U20: 2025 WJC Switzerland roster talk

[Hinterland]

As per usual, an early look at the potential roster. Here's what I'd do if I had to select a roster today:



Goalies:

Elijah Neuenschwander (06)
Phileas Lachat (06)
Christian Kirsch (06)


Defensemen:

Timo Bünzli (05), Eric Schneller (05)
Leon Muggli (06), Nic Balestra (05)
Daniil Ustinkov (06), Gian Meier (06)
Basile Sansonnens (06), Joel Kurt (06)
Nils Rhyn (05), Robin Bisig (05)


Forwards:

Rico Gredig (05), Jan Dorthe (05), Lars Steiner (07)
Kimi Körbler (06), Jamiro Reber (06), Jordan Forget (06)
Leo Braillard (05), Alain Graf (05), Rafael Meier (05)
Janis Embacher (05), Florian Schenk (07), Endo Meier (05)
Guillaume Kaser (05), Kimo Gruber (05), David Bosson (06)

Click to read more...

 

[Kuracmugger]

Steiner has started hot in the QMJHL he could be one of the leaders of the team if he progresses like this. If some Players stick in the NL we may have a new joshua fahrni who improved a lot in the NL in his u20 year.Bünzli,Schneller,Muggli,Ustinkov,Gredig,Dorthe,Rafael Meier,Janis Embacher,Endo Meier are all playing professionally this season in the NL or SL those players always can compete at the WJC level. But i‘d say this is a pretty medicore year for us since their aren‘t that much draft picks except for Muggli,Kirsch,Gredig and Sansonnens who i don‘t know if he‘ll play

 

[Hinterland]

Steiner has started hot in the QMJHL he could be one of the leaders of the team if he progresses like this. If some Players stick in the NL we may have a new joshua fahrni who improved a lot in the NL in his u20 year.Bünzli,Schneller,Muggli,Ustinkov,Gredig,Dorthe,Rafael Meier,Janis Embacher,Endo Meier are all playing professionally this season in the NL or SL those players always can compete at the WJC level. But i‘d say this is a pretty medicore year for us since their aren‘t that much draft picks except for Muggli,Kirsch,Gredig and Sansonnens who i don‘t know if he‘ll play

The team is gonna be much better than the last one. 05 might be a disappointing group overall but many of them have been trending nicely as of late. There are easily 10-15 additional players with pro (some of them even recent NL) experience I haven't listed on the roster above. Lots of kids playing SL/NL right now. It's a team without real standout players but it's gonna be yet another very deep team and certainly deeper than the previous one.

 

[Kuracmugger]

The team is gonna be much better than the last one. 05 might be a disappointing group overall but many of them have been trending nicely as of late. There are easily 10-15 additional players with pro (some of them even recent NL) experience I haven't listed on the roster above. Lots of kids playing SL/NL right now. It's a team without real standout players but it's gonna be yet another very deep team and certainly deeper than the previous one.

That‘s true but i don‘t know if it will be necessarily better than the last one almost all players there were playing NL/SL or major junior except like Wagner Jenni and Simon Meier but we‘ll see how many 05‘s stick to the NL this birth year was once highly regarded.

 

[Speyer]

The team is gonna be much better than the last one. 05 might be a disappointing group overall but many of them have been trending nicely as of late. There are easily 10-15 additional players with pro (some of them even recent NL) experience I haven't listed on the roster above. Lots of kids playing SL/NL right now. It's a team without real standout players but it's gonna be yet another very deep team and certainly deeper than the previous one.

That might be a key issue though. Sure the team is deeper than last years squad and other teams from the recent past. But having at least one outstanding offensive catalyst is just huge at the WJC. In years past this has been proven time and time again. Wheter it was Niederreiter the Fiala/Meier tandem, Hischier or even Kurashev or Dionicio. Those teams were usually more compeditive than even deeper teams without a star player.

 

[Hinterland]

That might be a key issue though. Sure the team is deeper than last years squad and other teams from the recent past. But having at least one outstanding offensive catalyst is just huge at the WJC. In years past this has been proven time and time again. Wheter it was Niederreiter the Fiala/Meier tandem, Hischier or even Kurashev or Dionicio. Those teams were usually more compeditive than even deeper teams without a star player.

