Michel “Tutu” Turler was one of Switzerland’s most famous ice hockey players. He started as a footballer but after winning an ice hockey tournament for schoolboys (together with René Huguenin, Francis Reinhard and Marcel Sgualdo) his ice hockey career picked up speed. He won a total of seven national championships with his home team HC La-Chaux-de-Fonds (six times in a row), and later with EHC Biel. As a center he was the leading scorer in the Swiss national league four times. In 1971, at the last world championship of the B-group before the Sapporo Olympics, he was the outstanding player in the deciding match against the GDR, scoring two goals and was considerably responsible for Switzerland’s promotion to the A-group. Turler was the most successful forward in this tournament and was elected to the tournament all-star-team. In the course of his career he played 110 international games and scored 54 goals. At the 1972 Winter Olympics he was Switzerland’s top scorer with four goals. Shortly before his 66th birthday Michel Turler died of cancer.
Switzerland