Reto Berra

Reto Berra (born on January 3, 1987) is a Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender who currently plays for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He played seven seasons in Switzerland's National League A, spending time with the ZSC Lions, HC Davos and SCL Tigers before joining EHC Biel in 2009 where he was the team's starting goaltender for four years.

Reto was a draft pick of the St. Louis Blues, selected in the fourth round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and was traded to Calgary in 2013.

Internationally, he has played with the Swiss National Team on several occasions. He has appeared in two World Championships.

At the 2013 tournament, Reto shared goaltending duties with Martin Gerber and helped lead Switzerland to a silver medal, the nation's first of any colour in 60 years.

Playing Career
Reto began playing youth hockey in his hometown where he became a full-time goaltender when he was 11 years old.

He played his first professional game in 2003–04 in the National League B (NLB) for GCK Lions, and two years later played his first National League A (NLA) games with ZSC Lions.

Reto caught the attention of the St. Louis Blues during the 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, and the team selected him with their fourth round pick, (106th overall) at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

He opted to remain in Switzerland where he was the back-up goaltender for the Lions, SCL Tigers and HC Davos.

Reto was a member of HC Davos' Swiss championship team in 2009. Moving to EHC Biel for the 2009–10 NLA season, he became the team's starting goaltender and appeared in 40 games, posting a win-loss record of 16–20 and a goals against average (GAA) of 3.36.

Reto improved over the following seasons, culminating in 2011–12 when he was named the NLA's goaltender of the year after posting a 23–26 record with Biel and a 2.45 GAA.

As Reto played with Biel in the 2012–13 NLA season, his NHL playing rights were traded by the Blues on April 1, 2013.

The Calgary Flames acquired his rights, along with Mark Cundari and a first round draft selection in exchange for defenceman Jay Bouwmeester.

After completing his fourth season with Biel, Reto believed his career had progressed to the point where he could succeed in North America. He signed a one-year contract with Calgary for the 2013–14 NHL season.

The Flames wanted Reto to gain some playing experience in North America, so they assigned him to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat to start the season.

After nine appearances with the Heat in which he recorded a 2.66 GAA and a .908 save percentage, Reto was recalled to Calgary.

On November 3, 2013, Reto made his NHL debut, making 42 saves for his first win as the Flames defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, 3–2.

International Play
Reto has represented Switzerland at several international tournaments. He played with the national junior team three times; the first was at the 2005 IIHF World U18 Championships where he appeared in two games, winning one for the ninth place Swiss.

Reto also played in two World Junior Championships, appearing in all six of his nation's games each in 2006 and 2007 as Switzerland finished seventh both years.

With the senior team, he appeared in four of his nation's seven games at the 2012 IIHF World Championship where he posted a record of 1–3 and had a GAA of 3.01.

At the 2013 IIHF World Championship, Reto split goaltending duties with Martin Gerber. He appeared in four games, winning all four and posting a GAA of 1.00.

The unheralded Swiss team went on a "Cinderella run" at the championship, winning their first nine games of the tournament.

The ninth win came in the semi-final as Reto led his team to an upset win over the United States. He recorded a shutout in a 3–0 win that guaranteed the Swiss their first World Championship medal in 60 years.

Reto described the victory: "I think it's the biggest win since a long, long time for Switzerland and also I think for a lot of players it was the most important game in their life today."

The tournament ended in disappointment for the Swiss as with Gerber in goal, they lost the gold medal game, 5–1 to Sweden.

The silver medal matched the best finish in Swiss history.