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On Sunday, Timo Meier was in “Sportpanorama” and revealed how his NHL career got rolling.
Due to a shoulder operation, Timo Meier will be missing from the Swiss national team at the World Cup in the Czech Republic, which begins on Friday. On Sunday, the 27-year-old NHL striker from Herisau was a guest at “Sportpanorama”. We picked out three aspects from the conversation with Sascha Ruefer:
Fiala was expected to do more
Christian Rüegg, Meier’s former junior coach at SC Herisau, is honest: “If someone had told me back then that Timo would one day play in the NHL, I wouldn’t have signed it.” Kevin Fiala, who was the same age and worked at the nearby EHC Uzwil, was technically “much further along” than his protégé.
For Meier, who moved to Canada at the age of 16 and from then on played junior ice hockey there, it was an additional incentive that only a few people believed he would have a great career: “I took that as motivation to prove to everyone that it was but it is possible.” 587 NHL games, 200 goals and 206 assists speak for themselves.
The thing with the shirt number
From 96 to 28, back to 96 and back to 28. Meier’s shirt number is like a back and forth. At the Halifax Mooseheads, the Swiss wore number 96 – his year. Under the eyes of NHL scouts, Meier scored 28 goals at the 2016 U20 World Cup in Finland. “The Sharks gave me the number 28. But I wanted to change the number and play in the NHL with the number 96. But the GM (General Manager; die Red.) told me that it didn’t work that way here and that I couldn’t simply change the number,” recalls Meier.
At 28, Meier spent seven successful years in California. After the trade to the New Jersey Devils, the Herisauer seized the opportunity and tried the 96 again. But when Meier signed long-term with the Devils, he returned to the 28. “28 is the number that has brought me luck in the NHL so far,” he says.
Board meetings via Zoom
If you visit the homepage of Meier’s training club Herisau, whose first team plays in the first league, you will find the NHL star on the board as a strategy planner. If a photo of the famous member was missing on Sunday, it has now been provided.
For Meier, it’s a matter of the heart: “We maintain very close contact. I try to help as much as I can and give my input.” Thanks to tools like Zoom or Skype, this is also possible for Meier in the USA.
