Raphael Diaz

For the baseball player, see Rafael Díaz.
Raphael Diaz
Born (1986-01-09) January 9, 1986
Baar, Switzerland
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
NLA team
Former teams		 EV Zug
Montreal Canadiens
Vancouver Canucks
New York Rangers
Calgary Flames
National team   Switzerland
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2003–present

Raphael Salvador Diaz (born January 9, 1986) is a Swiss professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for EV Zug in the National League A (NLA). Diaz previously played with the Rangers during the 2014 season after the trade deadline. He began his professional career with EV Zug in 2003 and has also played with the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers and the Calgary Flames.

Diaz was selected to play for the Switzerland men's national ice hockey team at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. He previously represented Switzerland at the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships, the 2005 and 2006 IIHF World U20 Championship, and the 2008 Ice Hockey World Championship.

Playing career

On May 13, 2011, Diaz signed a one-year two-way contract with the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL.[1] He made his NHL debut October 6, 2011 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.[2] Diaz scored his first NHL goal on October 18, 2011, against Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2nd Period.[3] He appeared as a rookie team member at the 2012 All Star game skills competition, as an injury replacement for Adam Larsson.[4] He participated in the G Series NHL Skills Challenge Relay performing the control relay skill skating with the puck through a series of 6 cones.[5] Diaz was traded to the Vancouver Canucks on February 3, 2014 for Dale Weise.[6]

On March 5, 2014, Diaz was traded to the New York Rangers for a 5th round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft [7]

After attending the Calgary Flames training camp on a try-out, Diaz capped a successful pre-season in signing a one-year contract with the club, on October 6, 2014.[8]

On July 1, 2015, the New York Rangers signed Diaz as a free agent to a one-year, $700,000 contract.[9] In his return to the Rangers organization, Diaz was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack for the duration of the 2015–16 regular season. On December 23, 2015, Diaz was signed to a five-year contract by the EV Zug, the contract will start for the 2016-17 season.[10] He will make CHF 5 millions over that span.[11]

Personal life

Diaz's father is originally from Spain, while his mother is Swiss.[2] His name was originally 'Rafael,' and is still used by the Swiss national team, though as his passport uses 'Raphael' he uses that as his official name.[12]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2003–04 EV Zug NLA 38 2 1 3 16 5 0 0 0 2
2004–05 EV Zug NLA 41 1 4 5 12 9 0 0 0 4
2005–06 EV Zug NLA 35 5 2 7 34 7 0 0 0 4
2006–07 EV Zug NLA 44 2 4 6 22 12 0 1 1 6
2007–08 EV Zug NLA 50 3 11 14 44 7 0 0 0 4
2008–09 EV Zug NLA 50 4 9 13 36 10 1 1 2 4
2009–10 EV Zug NLA 49 4 27 31 22 13 1 5 6 10
2010–11 EV Zug NLA 45 12 27 39 26 10 2 4 6 4
2011–12 Montreal Canadiens NHL 59 3 13 16 30 — — — — —
2012–13 EV Zug NLA 32 7 22 29 12 — — — — —
2012–13 Montreal Canadiens NHL 23 1 13 14 6 5 0 0 0 0
2013–14 Montreal Canadiens NHL 46 0 11 11 12 — — — — —
2013–14 Vancouver Canucks NHL 6 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
2013–14 New York Rangers NHL 11 1 1 2 4 4 0 0 0 0
2014–15 Calgary Flames NHL 56 2 2 4 10 3 0 0 0 0
2015–16 Hartford Wolfpack AHL 37 6 15 21 16 — — — — —
2015–16 New York Rangers NHL — — — — — 1 0 1 1 0
NLA totals 384 41 106 147 224 21 0 0 0 10
NHL totals 201 8 41 49 62 13 0 1 1 0
Medal record
Men's Ice hockey
Representing   Switzerland
World Championships
2013 Sweden/Finland

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
2004 Switzerland WJC18 5 1 3 4 4
2005 Switzerland WJC 6 1 1 2 8
2006 Switzerland WJC 6 0 1 1 6
2008 Switzerland WC 7 0 0 0 0
2010 Switzerland OG 5 0 0 0 4
2011 Switzerland WC 6 3 1 4 4
2013 Switzerland WC 4 0 1 1 0
2014 Switzerland OG 4 0 0 0 4
Junior totals 17 2 5 7 18
Senior totals 26 3 2 5 12

References

  1. ↑ "Raphael Diaz signed by the Canadiens". Montréal Canadiens. 2011-05-13. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
  2. 1 2 Stubbs, Dave (2011-10-07). "Dream begins for rookie Diaz". The Gazette. Montreal. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
  3. ↑ "Sabres win as Habs continue to struggle". CBC Sports. 2011-10-18. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
  4. ↑ "Habs' Diaz, Rangers' Hagelin added to All-Star rookie roster". The Sports Network. 2012-01-25. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
  5. ↑ "2012 NHL All-Star skills". National Hockey League. 2012-01-29. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  6. ↑ Canadian Press (2014-02-03). "Canadiens trade Diaz to Canucks for Weise". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
  7. ↑ "Canucks send defenceman Raphael Diaz to Rangers for fifth-round pick". The Canadian Press. 2014-03-05. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
  8. ↑ "Flames sign Raphael Diaz". Calgary Flames. 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-10-06.
  9. ↑ "Rangers bring back Raphael Diaz". blueshirtbanter.com. 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  10. ↑ "Five-year contract with Zug - Raphael Diaz will return to Switzerland". swisshockeynews.ch. 2015-12-23. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  11. ↑ "For more than CHF 1 million per year? Raphael Diaz offered to Swiss teams as of 2016". swisshockeynews.ch. 2015-11-05. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  12. ↑ Associated Press (2012-07-13). "Canadiens sign Swiss defenceman Raphael Diaz to two-year contract". NHL.com. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
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