WC: 2018 - Team Switzerland

[filip85]

How roster will look like compared to Olympics ?

Anyone from NHL already declined/confirmed participation ?

Hopefully Swiss can rebound from OG performances.

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[Eye of Ra]

Best possible Switzerland roster is really strong.

Hiller
Genoni
Stephan

Sbisa - Josi
Weber - Muller
Diaz - Kukan

Fiala - Hischier - Niederreiter
Meier - Malgin - Bärtschi
Praplan - Haas - Andrighetto
Richard - Suter - Ambuhl

 

[Speyer]

Best possible Switzerland roster is really strong.

Hiller
Genoni
Stephan

Sbisa - Josi
Weber - Muller
Diaz - Kukan

Fiala - Hischier - Niederreiter
Meier - Malgin - Bärtschi
Praplan - Haas - Andrighetto
Richard - Suter - Ambuhl

Unfortunatly this is very unrealistic. Pretty much every Swiss NHLer (except Bärtschi) is still in the playoff-race and most of them will probably get in. Furthermore I could also see some players decline for one reason or another. Hischier for example would be probably very tired after his first 82-game grind of the regular season, should the Devils miss the playoffs. Realisticly only one or two players from the should be expected to be in the lineup, when the tournament starts.

 

[jonas2244]

Hiller retired from the national team after the Olympics.

Sbisa is injured and if not he's in the playoffs (and declined before)
Bärtschi is injured and out for the WC.
Josi, Fiala and Weber are Stanley-Cup contenders and will probably have again a deep playoff-run.
Kukan is sitting on a playoff-spot currently. Could be available after a first-round out.
Müller and Hischier are battling with Malgin for the last Wildcard-spot for the Playoffs. All 3 could be available (and would probably come if healthy).
Niederreiter is in the playoffs. We'll see how good the Wilds are this year, could be available after a first-round out.
Meier is in the playoffs and I guess the sharks will pass the first round. I'm pretty sure he'd come if he's available.
Andrighetto is currently on a Wildcard-spot.
Jonas Siegenthaler won't play AHL-playoffs but I guess he has to stay with the Caps.
Calvin Thürkauf won't play AHL-playoffs. I don't know if he'd have to go to Columbus, he could be available. He's an interesting player, but I didn't see him play since his last U20-WC, don't know how much he progressed.
Reto Berra will play AHL-playoffs.
Noah Rod joined the San Jose Barracudas (no playoffs), so he could be available.
Christoph Bertschy has 15 points in 18 games for his new team, probably depends on the Devils making the playoffs if he'd be avaiable. No ahl-playoffs for his team.

Diaz had an injury during the playoffs, I can see him declining. Defence-depth is quite thin at the moment.
Ambühl also didn't play the last two games, but if he has the chance to play he won't decline.

 

[Jon Riley]

Niederreiter is also pretty beaten up. He's playing but he is far from his best condition, I would not be surprised if he declined to fully recover in case the wild do not make it deep.

Also, I do not think there will be a roster without Simon Moser, he is way too important, specially in the absence of Niederreiter

 

[jonas2244]

Yeah, I hope Moser stays healthy. Hollenstein has 1 pt, Praplan 0 pts in the relegation round. Unbelievable how bad Kloten (and those two especially) performs.

I think Hischier would come, he'd have played last year when he played about the same amount of games (including two world-championships). These young guys want to play. The older you get the more time your body needs.

 

[jonas2244]

Tobias Stephan and Félicien Du Bois decided to retire from the National team. Andres Ambühl will also not be available to be able to fully recover from his injuy and his season. Raphael Diaz will get another week but will join the team afterwards.

Edit: I also miss Tanner Richard, which probably means that something has happend (At the Spengler Cup?) we don't know.