Yeah but 10 players would be eligible to return and 3 of them I didn't even list on my extended roster. I think it's gonna be a better team than the last one but obviously, it's still gonna need Beglieri level goaltending in order to win knockout games at the WJC20. It think Lachat or Neuenschwander playing at a higher level than the U20 elites would be really important. I don't know if I wanna rely on Huet to make the saves though frankly, nobody expected Beglieri to be any good ahead of the last WJC20 either.

 

[Speyer]

Yeah but 10 players would be eligible to return and 3 of them I didn't even list on my extended roster. I think it's gonna be a better team than the last one but obviously, it's still gonna need Beglieri level goaltending in order to win knockout games at the WJC20. It think Lachat or Neuenschwander playing at a higher level than the U20 elites would be really important. I don't know if I wanna rely on Huet to make the saves though frankly, nobody expected Beglieri to be any good ahead of the last WJC20 either.

I am not saying its not a better team on paper. Having the 06 born players a year older is huge even though not all of them have been trending that good lately. I just wanted to point out how much a offensive catalyst like Dionicio can tip the scales particularly in the knockout games vs the top nations. Obviously depth can be leveraged as well though as the 2000 born players with their great dcorps (Moser/Berni/Aebischer) showed a few years back.

As far as goaltending is concerned I am more and more convinced that its a crapshot in those tournamnents. Even a medicore goalie can get very hot for a few games while a very talented one can get derailed if he is shelled likes its WW1. There is just a lot of luck involved with it. But I d rather see one of the 06 guys getting the start over Huet as well.

 

[Kuracmugger]

I am not saying its not a better team on paper. Having the 06 born players a year older is huge even though not all of them have been trending that good lately. I just wanted to point out how much a offensive catalyst like Dionicio can tip the scales particularly in the knockout games vs the top nations. Obviously depth can be leveraged as well though as the 2000 born players with their great dcorps (Moser/Berni/Aebischer) showed a few years back.

As far as goaltending is concerned I am more and more convinced that its a crapshot in those tournamnents. Even a medicore goalie can get very hot for a few games while a very talented one can get derailed if he is shelled likes its WW1. There is just a lot of luck involved with it. But I d rather see one of the 06 guys getting the start over Huet as well.

Agree on the goaltending and with no clear starter for this team if a goalie plays bad he could pretty easily be replaced with a similarly good goalie but realisticaly kirsch is gonna start

 

[Kuracmugger]

Kirsch
Neuenschwander
Huet/Lachat

Muggli-Schneller
Bünzli-Balestra
Ustinkov-Meier
Rhyn-Sansonnenens

Braillard-Gredig-Reber
Wagner-Dorthe-R.Meier
S.Meier-Graf-Kaderli
Antenen-E.Meier-Embacher
Wey
My crack at the line up, as said there is ni clear 1st line for me since the depth is big and there’s no big standout players(except Muggli who‘s a lock for first line). It mostly felt like the usual choosing of the bottom 6 where you have like 10 players of pretty much the same caliber. Idk if these line pairings work but it‘s an attempt

 

[Kuracmugger]

Lots of players trending well, Reber is playing full time in the SHL. Graf,Schneller,Dorthe,Gredig and Rafael Meier are regular NL players(atleast on the match paper every time)
The team should be good and i am a lot more excited with the recent develpoment…

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Is Steiner a lock with how he's started in the Q?

 

[Speyer]

Lots of players trending well, Reber is playing full time in the SHL. Graf,Schneller,Dorthe,Gredig and Rafael Meier are regular NL players(atleast on the match paper every time)
The team should be good and i am a lot more excited with the recent develpoment…

Yes, a lot of the skaters are doing well. Gian Meier also made his SHL debut recently in addition to the guys you mentioned. I am a bit underwhelmed with Ustinkovs progression however. He seems more or less in the same position development wise as last year. I kinda hoped he would be a mainstay in the NL by now. I am a bit disappointed with Crawford in that regard as well. Last year he boasted in some interviews how he thinks that Ustinkov is such an important part of the Lions future. And now he doesnt want to give him any chance on the first team whatsoever.


Goaltenders have not been that encouraging either. Both Kirsch and Lachat had (at least statistically) fairly weak starts in the USHL. Kirsch has been apparently even relegated to a weaker league. Huet isnt exactly blowing of any doors in the WHL either. Will be interesting to see who will get to be the starter. Maybe Neuenschwander would be worth the gamble but i think the coaches will give Huet the nod.

All in all I am expecting a more competitive team compared to the last few years as well, as long as the goaltendending holds up.

Is Steiner a lock with how he's started in the Q?

