Gregor Niedermeier: "I hope that we will see great playing, a great atmosphere and no severe injuries."

Though Gregor Niedermaier is an indispensable person both for the Hockey Club Davos and for the entire Spengler Cup, everyone is very glad at the end of the day if the sports physician does not have to do too much work.  This is only ever the case if all the players are healthy and suffer no injuries.

The 47 year old Niedermaier as the Spengler Cup tournament physician is responsible for the HC Davos as well as for the four guest teams while acting as the primary contact person for medical questions.  If a player is injured or becomes ill, the sports doctor makes certain that the player in question receives the proper medical attention whether it be prescribing medicine or sending the injured player to the Davos hospital where he can receive fast and uncomplicated help and treatment.  With the office of the HC Davos club physician also comes the role of trusted advisor for the whole club, making Niedermaier's job a round-the-clock on-call engagement.

"Caught off guard"

This year will be the fifth time that the native from Luzern will be responsible for all the medical issues at the Spengler Cup.  That Niedermaier's initial involvement with the tournament occurred serendipitously Niedermaier to say with a smile, "I was caught off guard."

Indeed, his connection to ice hockey happened by accident.  Niedermaier's previous specialties in sporting events revolved around track-and-field and flying events.  So how exactly did Dr. Niedermaier become connected to ice hockey?  "I knew my predecessor Beat Villiger for many years.  Already during my studies to become a sports physician, I acted as Villiger's second in command at HC Davos when he was appointed to Bad Ragaz," Niedermaier explained.  With his new position, normal events ran their course which meant Niedermaier worked his way from being a field-side physician to being a Spengler Cup tournament doctor to being the main team doctor for HC Davos.

Russians trust the HC Davos' team of doctors

For Niedermaier the Spengler Cup is an extremely interesting event which links many areas of life that Niedermaier finds fascinating.  On the one hand, Niedermaier finds interesting the connection between sport and medicine while on the other hand the tournament gives him a large platform to make new contacts with some of the most diverse and interesting people in the world and forge new connections.

Gregor Niedermaier greatly values the interaction with the members of the guest teams at the Spengler Cup.  Observing the differences between the nations is something Niedermaier finds fascinating.  For instance, while the Canadians act autonomously, the Russian teams put a huge value on the opinion of the Davos medical crew. "It goes so far that sometimes they will bring an injured Russian player, not even healthy enough to play, all the way from home to Davos to have him examined by our medical team" Niedermaier says of the unusual practice. He regards this confidence in his team of doctors as a compliment to the good work they have performed for the guest squads. 

Hoping for no severe injuries this year

"For my part, I hope that we will see great playing, a great atmosphere and no severe injuries," Niedermaier says when asked what his hopes are for the holiday tournament.  It is the field-side work that Niedermaier is looking forward to the most, calling it the "dessert" part of his job.  It will only be really sweet, though if Niedermaier and his crew do not have to deal with any serious injuries. In this case, he will be able to share his satisfaction and enjoyment with everyone leaving the ice safely and healthily.