The roster for the first week:
Goaltender (2): Gilles Senn (HC Davos), Joren Van Pottelberghe (HC Davos).
Defensemen (6): Lukas Frick (Lausanne HC), Tobias Geisser (EV Zug), Joël Genazzi (Lausanne HC), Romain Loeffel (Genève-Servette HC), Claude-Curdin Paschoud (HC Davos), Miro Zryd (SCL Tigers).
Forwards (12): Yannick-Lennart Albrecht (SCL Tigers), Enzo Corvi (HC Davos), Dominic Lammer (EV Zug), Lino Martschini (EV Zug), Damien Riat (Genève-Servette HC), Matthias Rossi (HC Fribourg-Gottéron), Sven Ryser (Lausanne HC), Dario Simion (HC Davos), Reto Suri (EV Zug), Jöel Vermin (Lausanne HC), Samuel Walser (HC Davos), Jeremy Wick (Genève-Servette HC).

 

[jonas2244]

Some additions:

Tanner Richard has a "physical problem", whatever that means. Robert Mayer is also injured.
Dominik Schlumpf declined the invitation. Depth on D gets thinner and thinner. Without help from NA this gonna be though. Reactivate Seger?

 

[stv11]

Not much goalie depth after Stephan and Mayer declined. Maybe Zurkirchen could have gotten a look, but he didn't have a great season. Same problem on defense, Diaz, Loeffel and Genazzi are obvious call, and Paschoud and Frick are probably the best of what's left. I'm not too enthusiastic about the new guys, but there weren't many alternatives. And there aren't many WC caliber defensemen left in the playoffs either. Blum, Untersander, Geering and Furrer should make it if healthy, and some guys like Sutter, Maurer, Wellinger or Marti might be worth a look. Too bad Fora is injured.

The forward group looks better, Romy is the only big name missing (apart from the injured players obviously). Guys like Froidevaux, Herren, Sciaroni, Wieser or Bykov could have gotten a look, but they are not better than the players who were called.

I also don't get the Ambühl "rest" story. With his injury I thought it was obvious he wouldn't make it. First international tournament without since the 2003 WC, it will feel strange to see no number 10.

 

[jonas2244]

I really like what I saw from Sutter. Karrer maybe? Sometimes you have to risk something. And instead of taking someone who was there for quite some time and never really progressed I'd take a young guy with an high upside and let him jump into it.

I thought Bykov retired from international play because he thinks he didn't get the recognition he deserves.

On Ambühl, you never know exactly what injured players have in the playoffs but it was said he's a cut on his foot and from my huge medical background )) I think it'd be possible to play a WC at the begin of may.

 

[stv11]

It depends what you mean by young, it's not unusual to have defensemen break out in their late 20's (ok, Wellinger and Maurer just turned 30 ). Still worth a look.

 

[jonas2244]

Younger than I am probably. Which would probably be every NLA-defender beside Goran Bezina.

Do you know Miro Zryd? I really never heard of him or noticed him at all. And that has to mean something.

 

[stv11]

Me neither, I haven't seen much of Langnau this season.

 

[stv11]

Any thoughts about the first exhibition game?

I thought it was a pretty poor overall, especially defensively. Not enough agressivity in the defensive zone, and too many times the forwards were caught deep in the offensive zone and let the Czech skate through the neutral zone too easily. It was better offensively, although there were too many missed passes.

Individually, I thought Van Pottelberghe could have done a lot better, and the defensemen were mostly poor. Genazzi was ok, but the 2nd and 3rd pairs don't belong at this level. Some forwards had a good game, most notably Albrecht and Wick. Corvi, Suri, Ryser and Simion had their moments, and the rest didn't show much. Disappointed by Vermin and Riat.

 

[jonas2244]

As I have no cable-connection in my apartment i cannot get MySports so I'm glad you watch this games for me.

I'm quite dissapointed with the development of Van Pottelberghe, I expected more. I know goalies need more time but I still think he should be able to outplay Senn.

Edit: Malgin probably the only NA-player available, I hope he gets an invite. The defence really needs players from there, Kukan, Mueller or Siegenthaler, I hope at least one of them can play.

 

[stv11]

Better game yesterday than on Wednesday, way less passive in the defensive zone and better job in the neutral zone. On the other hand, poor play in the offensive zone, many times a player was in a good position and didn't even manage to get a shot on goal. Overall, there isn't much to take from these games, this roster lacks quality and it showed.

