Swiss television hit what must be the peak of its popularity in Southern Cailfornia on Tuesday.
The station Schweizer Fernsehen (literally, Swiss Television — how original!) published on its website a progress report from Hiller’s off-season training in his homeland. The images (linked here on the Ducks’ Facebook page) and the interview (translated here on Yahoo.com) can be summed up in one word: optimistisch.
“I’m accustomed to getting better every day, [someone] who sets myself new goals on a daily basis,” Hiller said, according to the Yahoo! translation. “I had to give myself so much time to progress. This was a difficult and especially depressing time.”
According to the report, Hiller has been working out with the Swiss club SC Bern, whose season starts in September.
While practicing is a good sign of progress for a player who was shut down at the end of last season, it’s still too early to say whether or not Hiller can meet his stated goal of playing in the All-Star Game again. Throughout his recovery process late last season, Hiller noted that his biggest challenge was tracking pucks at game speed.
The video shows Hiller taking some pucks, and making some saves, but that’s not a lot of information to go on. A more accurate diagnosis may have to wait until the preseason.