I dont see how you could leave him at home (or rather in the Q) if you look at the other wingers at our disposal. I am expecting him to be in the top six and on pp1 come december. He seems to have a fairly high standing with the federation as well so I am not expecting an irrational snub either, because some coach or suit doesn't like him.

 

[Eye of Ra]

Sneaky good team

 

[Kuracmugger]

Is Steiner a lock with how he's started in the

I‘d say so, there are not that many dynamic players on our roster

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

Reber and Meier must be locks.

 

[Kuracmugger]

Yes, a lot of the skaters are doing well. Gian Meier also made his SHL debut recently in addition to the guys you mentioned. I am a bit underwhelmed with Ustinkovs progression however. He seems more or less in the same position development wise as last year. I kinda hoped he would be a mainstay in the NL by now. I am a bit disappointed with Crawford in that regard as well. Last year he boasted in some interviews how he thinks that Ustinkov is such an important part of the Lions future. And now he doesnt want to give him any chance on the first team whatsoever.


Goaltenders have not been that encouraging either. Both Kirsch and Lachat had (at least statistically) fairly weak starts in the USHL. Kirsch has been apparently even relegated to a weaker league. Huet isnt exactly blowing of any doors in the WHL either. Will be interesting to see who will get to be the starter. Maybe Neuenschwander would be worth the gamble but i think the coaches will give Huet the nod.

All in all I am expecting a more competitive team compared to the last few years as well, as long as the goaltendending holds up.






I dont see how you could leave him at home (or rather in the Q) if you look at the other wingers at our disposal. I am expecting him to be in the top six and on pp1 come december. He seems to have a fairly high standing with the federation as well so I am not expecting an irrational snub either, because some coach or suit doesn't like him.

I agree, i don‘t know id Ustinkov makes the team at the moment, but he‘s still a regular SL player at the moment so you probably have to take him. Meier should probably be a lock as a right shot. Goalies could be our weak spot as you said… if kirsch bounces back we and lachat steps up i‘ll have them as the tandem but Huet is a valid choice too atm and has experience in this tournament which can be useful. Kaderli also debuted in the SHL and i‘d say hes a lock for the tournament

 

[Hinterland]

Another kid with a very good development curve who wasn't mentioned yet in this thread is Ludvig Johnson. Completely dominating the U20 elite league and played 19mins on Zug's top pairing with Bengtsson tonight. If he can keep this up then he could become an option.

 

[Hinterland]

Good 3rd place for Switzerland at the 5 nation exhibition tournament in Finland. Mainly because of good goaltending but I also liked Ustinkov, Dorthe and Gruber who scored a hattrick vs Slovakia.

Small sample size but both Santo Simmchen and Elijah Neuenschwander were really good. Simmchen was very solid both vs Czechia and Slovakia, Neuenschwander kinda cracked vs Finland after a strong start and gave up a soft goal but bounced back with a SO win vs Sweden when he saved 30 of 31 shots and 3 of 4 Swedish shootout attempts.

I may be totally wrong and I was wrong about Beglieri as well...but because Huet, Lachat and Kirsch are all struggling in NA I wouldn't necessarily trust them for a WJC20 right now. I didn't know too much about Simmchen previously but if that's his level then he should probably be considered for the tournament.

Btw, worst player award goes, as always, to Niklas Blessing.

 

[Kuracmugger]

This is what i‘d go with but there are some options that i don‘t mind if they get swapped out. Should be a better team than last year and the year before. I really like the pro experience this roster has all players from europe play atleast SL, but the SL is not the same anymore. I could see this team struggle to score but the depth is good this year so maybe we get scoring from the whole line up instead of 2-3 top players.

 

[Hinterland]

View attachment 935891
This is what i‘d go with but there are some options that i don‘t mind if they get swapped out. Should be a better team than last year and the year before. I really like the pro experience this roster has all players from europe play atleast SL, but the SL is not the same anymore. I could see this team struggle to score but the depth is good this year so maybe we get scoring from the whole line up instead of 2-3 top players.

No Neuenschwander? No CHL players except for Braillard and Huet? Not even Steiner?

 

[Kuracmugger]

No Neuenschwander? No CHL players except for Braillard and Huet? Not even Steiner?

My bad completely forgot steiner i probably assumed he was already on the roster i‘d definitly take him. Neuenschwander can be swapped for either of the three imo i think 4-5 goalies are more or less on par. Huet plays CHL but other than Steiner and Braillard i wouldn‘t take any CHL player what about you? I‘d switch out Antenen for Steiner we already have enough 2 way players and i‘d cut Lachat for Neuenschwander. Do you agree with the rest?

