U20: 2025 WJC Switzerland roster talk

[Hinterland]

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

That's debatable. And even if...the Q is still a much better league. Just look at Matvei Gridin. People said he'd destroy the Q but he's struggling despite playing heavy minutes with Elie and Lacerte. He's barely PPG which is underwhelming for a D+1 season of a winger not really known for physicality or an elite two way game.

Anyway, that's a discussion for a different thread. My point was that selecting Lachat and Kirsch would, in my view, be a mistake because they're playing NAHL, not USHL. NAHL is not particularly high level, I guess we can agree on that. I'm also not a fan of selecting players struggling in NA. Hockey in NA is a lot about opportunities as well. You don't get any opportunities to prove yourself while you're away with the national team. Some teammates of those Swiss players might get sick or injured during that period or they get selected for the WJC20 themselves. If the Swiss kids aren't there then somebody else will get the chance to step up.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

That's debatable. And even if...the Q is still a much better league. Just look at Matvei Gridin. People said he'd destroy the Q but he's struggling despite playing heavy minutes with Elie and Lacerte. He's barely PPG which is underwhelming for a D+1 season of a winger not really known for physicality or an elite two way game.

Anyone can cherry pick an example here or there.

This is draft picks per league (and yes, I left out NTDP players).

2024:

OHL: 39
WHL: 34
USHL: 25
QMJHL: 15

2023:

OHL: 35
WHL: 33
USHL: 26
QMJHL: 12

2022:

OHL: 35
WHL: 28
USHL: 23
QMJHL: 19

Seems a pretty consistent 1-4.

 

[Hinterland]

Anyone can cherry pick an example here or there.

This is draft picks per league (and yes, I left out NTDP players).

2024:

OHL: 39
WHL: 34
USHL: 25
QMJHL: 15

2023:

OHL: 35
WHL: 33
USHL: 26
QMJHL: 12

2022:

OHL: 35
WHL: 28
USHL: 23
QMJHL: 19

Seems a pretty consistent 1-4.

Again. It's debatable. The number of picks doesn't equal talent. And even if I would agree with you the Q is still the better league and this discussion remains off topic. My post was about the goalies playing NAHL instead of USHL. Kirsch and Lachat have to return to the USHL and I'm not sure picking them for the WJC20 would help them with that.

 

[Kuracmugger]

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.

Pretty similar roster to mine. Third goalie is pretty unrealistic since they rarely take double underager goalies and idk if Brichler is that good(truly don‘t know since i‘ve never seen him play).
On D i‘d probably swap joel Kurt with a 13th attacker but the rest is identical to my roster except Sansonnenens
I don‘t know i Körbler and Bosson are there yet this year i‘d rather take players with pro experience since they‘re stats don‘t really convince me. Körbler is not a great two way player and the offence is not on that level yet to play first line on this team in my opinion.
Bosson is a power Forward so he could play better down the line up but they‘ll definitely be on the team next year.

 

[Hinterland]

Pretty similar roster to mine. Third goalie is pretty unrealistic since they rarely take double underager goalies and idk if Brichler is that good(truly don‘t know since i‘ve never seen him play).
On D i‘d probably swap joel Kurt with a 13th attacker but the rest is identical to my roster except Sansonnenens
I don‘t know i Körbler and Bosson are there yet this year i‘d rather take players with pro experience since they‘re stats don‘t really convince me. Körbler is not a great two way player and the offence is not on that level yet to play first line on this team in my opinion.
Bosson is a power Forward so he could play better down the line up but they‘ll definitely be on the team next year.

It's Birchler's draft season and he's a legit prospect listed by Central Scouting and many other scouting services. I think as a federation you have to give your top prospects every chance to get drafted. Which is why, in my view, Neuenschwander and Birchler have to be on the roster.

Huet is being outplayed by Kelton Pyne in Regina, Lachat and Kirsch got demoted to the NAHL. You're not gonna help those guys by asking them to play a WJC20. They have to be with their organizations to get promoted and earn more starts. I also doubt Kirsch and Lachat are any better than the goalies I listed. Jovin Trachsel would be an option as well but he's not NHL draft eligible until 2026 so I'd go with Simmchen and the two goalies in need of a platform to get drafted.

