Markus Graf

Markus Rudolf Graf (born 24 July 1959) is a Swiss former ice hockey player, coach, and executive. Prior to a professional career in Switzerland, he represented his country internationally on the under-18 team and the men's junior team. In six seasons for SC Langnau in the Nationalliga A, he won a silver medal and was voted an all-time legend by the team's fans. He won the Nationalliga A championship twice with HC Lugano, then played for EHC Olten before transitioning into a player-coach in lower-level leagues.

Graf later coached EHC Olten and EHC Biel in the Nationalliga B, was an executive with the SCL Tigers, then served as the international youth hockey supervisor for the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation (SIHF) for 16 years, and was on the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) coaching and development committee. He created the guidelines for training junior hockey players, which then formed the approach to training the Switzerland men's national ice hockey team. Later in his career, he focused on the training of coaches, and was the interim chief executive officer of the SIHF until retirement in 2024. He received the Johan Bollue Award from the IIHF, for international programs to develop youth players.

Early life and junior hockey Markus Rudolf Graf was born on 24 July 1959, in Biel, Switzerland.*Full name: Markus Rudolf Graf Birth date: 24 July 1959 Birth place: Biel, Switzerland Lefthanded shooter Wearing uniform #15, fans voted him one of the team's 75 "all-time legends" during Langnau's 75th anniversary season in 2022.

In 1983, Graf began two seasons playing with in the Swiss 1st League. In the 1984–85 season, he scored a career best 42 goals, 35 assists, and 77 points. HC Lugano placed first during the 1985–86 season, and defeated HC Sierre and HC Davos to win the playoffs. HC Lugano finished in first place again during the 1986–87 season, then defeated HC Ambrì-Piotta and EHC Kloten for the playoffs championship.

Graf played for EHC Olten in the 1987–88 Nationalliga B season, where he scored 27 goals and 52 points in 36 games. He played the next four seasons in Nationalliga A, placing seventh in the 1988–89 season and fifth in the 1989–90 season, but saw first-round playoffs losses both seasons versus EHC Kloten. In the 1990–91 season, EHC Olten finished in last place, but won the six-team relegation/promotion playoffs to remained in Nationalliga A. Placing ninth in the 1991–92 season, Graf was unable to help EHC Olten avoid relegation again when the team placed third in the six-team relegation/promotion playoffs. Competing in the 1992–93 Nationalliga B season, he helped EHC Olten place second of ten teams.

While playing for EHC Olten, Graf became head coach of EHC Rheinfelden in the Swiss 2nd League in 1992. Graf coached the final 12 games in the regular season, winning three games, with EHC Olten placing ninth in the league. The team finished two points below the eight place team, and did not qualify for the playoffs. He returned as head coach of EHC Olten for the 1997–98 season, and led them to 17 wins and 39 points in 40 games, and sixth-place standing in the league. His team lost in the first playoffs round three-games-to-one versus HC Thurgau. In the 1998–99 season, he coached EHC Olten to 21 wins and 44 points in 40 games, and a third-place finish. He led his team to a first-round playoffs victory in three consecutive games versus SC Säntis, then lost in the second round three-games-to-two versus HC La Chaux-de-Fonds.

Graf returned as a head coach in Nationalliga B, leading EHC Biel for the 2000–01 season. His team earned 26 wins and 57 points in 40 games, placing second in the league. He led EHC Biel to a three-games-to-one first-round playoffs victory versus HC Ajoie, a second-round victory versus Genève-Servette Hockey Club by three-games-to-one, then a loss in the finals by three consecutive games versus Lausanne HC. He was released on head coach on 14 February 2002. According to Gino Cavallini who played for EHC Biel, Graf was big on fitness and had his players do two-hour runs in the mountains.

Graf became the sports manager of the SCL Tigers for the 2002–03 Nationalliga A season, and subsequently as the team's director of player development for the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons.

In training players, Graf emphasized that hockey is more than a game, and it can develop life skills. He created the "Foundation, Talent, Elite, Mastery" program adopted as the SIHF mantra.

Graf created the "swissmadehockey" guidelines for training junior hockey players, Graf also served as an assistant coach at the 2010 Deutschland Cup, when Switzerland finished second place, and was an assistant coach for team Switzerland in ice hockey at the 2019 Winter Universiade where they finished eighth place.

When Graf became the SIHF director of recruitment and education in 2022, his focus turned to the training of coaches. He stressed that coaches needed the same level of training as players, to impart knowledge, and to gain the trust of the players. He felt that a coach's behavior as a role model, would shape the personality of players. He also sought more youth hockey coaches per player, and more assistant coaches in junior hockey to improve training quality.

Graf resigned as the director of recruitment and education on 31 May 2024. He retired at the end of October 2024, when Martin Baumann became the chief executive officer.

In 2024, he received the Johan Bollue Award from the IIHF. He was credited for his vision, communication, and IIHF programs to develop youth players.