0 4
2016–17 ZSC Lions NLA 47 1 9 10 42 6 0 1 1 0
2017–18 ZSC Lions NL 29 0 7 7 22 14 0 0 0 6
NDA/NLA/NL totals 937 103 300 403 1216 220 17 51 68 248

International

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Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1995 Switzerland EJC 5 0 1 1 10
1996 Switzerland WJC 5 1 0 1 40
1997 Switzerland WJC 6 0 2 2 10
1998 Switzerland WC 9 1 0 1 6
1999 Switzerland WC 6 1 1 2 8
2000 Switzerland WC 7 0 0 0 8
2001 Switzerland WC 6 0 3 3 6
2002 Switzerland OG 4 0 1 1 4
2002 Switzerland WC 6 0 0 0 6
2003 Switzerland WC 7 1 3 4 8
2004 Switzerland WC 7 0 2 2 2
2005 Switzerland OGQ 3 0 1 1 4
2005 Switzerland WC 7 0 0 0 8
2006 Switzerland OG 3 0 1 1 4
2006 Switzerland WC 5 0 0 0 0
2008 Switzerland WC 4 0 0 0 0
2009 Switzerland WC 6 1 1 2 4
2010 Switzerland OG 5 0 2 2 4
2010 Switzerland WC 7 0 2 2 6
2011 Switzerland WC 5 0 1 1 4
2012 Switzerland WC 7 0 0 0 0
2013 Switzerland WC 10 0 2 2 6
2014 Switzerland OG 4 0 0 0 0
2014 Switzerland WC 7 0 2 2 2
Junior totals 16 1 3 4 60
Senior totals 125 4 22 26 90

References

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  1. ^ a b Podnieks, Andrew (February 4, 2020). "Legends join IIHF Hall of Fame". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  2. ^ "Meet the record man". International Ice Hockey Federation. 2014-05-01. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  3. ^ "Olympic rosters revealed". The Sports Network. 2014-01-07. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  4. ^ "Abschied mit dem Meistertitel: die triumphale Derniere von ZSC-Saurier Mathias Seger". az Aargauer Zeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  5. ^ Potts, Andy (29 May 2022). "Hall of Fame celebrates new recruits". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Mark Streit and Mathias Seger inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame". Swiss Hockey News. Zurich, Switzerland. 29 May 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
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