class=”sc-cffd1e67-0 fmXrkB”>
It was March 12, 2013. Then SCB striker Ryan Gardner (45) lost his nerve in the heated series against Servette in the fifth play-off quarter-final. He shoved the chronic pain in the butt of Alexandre Picard (38) in the face. “He bullied me all night until I did this nonsense,” Gardner recalls.
Hardly anyone outside Geneva was angry with him; he even became understanding. Because Picard and his provocative behavior were a thorn in the side of many at the time. Of course, vigilante justice is still not possible. Not even for a normally decent player like Gardner. He was suspended for two games.
From player to safety officer
Today, the 45-year-old Canadian-Swiss citizen, whose career ended in 2017, is a prosecutor himself. And ensures that players who get in the face of their professional colleagues are held accountable. Gardner is the Player Safety Officer (PSO). With his expertise and recommendations, he is responsible for ensuring that perpetrators of dangerous offenses in the National League and the Swiss League are prosecuted by individual courts.
HCD striker Marc Wieser, against whom proceedings were opened on Monday for his foul on Friborg player Jacob de la Rose, is currently an example of this process. “The ultimate goal is to protect the players,” Gardner said of his new appointment.
He, who returned to Canada after his career for family reasons, is enjoying his new role. He is happy that he could remain connected to ice hockey in general and Switzerland in particular. “But it is also a special job. “Compared to before, I can’t win anything and I can’t become a champion,” he says with a smile.
Gardner was used to winning often. He was a tall man, and not just because of his height of 1.98 meters. The lanky striker became champion four times. Twice with Lugano, once with the ZSC Lions and Bern, he also won the Champions League with the ZSC Lions in 2009 and won World Cup silver with the Nati in 2013.
He is not interested in nice goals
As a PSO, the father of two now has a very different view of the game. “I don’t look at whether the goals are nice or how tactically the game is played, but what happens when a player has the puck and when he has played or received it. “Everything goes smoothly,” he explains. He is supported by his PSO assistant, former Zug, ZSC and Rappi striker Dale McTavish (51) and several freelance employees. You operate from North America, which makes this job more family-friendly due to the time difference. “It is also welcome for the league that we are far from the shot,” Gardner added.
If a full round starts at 7:45 PM for us, it’s 1:45 PM for him in Aurora near Toronto. The individual games are divided between Gardner, McTavish and the other staff and viewed in great detail from up to ten available camera angles. “If a violent scene takes place during a match that I don’t have on the monitor, I get an image of it during the third break. And at the end of the game we already have an idea in which direction it will go,” Gardner said.
After much controversy, peace has returned
Then the detail work begins. The referee’s report is assessed. The violations discussed are collected from different perspectives in a kind of playlist and the final exchange takes place with McTavish. “We usually have the same opinion,” Gardner says. The scenes worthy of sanctions are then relayed to the single judge at 7 a.m. Swiss time, which is 1 a.m. for him. With the advice of penalty category 1 (1 match), 2 (2 to 4 matches) or 3 (5 or more matches). How the single judge implements the advice and what sentence is ultimately imposed is then in the hands of the single judge.
At the height of Gardner’s active days, the single judge still stood alone and his work was a purely legal act. Proceedings and suspensions were often accompanied by polemics. A PSO has only existed since 2015. However, the first official, former NHL referee Stéphane Auger (52), was controversial. Sometimes also because he was not familiar with local events. But since Gardner became his successor in 2019 and McTavish joined in 2022, things have calmed down a lot.
A uniform line is the focus
The fact that two experienced and successful former NL professionals judge the controversial scenes has significantly increased acceptance. Who would seriously doubt the expertise of Gardner, who spent 20 years in the top Swiss league, played 1,075 games and scored 307 goals?
“I am happy that confidence has increased,” says the Canadian-born, who has also had a Swiss passport since 2008. However, he is also aware: “It is in the nature of things that there are different ways of looking at each scene. It is therefore important that we have a consistent line.” But Gardner is firmly convinced of one crucial point: “A player knows exactly when his action against an opponent was not correct.” That was already the case with him. When his elbow landed in Alexandre Picard’s face in 2013.
|
team
|
SP
|
T.D
|
PT
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
 ZSC Lions
|
27
|
34
|
58
|
|
|
2
|
 EV train
|
28
|
36
|
56
|
|
|
3
|
 HC Friborg-Gottéron
|
29
|
21
|
56
|
|
|
4
|
 Lausanne HC
|
29
|
18
|
52
|
|
|
5
|
 SC Bern
|
28
|
1
|
49
|
|
|
6
|
 HC Lugano
|
28
|
11
|
44
|
|
|
7
|
 SCL Tigers
|
28
|
-23
|
41
|
|
|
8th
|
 HC Davos
|
28
|
9
|
39
|
|
|
9
|
 HC Ambri-Piotta
|
27
|
-2
|
38
|
|
|
10
|
 Geneva-Servette HC
|
27
|
-8th
|
37
|
|
|
11
|
 EHC Biel
|
27
|
-12
|
31
|
|
|
12
|
 EHC Kloten
|
28
|
-25
|
31
|
|
|
13
|
 SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers
|
27
|
-25
|
27
|
|
|
14
|
 HC Ajoie
|
25
|
-35
|
20
|
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
