David Aebischer
Position: Goalie
Draft position: 6th round, 161st-overall
Years in the NHL: 7 (2000-01 to 2007-08)
Years with the Colorado Avalanche: 5 (2000-01 to 2005-06)
All Time Stats: 214 games played, 106-74-12-5 record, 2.52 goals against average, .912 save percentage
The Colorado Avalanche selected goalie David Aebischer in the sixth round of the 1997 draft. He played one more year in his native Switzerland before coming stateside to play in the ECHL for two seasons. After two more years at the AHL level, he finally graduated to being Patrick Roy‘s backup starting the 2000-01 season — good timing since that got his name on the Stanley Cup.
Aebischer proved a more than capable backup to the future Hall of Famer. He played 69 games in the backup position and recorded a 32-25-3 record, with a goals against average wavering between 1.88 to 2.43 and a save percentage between .903 to .931. Those are fine stats for a backup.
Patrick Roy retired in 2003, and Aebischer took over the starting position. Besides the impossibility of filling such shoes, he recorded great stats. His record was 32-19-9 that season with a 2.09 goals against and .924 save percentage.
Unfortunately, the 2004-05 lockout disrupted his (and everyone else’s) career. When he came back, the team considered his play inconsistent and traded him to Montreal for Jose Theodore. Nonetheless, he was a sixth rounder who made good with the Avs and even got his name on the Stanley Cup.
He also once had an epic goalie fight: