Yan Dolff began his career in the Swiss Professional leagues with HC Rotzenwil in 2010–11, drafted as an 8-year-old. You read that right, 8 years old. It’s hard to believe we are even putting these sentences in print. 8 years old. There had and has never been anyone under the age of 18 in the league. When word got out about this unknown signing, by all appearances a man standing at 6 feet tall, the media completely lost its cool. Headlines filled the sports sections with titles like ‘WHO IS YAN DOLFF?’ and ‘Is this Gandalf’s son?’. Before Yan could even enjoy his first few moments as a professional hockey player, the media and other worldly effects completely uprooted Yan’s childhood. This piece will follow key influences on Yan’s life to give a never before view on the life of Mr. Dolff outside of hockey.
 
The Media
Yan had an ambivalent relationship with the media to say the least. At times he complained about the media's intrusion, accusing photographers and journalists of making normal life impossible for him. Several times he appeared to be driven to madness as he was pursued by paparazzi. At other times, however, he seemed to crave the attention of the press. In the run-up to his departure from HC Rotzenwil and in the years afterwards he sometimes fed information to journalists. During private moments he often appeared to pose for the photographers. Just several weeks ago, while on holiday with then girlfriend, he approached the press pack on his own accord.

Even though Yan generally shied away from pursuing legal action against invasive photographers, he was unquestionably distressed and humiliated by the paparazzi’s endless pursuit of him. In the year before being drafted to the Simulated Major Junior Hockey League, he would increasingly confront some of his most relentless hunters, famously screaming at one: “You make my life Hölle!” (roughly translated to hell). But his pursuers who documented their quest in ‘Gone with Yan’, felt no sympathy for him. Some of his most dogged stalkers even nicknamed his angry confrontations “lunatic attacks”. A worse kind of attack was when Yan just stood dead still, eyes overflowing with anger, head up, giving the silent treatment. Invariably, these happened after he had visited one of his many “therapists”. It was later found out that these therapy sessions were private Slipknot concerns, which make sense now as Yan typically appeared to be drenched in blood and sweat.  

Even with all the attention, experts say that Yan was adept at manipulating the media. This culminated in the frank interview he gave the Swiss local networks, in which he confessed to adultery and his playboy lifestyle, just at the age of 15. Yan used the media interest in his favor when he campaigned for a series of good causes, among them the call to ban foreign born referees. As famously quotes, Yan stated “Go to your own mountainous country!”

Later in Yan’s youth career, he hoped to protect other child protegees against the type of attention he received. Things changed dramatically for the Swiss press and photographers after Yan’s campaign began. Swiss citizens generally accepted that what happened to Yan was wrong and, as a consequence, new notions of privacy which had been historically alien were enacted. Laws of personal privacy prior to the campaign did not exist, except in exceptional circumstances. Privacy only existed in places like a doctor’s surgery, a confessional, a marital bed or the death bed. The Protection of Hockey Players from Harassment Act (PHPHA) was introduced a year after the campaign started and is said to have protected at least 15 highly skilled players from media abuse.

The most significant – and the strictest – amendment to the law concerned the protection of the youth, especially those under 18. Yan saw with his own eyes that children were being pursued while they were at school. The protection of the law was extended to all children while they were in hockey, rather than just those under the age of 18. A requirement was also added, which stated: “Where material about the private life of a youth hockey player is published, there must be justification for publication other than the fame, notoriety or position of his or her coach, parents or guardian.”

Yan was however well known for dressing up Samichlaus, the swiss version of Santa. While he is neither nice nor mean, he does exist. With his donkey in tow, Yan goes door to door in the small villages and waits to hear the rehearsed Christmas poems. If acceptable (and it almost certainly will be), the child will then receive a gift in exchange for their well crafted words. However, this process can often disturb the life of small town Switzerland as Yan had a parade of cars following him every step he takes. Yan has actually been known to throw large chunk of coal (stolen in the dark of night from the local coal mine) directly at the cars of reporters, having smashed a total of 12 windshields to date. Again, neither nice nor mean.
 