Körbler is actually an elite two way forward. Him, Gredig and Dorthe are probably the best ones available for this tournament. Körbler is part of the 67's topline for most of 2024 despite not scoring much because he's so reliable. He's an elite grinder and trusted in all situations. He's the one playing the toughest shifts for the 67's. PK, defensive zone starts vs top lines etc. He's the lone young forward on his team trusted by Dave Cameron in these situations. When he returned from injury during playoffs, Cameron instantly put him back on the topline. He missed most of this season with a concussion but got his top6 slot back in game 2. Cameron is a hard ass and former NHL coach. He wouldn't play Körbler those big and tough minutes if he wasn't reliable.

Bosson wasn't trending very well and I was starting to really worry about him. Once a very promising prospect but really struggling lately so I thought it was an incredibly bold move to head overseas and join a completely overpowered Drummondville team. He's earned a good middle six role with solid ice time though. Good for him. I think that Swiss team could really use him. He's a rather unique type of player and can definitely help the team when he's on top of his game like he is now.

Sansonnens was one of just two Swiss defense prospect to get drafted this year. He's currently on the top pairing of Rimouski Océanic, the 2025 Memorial Cup hosts. He's pretty good and he does add much needed size and grit to the Swiss back end as well.

 

[Namejs]

Anyone can cherry pick an example here or there.

This is draft picks per league (and yes, I left out NTDP players).

2024:

OHL: 39
WHL: 34
USHL: 25
QMJHL: 15

2023:

OHL: 35
WHL: 33
USHL: 26
QMJHL: 12

2022:

OHL: 35
WHL: 28
USHL: 23
QMJHL: 19

Seems a pretty consistent 1-4.

Yup, there's not a single metric by which the Q would be better or even on par with USHL. And note that USHL has fewer teams and fewer players.

In fact, according to NHLe, QMJHL sits right in the middle between USHL and NAHL.

There's been plenty of ppg guys in the Q who barely even make the minor pros over in Europe.

 

[Kuracmugger]

It's Birchler's draft season and he's a legit prospect listed by Central Scouting and many other scouting services. I think as a federation you have to give your top prospects every chance to get drafted. Which is why, in my view, Neuenschwander and Birchler have to be on the roster.

Huet is being outplayed by Kelton Pyne in Regina, Lachat and Kirsch got demoted to the NAHL. You're not gonna help those guys by asking them to play a WJC20. They have to be with their organizations to get promoted and earn more starts. I also doubt Kirsch and Lachat are any better than the goalies I listed. Jovin Trachsel would be an option as well but he's not NHL draft eligible until 2026 so I'd go with Simmchen and the two goalies in need of a platform to get drafted.

Körbler is actually an elite two way forward. Him, Gredig and Dorthe are probably the best ones available for this tournament. Körbler is part of the 67's topline for most of 2024 despite not scoring much because he's so reliable. He's an elite grinder and trusted in all situations. He's the one playing the toughest shifts for the 67's. PK, defensive zone starts vs top lines etc. He's the lone young forward on his team trusted by Dave Cameron in these situations. When he returned from injury during playoffs, Cameron instantly put him back on the topline. He missed most of this season with a concussion but got his top6 slot back in game 2. Cameron is a hard ass and former NHL coach. He wouldn't play Körbler those big and tough minutes if he wasn't reliable.

Bosson wasn't trending very well and I was starting to really worry about him. Once a very promising prospect but really struggling lately so I thought it was an incredibly bold move to head overseas and join a completely overpowered Drummondville team. He's earned a good middle six role with solid ice time though. Good for him. I think that Swiss team could really use him. He's a rather unique type of player and can definitely help the team when he's on top of his game like he is now.

Sansonnens was one of just two Swiss defense prospect to get drafted this year. He's currently on the top pairing of Rimouski Océanic, the 2025 Memorial Cup hosts. He's pretty good and he does add much needed size and grit to the Swiss back end as well.

Körbler played only 7 games so far so i don‘t know if he‘ll earn a spot and for Bosson idk if he‘s there yet but körbler should atleast be invited to camp in my opinion coaches can look from there if he‘s good enough or not. And for the goalies good to see that birchler seems to be a legit prospect but i don‘t see the federation choosing him, he‘s got the u18 worlds anyway where he‘ll be the starter and can show what he‘s capable off on the international stage. I assume Huet will probably still be selected and we‘ll see who‘s the starter.

