Benjamin Conz

Benjamin Conz (born September 13, 1991) is a Swiss ice hockey goaltender. He currently plays for the HC Lugano of the National League A (NLA) in Switzerland. He was eligible for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and 2010 NHL Entry Draft, but went undrafted, being drafted 185th overall in the 2010 KHL Junior Draft by SKA St. Petersburg instead.

Playing career
Benjamin started his career in the 2007–08 with the Swiss U20 team, which competes in National League B (NLB or Nationalliga B in Swiss German). After moderate showing in the NLB, he signed his first professional contract with Langnau of National League A (NLA or Nationalliga A in Swiss German). He posted a 2.50 GAA in 21 games played with Servette. For the 2009–2010 season, he has moved to the SCL Tigers, also in the NLA, located in Langnau im Emmental. He is currently the ranked as the fifth best international goaltender by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau and will be entered into the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. TSN's hockey analysts Pierre Maguire and Gord Miller both compare Conz favourably to Conn Smythe winner and Stanley Cup champion Jean-Sébastien Giguère.

International play
At the 2010 IIHF World U20 Championships, Conz led the Swiss team to impressive fourth place finish. He managed an upset of the Slovakians by stopping 39 shots in a 4–1 victory. This victory advanced Switzerland to the knockout round to face the highly favoured Russian squad. Against the Russian, Conz had another impressive match where he made 50 saves on 52 shots, as the Swiss advanced 3–2. After losing to the Canadians 6–1 and Swedes 11–4 and out of the medals, Conz finished the tournament with a 4.76 GAA and an 89.31% save percentage, an impressive feat due to the workload the over-matched Swiss defence allowed on Conz. He faced more than 300 shots on goal, making him the tournament's busiest goalie, and his 284 saves in seven games were tournament best. Despite allowing the second most goals in the tournament at 34, he was selected to the tournament all-star team and named the best goaltender.

Awards

 * Named to the World Junior all-star team in 2010.
 * IIHF Best Player Award at the goaltender position at the World Juniors in 2010.

Club Stats
As of the end of the 2008–09 season.

International statistics
As of the end of the 2009–10 season.