Playboy Lifestyle
Yan become famous, not just for his puck dangling skills at a young age, but also for blowout bashes that easily rival Playboy Mansion festivities. Yan has been in the spotlight since he early youth so it came as no surprise to many that his lifestyle started to adapt to the influences around him.
Party goers are constantly seen piling into Yan’s 35,000-square-foot Zurich compound, where, he told The Swiss Daily, “wearing hockey gear here is always optional, just like clothes in general.”

When the bachelor, 18, isn’t at home in Zurich, he’s often at his pent house pad in Geneva, or skiing with Olympian Lindsay Vonn in the Alps, or partying with friends in Aruba or Ibiza, or racing snow tubes in Canada, or yachting around the Mediterranean Islands. One paparazzi photo even shows him visiting New Jersey in December, “for no reason at all,” despite the bad weather and rich snobby attitude of the locals.

In September of this past year, Yan and his brother flew to a still unknown location in Africa. After the adventure ended, an unspecified country issued an arrest warrant for Yan — something to do with allegations that he obtained ­grenades illegally and “demonstratively” shot off missile launchers at a gun range. He claimed that this was for his famous Christmas feast that feeds over 200 people annually. Other skeptics say that this should really be handled by experts and that Yan should really stick to just being Samichlaus. A guest for this particular Christmas feast said the meat tasted charred and explosive.

This high-flying lifestyle has earned Yan some 10.5 million followers on Instagram, where he shows off his world with no shame. Critics do admit that he may objectify and exploit some of the bikini-clad (or -less) women who pose for his photos. Last April, he created a media stir by posting a picture of himself relaxing in a hot tub and using a topless, bent-over female as a dinner table. “It’s national women’s day, be thankful,” he wrote.
 
Early Life and Family
When Instagram exploded, so did Yan’s money-spewing jet-setting reputation. Then again, he had something of a head start. The son of uber-wealthy pharmacy CEO, he grew up in a Avers, on a mountaintop mansion with an indoor ski slope, which seems unnecessary given that he lives on a mountain. But things came crashing down in when his father, who had made a fortune from taking experimental medicines himself, was found guilty of tax fraud and is still serving a life sentence in Switzerland’s oldest and notorious prison, Bezirksgefängnis Bremgarten. This prison opened in the 18th century and each prisoner is required to grow all their own food without sunlight. This left Yan to wonder and ask more questions about his life.

There was always something unusual about Yan’s family. "My brother and I would say, 'What do you think is wrong with our family? Why are we so weird?' But that was the mystery that just didn't get answered." Yan’s parents, Luca and Emma, had separated when he was seven, the year his life blew up. Beyond the fraud orchestrated by Luca, he was a heavy drinker who could become violent and a point came when Emma just couldn't take it anymore. When Yan was seven, Emma took the children on a holiday to Interlaken, more than 150 miles from their home in Avers. But when they arrived, Emma told them they were never going back. Yet, Yan did not want to leave and found his own way back to Avers with a small hiking expedition, which turned out to be the defining factor in Yan’s professional hockey career, as that expedition was led by none other than Lee Sauronie. You know, the all powerful hockey coach that trained the best hockey players the country has ever seen.

Yan’s desire to be something now beckoning him. As one of Switzerland’s most popular pastimes, Yan threw himself into the pursuit of a hockey career, only to face non-stop rejection from coaches all over the country. Realizing he’d have to devise his own training if he ever wanted to be someone, Yan turned to Lee, asking him for advice on where to begin instead of starting the process from scratch. But even though he’d found the medium that would be his eventual deliverance, Yan was not yet out of the woods. He continued to struggle financially as a seven year old as he refined his newly adopted craft, even going so far as allegedly selling his dog for fifty dollars, just to make ends meet.

At age seven and a half, Yan was still living in squalor, and was already considering himself past his hockey prime. But as he reached the end of his rope, divine inspiration finally struck, his muse taking the form of fighting mountain goats. The smaller goat won the fight, the underdog managed to land a blow that knocked the larger goat off his feet. Yan regarded this rare occurrence as a symbolic victory, even if it wasn’t a technical one in his personal life.

One of Yan’s favorite traditions going up was to be apart of the annual Santa parade in Zurich. This is how he first got the idea that he wanted to be Samichlaus, waving to the crowd and receiving back cried of joy and happiness in return. Being in this role in the parade allows you access to the countries greatest donkey’s (traditionally used for the Samichlaus gift walk) and this is one of the highest honors one can receive around the holiday time.
 
