| Born: | Mar 21, 1980 | Draft: | 1999 Coyotes, 234th Overall |
| Hometown: | Split, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia | Position: | Defense |
| Known For: | 2x Spengler Cup Winner | Shoots: | Left |
| National Team: | Switzerland/Croatia | Current Status: | HC Sierre (Swiss League) |
Goran Bezina (born March 21, 1980) is a Swiss-Crotian ice hockey player currently playing for HC Sierre of the Swiss League. He was last seen in the NHL with the Arizona Coyotes during the 2003-2004 season. Drafted 234th overall by the Coyotes in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, Bezina quickly rose up the ranks in Switzerland, going from the Elite Jr. A league to the country’s top-tier National League in two years. His offensive game took off while his defensive play earned him notoriety as one of the best defenders of his country. By the time he made his North American debut, Bezina represented Switzerland in multiple international tournaments.
Bezina spent the first two years of his North American career in the American Hockey League (AHL), playing for the Springfield Falcons. Although his point production was minimal at best, his defensive efforts earned him a three-game stint with Arizona in the 2003-04 season. Finishing with no points, two penalty minutes and a minus-1 rating, Bezina played out the rest of the season in the AHL where he’d improve his production to 21 points in 74 games. Unfortunately, he and the Coyotes could not come to terms on an agreement, and Bezina opted to return to Europe to play in his homeland.
Signing with Genève-Servette HC, Bezina served as an alternate captain for the first two seasons before being named the team’s captain in 2006, a position he held for ten years. Bezina was an extraordinary player in the Swiss A League, earning multiple trips to the league’s All-Star Game and being named the league’s best defenseman in 2008. After a brief stop in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in 2016, Bezina returned to Switzerland to play two more seasons with Genève-Servette HC before moving on to HC Sierre where he has enjoyed success in three seasons and served as an alternate captain in the last two.
Goran Bezina Statistics
Deeper Dive
Achievements
- EBEL Best Plus/Minus Playoffs (+11) (2007)
- EBEL Most Points by Defenseman Playoffs (12) (2007)
- 3x NL Media All-Star Team (Genève-Servette) (2007, 2008, 2013)
- 4x NL Media Swiss All-Star Team (Genève-Servette) (2007, 2008, 2009, 2012)
- NLA Most Goals by Defenseman (13) (2007)
- NL Media Best Defenseman (2008)
- Spengler Cup All-Star Team (2011)
- World Championship Most Penalized Player (29) (2012)
- NLA Most Goals by Defenseman (8) (2014)
- Spengler Cup Winner (Genève-Servette) (2014, 2015)
- KHL Defenseman of the Week (Sep. 11, 2017)