AROSA, Switzerland – Former Swiss national team player Gebhard "Gebi" Poltéra passed away on Tuesday at the age of 84.

Born on December 14, 1923, in Arosa, Switzerland, Poltéra grew up close to a natural ice rink with his brother Ueli and his cousin Hansmartin Trepp. It was the beginning of a legendary line for EHC Arosa, a top team until the ‘80s, and the Swiss national team where Gebi Poltéra became known as one of the first two-way forwards of that time.

He debuted in the top league in 1939 as a 16-year-old and won seven consecutive championships (1951¬-1957) with EHC Arosa, ending his career in 1965 after a wrist injury.

The trio was the answer to the line of archrivals HC Davos with IIHF Hall of Famers Bibi Torriani and the Cattini brothers, Ferdinand and Hans. The Arosa trio won the Team of the Year Award at the 1953 Swiss Sports Awards.

Super stars of that time didn’t earn millions but much respect for their work on the ice and for all the then unaffordable travelling around the world with the national team. Poltéra had 108 international appearances and scored 98 goals. He played in two Olympic Games and six World Championships. His résumé includes a bronze medal at the 1948 Olympics on home ice in St. Moritz. He also won bronze in three World Championships where the third place at the 1950 World Championship in London also meant European Championship gold for the Swiss.

The success he was most proud of was, however, three Swiss victories against Canada in exhibition games – the first ones in hockey history. When he was asked in 2006 about anecdotes from his era, he remembered the first-ever Swiss games against the Soviet Union in exhibition games 1954 in the Dynamo Moscow football stadium. “We played at -30° C, were catered with salmon and caviar during the intermissions and lost 13-1 but the next day we took revenge and won 3-1,” he was quoted. A few months later, the Soviets played and won their first World Championship in Stockholm and Poltéra finished his international career.

After his playing career, he was Arosa coach for two years and then moved into private business as an interior decorator.

MARTIN MERK