Corvi was the most dangerous player and Riat showed some good things. Wick and Albrecht didn't stand out like during the first game. The defense was poor again, Loeffel and Genazzi could control the play but had their usual weak defensive plays, Paschoud was completely outmatched, and Geisser is at least 2 or 3 years away from playing at this level. Zryd and Frick had a few good plays, but should be depth players at most. Senn had a good game and showed he is ahead of Van Pottelberghe, although he should have saved the third goal.

I wonder if new players will be added for the 2nd week of training camp. The playoff semifinals could last until Tuesday and the first game against Belarus is scheduled for Friday, which is a bit short to add new players. Best case scenario for the national team would be to have Bern and Biel out on Saturday, but this is not something Fischer can count on. On the other hand, Fora came back from his injury yesterday and could be an option.

 

[jonas2244]

Diaz and Walser will join the team for next week, the players from the semifinalists will get another week I think.

I read that all NHL-players (beside the injured Bärtschi and Sbisa) commited to join the team if healthy and out of the playoffs.

 

[stv11]

I'd be careful with that kind of statement, it's not the first time we hear this and players end up declining. But if true, there should be at least two NHL wingers available with Fiala, Niederreiter and Andrighetto all in the same part of the bracket. A worst case scenario is still possible on defense though.

I was looking at the defensemen still in the playoffs. Blum, Untersander, Furrer and Geering are the obvious ones who should get a call, but after seeing Paschoud, Frick, Geisser and Zryd in action, I'd try a few new names. Sutter obviously, and I'm also convinced that Maurer and Wellinger would be improvement over the current roster. I would also give Kreis a try, he's having solid playoffs. I hope Fora is healthy enough, I would have taken him to the Olympics.

Getting better forwards also shouldn't be a problem, but I'm a bit worried about Hollenstein, Praplan and Haas. They're not doing particularly well.

 

[jonas2244]

Yeah, that's why I started whith "I read".
A lot can happen and teams can say no for whatever reason. But as far as I know all of the Swiss guys already have a contract for next year, this helps. Meier said in an interview with SRF yesterday that it'd be a highlight for him to play at the WC if they'd fail in the playoffs (which is not very realistic).

Blum also isn't in his best shape I think. Untersander is doing well but not as well as last year. I can see Furrer retiring after the Olympics, he's 33, has kids. I'm not sure if he'll play another WC. Sutter is an obvious choice then, maybe Baltisberger? Karrer was outplayed by Berni, who is doing great but WC would be way to early. With Kevin Fey another option got a season-ending injury. Maurer and Kreis should get a look too, I agree.

Haas is doing ok, but he's not as dominant as he was at the beginning of the season. Praplan and Hollenstein are indeed causing some worry. I didn't watch the games and cannot see how good or bad they're playing but the lack of points is pretty hard to understand.

 

[duga]

You can always rely on jonas2244 and stv11 to kickstart the discussion. Thx, as always.


Me too, I haven't seen the prep. games, so again thx for the resume. It doesn't sound too promising to be honest.


I agree with you guys, there are big concerns about GKs and Ds. Plus some guys really look out of form after the long season. Some guys played a lot of hockey for a few seasons, and might haven't got enough left in the tank, especially among the SCB players. (Blum, Rüfi or Genoni e,g.) Beside being a ZSC supporter in general, I hoped for a quick finish of the series yesterday, to have the Bern players as rested and hungry as possible for a trip to Denmark. But they really got some lionhearts in their team who were able to gain energy out of hardly anything and shift the momentum (temporary?). As the team energy level and hunger was obviously on the Zürich side from the first game on, I have a hard time seeing Bern turning the series around totally, but it could probably cost some among them the WHC.


While I do understand Stephan's fed up with going to international games as a Nr.3, and called it a career, he ironically could have been a big piece of the team for Denmark.


JvP is as inconsistent and technicaly raw as ever, despite being a great athlete and having proper size. A poor man's Berra till now.


