Jean-Pierre Vigier is playing his fifth Spengler Cup for Team Canada

Jean-Pierre Vigier is playing his fifth Spengler Cup for Team Canada this year. But the 2011 tournament will still be a premiere for him: It will be the first time that his parents travel to Davos for the Spengler Cup and spend the Christmas season in Switzerland. Below, the 35-year-old Canadian talks about the importance of the Spengler Cup in his home country, how his two daughters recognize him when he's in action on the ice – and why it's high time for the Canadians to win the tournament for the first time since 2007.

Jean-Pierre Vigier says that the Spengler Cup is a nice opportunity to get away from everyday league life and a welcome diversion from the daily routine in the national championship. But the tournament in Davos is also about meeting old teammates and spending Christmas with Team Canada's huge hockey family.

Vigier’s Family Visits Davos

All these thoughts intensify the 35-year-old SC Bern forward’s anticipation when he thinks of his fifth Spengler Cup participation. "It's one of the oldest tournaments in the world. Being a part of it is great fund," he says. And even though this is already his fifth Spengler Cup, he doesn't get bored and playing in Davos is not just routine for him. In addition, this year will also be a special premiere for Vigier. "My parents are travelling to Davos from Canada to watch some games in the stadium. I'm really looking forward to that because it's very special for my father particularly," says Vigier, who played more than 200 NHL games.

Playing at the Spengler Cup is special because the tournament also gets a lot of attention in Canada. "Family and friends get up at five in the morning to watch us play on TV," says Vigier. So it's only logical that the Canadian players want to show their fans back home some great hockey and convince with their performances on the ice. "The Spengler Cup is not just fun, it's also hard work for us. We're representing our country, after all."

"The Most Beautiful Christmas"

Jean-Pierre Vigier doesn’t just like looking forward to this year’s tournament, he also likes to look back on some special moments in Davos, and he associates especially good memories with the year 2008: Back then, the SC Bern player missed the first group game because his two and a half months old daughter Olivia had to be taken to hospital with a respiratory disorder. "She had to stay in hospital for twelve days and finally got to go home just in time for Christmas Eve. This was a big relief for all of us, and we then spent the most beautiful Christmas together as a family."

In 2008, Team Canada made it to the final game, where the Canadians were defeated by Dynamo Moscow (3:5). But Vigier had already won the tournament when he was on the Canadian team for the first time ever in 2007; in the final, Team Canada beat Russian participant Salavat Yulayev Ufa 2:1 – this has been the Canadians' last Spengler Cup win so far. "It's about time that we win the trophy again," says Vigier, something that's always expected of the Canadian team. Between games, the players barely have enough time to enjoy the nice wintry atmosphere in Davos. A problem that the players' families don't have: Vigier's wife Karla and the two daughters Madeleine (6) and Olivia (3) go on sightseeing tours around Davos, go sledding and skiing or swimming in the local indoor swimming pool. "This stay in Davos is like a vacation for the girls," says Vigier.

His Daughters Support Him in the Stadium

Nonetheless, the two girls are aware that their father is playing at the Spengler Cup, that he’s focused on the games and wants to win the tournament. "They've each got a jersey and know that I'm playing with the number 24 here instead of with the number 11, my number with SC Bern". And his wife Karla organizes their two young supporters in the stadium and makes sure that the girls cheer on their dad and Team Canada with all their might.

All the Canadian players always spend Christmas together with their families. "Every year, that’s really incredibly beautiful. The whole team always looks after all the family members." Vigier’s love for the game has been passed on to the two girls. "Both of them play hockey already. And it’s nice to see how the enthusiasm they show in the stadium can also be seen in their everyday lives."

No Walk in the Park

But winning the Spengler Cup is not going to be an easy task for the men with the maple leaf on their jersey. "HC Davos and the Kloten Flyers are certainly two strong contenders," says Vigier. The other Spengler Cup participants this year are the teams from Dinamo Riga (Latvia), HC Vitkovice Steel (Czech Republic) and the German participant EHC Wolfsburg – it’s hard to predict how they’ll perform.

Vigier doesn't think that hockey players are just super stars, most of the time they’re also just human. "We also meet a lot of interesting faces who we look up to and from whom we can learn a lot," he says. One of them was NHL legend Mark Messier, Team Canada’s Head Coach at the Spengler Cup last year. Vigier is still overwhelmed when he thinks about last December: "It was just awesome to meet Messier and talk about hockey with him."

Being the Team Canada Head Coach on the bench and leading the team in Davos is also something the 35-year-old could imagine himself to be doing after his professional hockey career. "But that's still a long way off. Probably we'll be celebrating Christmas with family and friends in North America then. That's something we haven't done in a long time." But this year, the Vigier family will be reunited for Christmas in Davos.