The Signing
This section is an excerpt from Yan’s best selling book ‘Yanning Hard’ We have to start in Ibiza. When I was drafted HC Rotzenwil in 2010–11, I honestly didn’t even know the draft was happening. I was at home, getting stoned around the house. Yes, I was young, but this was the way. The phone rang, and I had to run across the room to yank it off the wall.
“Hi, Yan. This is the head coach from HC Rotzenwil. We’ve uh … we’ve just taken you in the eighth round of the draft.” I honestly had no idea what was going on. I’d only just graduated from elementary school. I think I asked my brother to come over and talk to him. Nowadays, with all the fuss around the Swiss draft, it’s kind of hard to explain, but back then, I was just completely caught off guard. Like, O.K., I guess I’m going to be in the Swiss pros now?

And that was exactly what happened. It was truly a holiday miracle.

I ending up having to play on the fourth line for several years before I finally got my chance to compete with the top players in the league.

Man, my rookie camp in was tough. I was 6′ 1″, and every single guy trying to make a name for himself wanted to get a piece of me. I felt like I was getting into a scrap every day. It felt like a form of child abuse. I met my brother for dinner one night during camp, and he saw the black eye and the bloody knuckles. It was a … new experience for both of us. He knew I was going for it, and he was right out there with me.

Camps have changed a lot, but even back then we had the Prime Athlete physical fitness tests. Which — for those fortunate enough to not know in Switzerland — is an exercise that basically tests how fit you are by pushing you to your limit. But this was no worries for me. I crushed the 4,000 push ups they made up do with a small goat on our backs. It was no problem. I think I actually changed the future rubric for the test.
 
Story of the Avalanches
It has been several years now since Yan was twice buried alive on in-bounds terrain at Viamala Mountain in Switzerland over a Christmas vacation. Seven skiers were swept up in the violence of two avalanches— the initial one causing a shallow burial for Yan; the second entombed him under nine feet of snow. One other skier, said to be a bikini model with no skiing experience, was also buried for an extended time and lived.

Two of the seven were only partially buried. The other three skiers did not survive. It was truly a moment none could forget.

Many of those who read this bio will wonder how Yan has dealt with the aftermath. Following his rescue, he was transported in a gold-plated sled down to a mid-mountain maintenance shed and then by helicoptered to the main lodge. “The process of trying to understand everything that happened, started for me, with a moment in time that traces to the second avalanche and progresses through everything after. It morphed after leaving the maintenance shed and climbing into the helicopter," he told me. "After I got into the cab of the helicopter and closed the door, I looked at the driver and said, 'it’s unbelievable, insane, crazy, insane. There’s no way I should be alive, no way! But I am lucky to be able to celebrate being alive and all the holidays I can spend with my family’ At that point I was entering the twilight zone.'"

Little did they know at the time, but the use of a helicopter on this vulnerable mountain would create, no pun intended, an avalanche effect. Simply by taking off with the force that a helicopter can generate, a tsunami-like avalanche erupted from what seemed like nowhere, burying a party of former mascots who were simply on retreat during the offseason. A mournful on looker was quotes as saying “We’ll never get to see their faces again, but not like we ever did anyways.” Truer words have never been spoken.

When asked to reflect on the incident and if it had an effect on his playing career, Yan did share some insightful glimpses of the experience. “My significant, cold, lonely unpleasant event lasts much longer than a moment of remembering. The intensity and chill are difficult to describe to those who have not had a similar experience. The 40 to 50 minutes that I spent entombed in utter darkness, under extreme pressure, like a piece of meat that has been vacuum sealed, unable to move at all, unable to breathe without agonizing labor, no sound, no connection to anything outside my head, stripped of all ability to act, left with only what goes on inside your skull. And initially feeling colder, then after an eternity of struggle, sliding into the grim comfort of numbness. It really makes your reflect on your life and all those that were in it. I was Yan. I was Samichlaus. I was just a man.”

Looking back many years to this incident, Yan attributes these feelings to how he became a cold calculated sniper, with little sympathy for those that got in his way. A cold piece of meat has no emotion, no feeling. Only what could be done to it under the right kind of exposure. While Yan has certainly provided himself to be more than a piece of meat, to some extent, it will also be embedded within his mindset.
 