Senn is further up the steps, but not consistent enough yet for the Nr.1 job. As a calm blocker with size, he reminds me a bit of Flueler. And as him, he's got room to improve his reflexes and mobility.


The good thing is, as long as Merzlikins plays in the NLA, we can always see, what potential level of play is required to be a realistic contender for a spot in the NHL and for a proper role internationally.

 

[duga]

On the D side you already said most of it IMO.


Even if the best swiss players of the last 10 years are defensemen, the depth just isn't as good as on offense. The strong generations born 77-83 are finally history, 85-86 won't be around for too long, and from the younger ones the arguably 6 best are in NA. There just isn't enough talent around to fully compensate.


From ZSC beside Geering and Sutter, I think Marti would be a more proven option for Fischer over Baltisperger. Even if the latter one has finally taken a little step forward, but Im not sure his technical skills and decisionmaking would be good enough (yet?). Would have to keep his game very simple... Oliver Keller style simpel.



Some positive things about the state of defense.

Having watched the resurrection of Mirco Müller the last few games was really satisfying. He still does underplay his talent big way. Which is very understandable, regarding the hole, he's crawling out, especially the mental one. He really should have come over to Europe for 1 or 2 years, to grow into a big role step by step, and forming out his offensive game. I really hope, it won't cost him, as he got tremendous pure tools, but so far had no clue how to use them properly in the NHL. An outstandingly shifty and quick skater for his size, quick hands, good passing technique, improving vision and timing, has developed a hard one-timer/slapper, which he could use from time to time, and finally starting to use his body and marking his zone. He starts using some of them a bit, but come PO time soon, it's probably not the right time to discover terra incognita in a too risky manner. He looked like a very happy man yesterday after the Devils game. New team, new luck, very good preseason, solid start to the season, fading a bit, then kept on a short leash, lost in the shadows of his compatriot teammate and his sister's olympic performance, getting back into the team, put in the doghouse for ages and comes out and plays like a top4 defensman and now gets the minutes of one too. What a rollercoaster!


And I really hope, we're going to see Noah Delemont at the U-18 WC, Im super excited to see him play. His play-off performance from the Novize Elite league must have been outstanding from what I heard.

 

[jonas2244]

I heard good things about Siegenthaler too, it seems he's playing a solid AHL-saison. Kukan had an injury at a very bad time, but they seem to see something in him, otherwise he wouldn't have got a one-way two year contract.
I didn't see that Ratgheb signing coming, but I see some upside in him and I think it's probably the right thing to do for his own personal development. It's a pity he's injured, he'd have also been a candidate for the WC.

If we can count on Diaz, Geering, Blum, Untersander, Loeffel and Genazzi it doesn't sound that bad. Furrer maybe (we'll see). And of course each player from NA would be an upgrade. We'll see who our defenders play in the first round.

 

[Retroglyphs]

Diaz and Walser will join the team for next week, the players from the semifinalists will get another week I think.

I read that all NHL-players (beside the injured Bärtschi and Sbisa) commited to join the team if healthy and out of the playoffs.

Awesome. That's the spirit.

 

[stv11]

I heard good things about Siegenthaler too, it seems he's playing a solid AHL-saison. Kukan had an injury at a very bad time, but they seem to see something in him, otherwise he wouldn't have got a one-way two year contract.
I didn't see that Ratgheb signing coming, but I see some upside in him and I think it's probably the right thing to do for his own personal development. It's a pity he's injured, he'd have also been a candidate for the WC.

If we can count on Diaz, Geering, Blum, Untersander, Loeffel and Genazzi it doesn't sound that bad. Furrer maybe (we'll see). And of course each player from NA would be an upgrade. We'll see who our defenders play in the first round.

I like your optimism, but Blum is not at his best this season, I still have my doubts about Untersander's skating, and the Loeffel-Genazzi pair showed its limits during the first exhibition games. Furrer would be a welcome addition, but help from North America is needed.

 

[jonas2244]

That's not optimism, that's just hope.