 

[Statsy]

Sorry to once again take this thread of track, but you guys accidentally stumbled on to a very interesting topic regarding the QMJHL vs the USHL. The one point that I wanted to throw in here is simply that while the Q seems to be trailing the other two CHL leagues in development and overall talent, there’s one big fly in the ointment to that argument… They’ve won four of the last five Memorial Cups. Perhaps they are making better hockey players than the scouts think they do.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Sorry to once again take this thread of track, but you guys accidentally stumbled on to a very interesting topic regarding the QMJHL vs the USHL. The one point that I wanted to throw in here is simply that while the Q seems to be trailing the other two CHL leagues in development and overall talent, there’s one big fly in the ointment to that argument… They’ve won four of the last five Memorial Cups. Perhaps they are making better hockey players than the scouts think they do.

Or their best team is simply better than three other teams. Could be a random small sample or could be that there’s something to roster building philosophies in the CHL leagues that makes that so.

 

[Kuracmugger]

Luckily the swiss roster will contain mostly players who are actice in Europe so they won‘t have to worry about league strength of the NA Junior leagues too much…

 

[Hinterland]

Körbler played only 7 games so far so i don‘t know if he‘ll earn a spot and for Bosson idk if he‘s there yet but körbler should atleast be invited to camp in my opinion coaches can look from there if he‘s good enough or not. And for the goalies good to see that birchler seems to be a legit prospect but i don‘t see the federation choosing him, he‘s got the u18 worlds anyway where he‘ll be the starter and can show what he‘s capable off on the international stage. I assume Huet will probably still be selected and we‘ll see who‘s the starter.

As far as I know, CHL teams don't have to release their players for the WJC20 because their leagues aren't part of the IIHF. Therefore, if a CHL player like Körbler is at camp, he's 99% gonna be on the team. CHL leagues don't pause over chrismas and new year. You don't take Körbler out of his organization and cause him to miss meaningful games just for hil to attend a camp. If the SIHF does that, the 67's are most certainly not gonna make Körbler available for next year's WJC20.

Birchler is highly unlikely to be the starter for the WJC18. If he wants to be the starter he's gonna have to earn it. For group games he's gonna have to share his net with Jovin Trachsel.

Like I said. You can select Lachat, Huet or Kirsch over Birchler but by doing so you wouldn't do them a favor. At this point their focus should be on improving their standing at club level. Given their rather difficult position in their respective organizations I'm also not sure they're necessarily more trustworthy than Birchler. Don't get me wrong. I'm talking about the 3rd string goalie. I'd select Birchler for the experience. Not necessarily to play games. Not that I don't think he could but Simmchen and Neuenschwander should be a step ahead of everybody else.

 

[Hinterland]

Btw, Santo Simmchen played his 2nd NL game yesterday and he was mighty strong. Gave up one very bad goal but was standing on his head the rest of the night, stopping 28 of 31 shots. He gave his team a chance to win. Even though he didn't play a lot, Simmchen has been with the NL team pretty much all season because of the injury to Genoni. That clearly helps. I think he definitely should be on the WJC20 team.

 

[Statsy]

As far as I know, CHL teams don't have to release their players for the WJC20

I think you have it backwards. It's pro teams that can refuse to release players for the WJC. Never heard of a CHL team doing this. And yes, they continue to play league games but they are very used to playing short players... unlike pro teams.

 

[Hinterland]

I think you have it backwards. It's pro teams that can refuse to release players for the WJC. Never heard of a CHL team doing this. And yes, they continue to play league games but they are very used to playing short players... unlike pro teams.

No. IIHF members have to release their players for IIHF competitions. Even for exhibition tournaments during international breaks they have to release them. As far as I know, all European top leagues are run by their respective national association while, correct me if I'm wrong, CHL leagues are independent from Hockey Canada. Therefore, IIHF rules don't apply for CHL teams and I don't think they're obliged to release their players for IIHF competitions. They can do so out of goodwill but their leagues don't pause for IIHF competitions.

If the Huskies say they can't afford to release Lars Steiner for the WJC20 because they need him to help catch Drummondville in the standings I don't think the SIHF or IIHF could do anything about it. It would most certainly impact the Huskies ability to land such high end imports going forward but I don't think they're obliged to release him.