WHL Spokane Chiefs

Meet the Chiefs 2015-16: Dominic Zwerger

Published on October 27, 2015 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


Spokane Chief Dominic Zwerger on the Ice
Spokane Chief Dominic Zwerger on the Ice
(Spokane Chiefs)

Third-year Spokane Chief Dominic Zwerger is living his dream for now, but he has hockey goals beyond the Western Hockey League. He hopes his experiences in Spokane, on and off the ice, will prepare him for that next step.

"Ever since I started playing hockey when I was three years old, that's all I've wanted to do," Zwerger continued. "I want to play professionally. The NHL is my dream."

The 19-year-old winger from Dornbirn, Austria, was chosen by Spokane in the 2013 CHL Import Draft (2nd Round, 106th Overall) and joined the Chiefs that fall. He recorded 33 goals during his first two seasons and was named the team's Rookie of the Year following his rookie campaign. He's off to a fast start this year, with four goals - including two game-winners - and five assists in his first 11 games.

Zwerger played one season in Davos, Switzerland, before he was drafted to the WHL. He remembers how excited he and his family were when they learned he'd been chosen by the Chiefs.

"My parents were happy for me, but also sad to see me leaving," he said. "I was so excited."

Zwerger's mother works in a retail furniture store and his father is a truck driver. He has one younger sister and an 18-month-old brother. He speaks with his family weekly during the season and returns home each summer.

Known by his Chiefs teammates simply as "Dom" or "Zwergs," he recalls a few of the cultural and hockey adjustments he had to make upon his arrival in Spokane, but fans may be surprised to know that speaking a different language wasn't one of them.

"My English skills were average for an Austrian kid, I think," he explained. "That wasn't really a challenge, because we took English classes every year in school."

What Zwerger did have to get used to was a smaller ice surface and a more physical game. Playing the puck quickly became a priority and it took him a while to get used to a style much different from what he had experienced previously, he said.

Off the ice, he was surprised to find that Americans eat their biggest meal at dinner, not lunch as most Europeans do, and that houses are so much more common in the United States than in Austria, where most people live in apartments.

The WHL import draft can be a hit-or-miss proposition, but Zwerger's career in Spokane has been a hit so far.

His advice for other Europeans making the jump?

"Be prepared. It's a different game here."

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Spokane Chief Dominic Zwerger on the Ice
Spokane Chief Dominic Zwerger on the Ice
   



Western Hockey League Stories from October 27, 2015


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