 

[Hinterland]

My bad completely forgot steiner i probably assumed he was already on the roster i‘d definitly take him. Neuenschwander can be swapped for either of the three imo i think 4-5 goalies are more or less on par. Huet plays CHL but other than Steiner and Braillard i wouldn‘t take any CHL player what about you? I‘d switch out Antenen for Steiner we already have enough 2 way players and i‘d cut Lachat for Neuenschwander. Do you agree with the rest?

I'm not sure if Lachat and Kirsch can be trusted. Their international play has been inconsistent even before they left for NA. They left to play USHL, a league clearly worse than the CHL leagues. They're not playing USHL though but in the lower tier NAHL.

I'd much rather lean on Neuenschwander and Simmchen. They were really good at the five nations recently.

Regarding CHL skaters I think that the CHL leagues are really high level. In a good year like this one it would be tough to justify picking players with smaller roles (Pedrotti, Schenk, Forget) but I think the players with bigger roles (Steiner, Braillard, Körbler, Bosson, Sansonnens) should be picked.

I know that Simon Meier has been really good at the last WJC20 but as I stated many times I'm not a fan of picking players from lower level leagues. Also, his scoring has actually regressed compared to last season which is honestly rather disappointing.

Other than that I think your roster is pretty good. There's certainly gonna be a lot of competition for slots this year. Tough decisions to make for the coaching staff.

 

[Kuracmugger]

I'm not sure if Lachat and Kirsch can be trusted. Their international play has been inconsistent even before they left for NA. They left to play USHL, a league clearly worse than the CHL leagues. They're not playing USHL though but in the lower tier NAHL.

I'd much rather lean on Neuenschwander and Simmchen. They were really good at the five nations recently.

Regarding CHL skaters I think that the CHL leagues are really high level. In a good year like this one it would be tough to justify picking players with smaller roles (Pedrotti, Schenk, Forget) but I think the players with bigger roles (Steiner, Braillard, Körbler, Bosson, Sansonnens) should be picked.

I know that Simon Meier has been really good at the last WJC20 but as I stated many times I'm not a fan of picking players from lower level leagues. Also, his scoring has actually regressed compared to last season which is honestly rather disappointing.

Other than that I think your roster is pretty good. There's certainly gonna be a lot of competition for slots this year. Tough decisions to make for the coaching staff.

I think Huet could be considered as starter since he has experience in this tournament but Neuenschwander is a great option aswell i don‘t know Simmchen so i can‘t judge his performance.
For me those CHL players aren‘t better than any Player on this roster however i do share your opinion on Simon Meier in my opion he should be cut from my roster for Steiner eventough he played last year (which is probably the reason he‘ll play anyway this year).
Every european player on the roster has played atleast 1 game in the NL or SHL which is a good sign.

 

[Hinterland]

Goalies (3):

Elijah Neuenschwander (06)
Santo Simmchen (05)
Mattia Birchler (07)


Defensemen (8):

Leon Muggli (06), Nic Balestra (05)
Ludvig Johnson (06), Eric Schneller (05)
Daniil Ustinkov (06), Gian Meier (06)
Basile Sansonnens (06), Joel Kurt (06)


Forwards (12):

Kimi Körbler (06), Jan Dorthe (05), Andro Kaderli (05)
Rico Gredig (05), Alain Graf (05), David Bosson (06)
Leo Braillard (05), Jamiro Reber (06), Lars Steiner (07)
Robin Antenen (06), Kimo Gruber (05), Nolan Cattin (06)



That's my 23 man roster proposal.
Arguments could be made for all the players listed in this thread though. There's no right or wrong. I just listed the ones I think are trending nicely. When in doubt I went with the younger player because I think it's the responsibility of the SIHF to give younger players a platform to maybe get drafted. Also helps to have returning players for next years WJC20.

When in doubt I also went with the bigger player and I tried to pick the best skaters and grinders. There are so many players to pick from who are all at a very similar level but the team is gonna lack elite talent so I think the plan has to be to outskate and outgrind the opposition with three lines and produce offense from the back end and with the one line of Braillard, Reber and Steiner...three players who actually can make things happen.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

They left to play USHL, a league clearly worse than the CHL leagues.

Why does the USHL pump out more draft picks than the Q, for instance?