Canadian winger finds a home, in Switzerland
GANGNEUNG — It took a move to Europe to do it, but Andrew Ebbett is finally sleeping in his own bed.
Back in North America, the Team Canada winger and wife Maggie found themselves living in one hotel room after another as he bounced between the NHL and the minors, most recently between the Pittsburgh Penguins and their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
The 35-year-old from Vernon, B.C., says he once stayed in six hotels in six cities in six nights. Now he has found a second home in Switzerland with SC Bern.
“My last two years, I was living in a hotel in Wilkes-Barre and a hotel in Pittsburgh,” he recalled.
“I lived out of a suitcase pretty much for those two seasons,” he added. “It’s fun. You play in the NHL, but at the same time it got to the point where lifestyle became more of an option. And my last few years I really wanted to be a guy that was depended on. I play a lot of minutes in Bern and I’m counted on to be a top player.”
Recovered from a charley horse that kept him out of Canada’s 4-0 win over South Korea on Sunday, Ebbett is expected to feature in the Olympic hockey quarterfinal Wednesday when the Canadian men face Finland.
The longest road trip for Bern is three hours 15 minutes to Davos or Lugano. And there are three teams very close to the
Swiss capital.
“I always say to be home on my couch every night, relaxing, and even after road games to be home by 12-1 a.m., for me it’s awesome,” Ebbett said with a smile. “Guys ask me if I’m going to go to the KHL or somewhere else, but I’m pretty set in Switzerland. I’m really enjoying the lifestyle.”
The undrafted Ebbett went from the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the BCHL to the University of Michigan before embarking
on a vagabond pro career that took him to the minor-league Binghamton Senators, Portland Pirates, Iowa Chops, San Antonio Rampage, Chicago Wolves and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as well as the NHL Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild, Phoenix Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins.
In 2009-10, he saw action for Anaheim, Chicago and Minnesota. Ebbett scored 26 goals and added 45 assists in 224 NHL games, spread over parts of eight seasons.
It has not all been wine and roses in Bern. In October 2015, some nine games into his Swiss career, he suffered a badly broken leg.
“The doctor said the season was definitely over and there was certainly a possibility that the career was done,” Ebbett recalled. “It was a bad tibial plateau break, right in my kneecap. A little scary.
“It was 7 a.m. I had slept for about an hour and the doctor came in and gave me the news. It was not my best morning. But I had a choice to go back to North America and rehab or else stay in Bern. I had just gotten over there, I was having so much fun, I just decided to stay and fight through it. It paid off.”
Four months later, he return to helped Bern win the championship.
Having battled back from a possible career-threatening injury, being at the Olympics is especially sweet.
“It’s my one and only chance. That’s why with this (charley horse) injury, there was no way I’m not doing whatever I can to make sure I’m playing (Wednesday) night and giving myself a chance.”
A day off Monday helped his cause. On Tuesday, he put the leg through its pace as players straggled on the ice for a practice.
“I made it through practice so that’s test (No.) 1,” he said.