The Rise of a Star
A wave of roars coursed over the table of the Detroit Falcons brass when they realized Yan Dolff was going to be available in free agency and remain unsigned by other Simulated Major Junior Hockey League teams. It wasn’t his initial plan, but Yan knew he had to get away from the Swiss league. It was time to grow and become something bigger than himself.

“When the signing papers were handed in, there was a big group of guys that high-fived and fist-bumped because we knew we were going to be able to get him,” the Falcons’ assistant general manager, told The Detroit Smog (a local paper) in a recent interview. “It was an exciting moment.”

The Falcons were evidently already high on the 6-foot-3 winger, but it was at the Swiss Super Secret Showcase that Dolff became a distinguished Simulated Major Junior Hockey League prospect. The first handful of games into his last season at HC Rotzenwil, Dolff continued to raise his ceiling of potential higher and higher.

From July - August, at the summer showcase last year, Yan skated in Zurich alongside the best hockey players of his age in the world — and he flourished. Yan played bigger than his already larger than life stature, putting his offensive instincts on full display while ensuring he was a reliable offenseman both up and down the ice.

“I think after the showcase, coming from where he came from, little lesser-known situation coming out of the high altitude Alps, he just opened a lot of eyes there,” an undisclosed scout said. “Just the way he handled himself, the way he played, the total package. We were pretty excited with his offensive instincts, his defending was really good, and his speed, his skating. “It didn’t take him long to figure out the pace and what he needed to do at that tournament to be successful.”

Yan played for the World Juniors team, which head coach Marco Bayer and the rest of the hockey team’s coaching staff thought wouldn’t be until much later. But after he tore up the Swiss league once again with 51 goals in 62 games, Yan was brought to the World’s team without hesitation.

Shortly after Yan returned to HC Rotzenwil, Bayer said he received a note from Detroit Falcon management that expressed how pleased the organization was with the then-19-year-old’s development to that point.

In a bit of an astonishing move, upon returning to the Swiss league, Yan went scoreless for the remainder of the season (10 games). However, he was playing with a rage unbeknownst to the player, leading the league in hits (72) and glass panes broken (12) for an incredible ratio of hits to broken glass ratio. Many wonder what caused this rage. It wasn’t obvious immediately to the media, but a reported leaked later in the season that Yan actually contracted rabies and played with what was described as a “foaming passion”. Switzerland at the time was unaware that a cure was readily available for rabies.

Yan took the holiday’s off that year to spend some time around the fire reflecting all that happened in the prior year. He knew there were many areas to improve on, but many that were already starting to click. He was just thankful that he could hold a hockey stick and do some pretty incredible things with it. He knew that when the New Year hit, he had to come in with a renewed focus and appreciation for his past.

Bayer knew the most important thing for Yan to focus on during offseason was bolstering his strength, speed and agility. The former Olympian coach challenged Yan to get in the weight room and continue to physically develop before his next season. And that’s exactly what he did.

Yan spent the offseason in the Alps with the strength and conditioning team for the World’s Strongest Men swiss division. Working out alongside members of this development program, Yan said he pushed himself that much harder to reach their level. Though his weight consistently remains between 220-230 pounds, Yan said he has noticed how much his ever-growing strength has improved his game.

“He’ll get to the SHL, I don’t doubt that.” Hamilton head coach said. “He’s developing really well because a big part of that is his attitude,” the head coach said during his weekly press conference last week. “I think he understands what his process is going to be to get there. He’s a very coachable kid, even given his playboy status, and he knows where his weak points are and he understands. A lot of kids, they don’t want to work on their weaknesses. When you get a kid that will do it on their own, that’s so huge and it’s so impressive to me. Yan is one of those kids.”

“This year, I came in with full confidence that I wanted to be the best player every night and try to help my team win no matter what the case is,” Yan said on a Zoom call with The Detroit Smog. His elite hockey sense intrigued the Falcons most, along with his ability to adapt despite being one of the flashiest guys on the ice.
 
More to come on this developing profile on Yan Dolff. There is much yet to be demystified.



WC: 3,625