U20: 2025 WJC Switzerland roster talk

[Hinterland]

...I'm not sure if he even has a Swiss passport though. Or did you mean playing for Sweden?

 

[Kuracmugger]

I don‘t think so but he‘s been in switzerland long enough to aply for sure, it could be possible. But probably next year at best.

 

[Mild Italian]

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.

CHL teams have to release players for IIHF tournaments… but not for 4 Nations in lets say Leksand

 

[Hinterland]

CHL teams have to release players for IIHF tournaments… but not for 4 Nations in lets say Leksand

Why? Why would they be obliged to release? CHL isn't run by Hockey Canada. Also, players don't always get released, especially for the WJC18.

 

[erikhamren]

dark horses for medal?

 

[Hinterland]

dark horses for medal?

It's a very good team for Swiss standards but it's lacking elite talent. Coaching is gonna be questionable as well. Will be tough to get a medal.

 

[Kuracmugger]

My final crack at the line up. Roster should be out in a few days. Actual line combinations that i‘d run

 

[PanniniClaus]

View attachment 939268
My final crack at the line up. Roster should be out in a few days. Actual line combinations that i‘d run

I like the D... If a goaltender steps up, they could get a few decent results.

 

[Eye of Ra]

Whats the story with Ludvig Johnson. He has a swedish flag on Elite prospects. Is his mother Swedish or something?

 

[Hinterland]

Whats the story with Ludvig Johnson. He has a swedish flag on Elite prospects. Is his mother Swedish or something?

His parents are Swedish. He's very much Swedish. Not sure why Ludvig has a Swiss passport. Born in Switzerland maybe.
Btw. Him and Lucas Hedlund are most certainly gonna be teammates next season. Johnson is already confirmed to play for Fribourg next season, Hedlund isn't official yet but I expect that news to drop soon. They both wanna play for Roger Rönnberg who's a pretty big name for those guys.

 

[Eye of Ra]

His parents are Swedish. He's very much Swedish. Not sure why Ludvig has a Swiss passport. Born in Switzerland maybe.
Btw. Him and Lucas Hedlund are most certainly gonna be teammates next season. Johnson is already confirmed to play for Fribourg next season, Hedlund isn't official yet but I expect that news to drop soon. They both wanna play for Roger Rönnberg who's a pretty big name for those guys.

Please take Marcus Sörensen from us.

 

[Kuracmugger]

Whats the story with Ludvig Johnson. He has a swedish flag on Elite prospects. Is his mother Swedish or something?

Maybe even both parents but he lived in switzerland his entire life so that‘s why he plays for switzerland

 

[Eye of Ra]

Maybe even both parents but he lived in switzerland his entire life so that‘s why he plays for switzerland

The Albelin effect

 

[Hinterland]

Slightly off topic but the Stefan Schärer departure of this week just proves that we were bang on re the SIHF. It's just more of the same. A real, complete house cleaning is needed or things will never change if not even a president from the outside was able to solve this organization.

 

[Kuracmugger]

Camp Roster

 

[Kuracmugger]

View attachment 939268
My final crack at the line up. Roster should be out in a few days. Actual line combinations that i‘d run

If they make the right cuts this prediction could be exactly spot on. But they will probably keep simon meier because he‘s a returnee so this will probably mess up my prediction. Maybe Jenni was reading this board

 

[Hinterland]

If they make the right cuts this prediction could be exactly spot on. But they will probably keep simon meier because he‘s a returnee so this will probably mess up my prediction. Maybe Jenni was reading this board

My guess is:


Neuenschwander
Huet
Kirsch

Johnson, Schneller
Muggli, Balestra
Sansonnens, Meier
Ustinkov

Gredig, Dorthe, Kaderli
R.Meier, Gruber, E.Meier
Braillard, Reber, Steiner
Wagner, Graf, Embacher
S.Meier

Cut: Rhyn, Häfliger, Bünzli, Antenen, Wey

I think that on defense, Ustinkov, Johnson, Rhyn, Häfliger and Bünzli are competing for probably just two spots. I hope they keep the skilled 06 born guys.

Upfront I think Embacher, Wey and Antenen are competing for a slot. I'd keep Antenen personally but my guess is that they're gonna keep Embacher because of his extensive experience in pro hockey.

 

[Kuracmugger]

My guess is:


Neuenschwander
Huet
Kirsch

Johnson, Schneller
Muggli, Balestra
Sansonnens, Meier
Ustinkov

Gredig, Dorthe, Kaderli
R.Meier, Gruber, E.Meier
Braillard, Reber, Steiner
Wagner, Graf, Embacher
S.Meier

Cut: Rhyn, Häfliger, Bünzli, Antenen, Wey

I think that on defense, Ustinkov, Johnson, Rhyn, Häfliger and Bünzli are competing for probably just two spots. I hope they keep the skilled 06 born guys.

Upfront I think Embacher, Wey and Antenen are competing for a slot. I'd keep Antenen personally but my guess is that they're gonna keep Embacher because of his extensive experience in pro hockey.

I don‘t think Bünzli gets cut, i would not cut him too if i were the coach. I agree with you on the rest but i would cut simon Meier.

 

[jonas2244]

Crazy how radically Ustinkov dropped from potential first rounder to on the edge of making the roster of the Swiss WJC-team.

 

[Hinterland]

Crazy how radically Ustinkov dropped from potential first rounder to on the edge of making the roster of the Swiss WJC-team.

It's my assumption he did...I'm not sure if it's actually the case. And he did perform very well in international games this season. The thing is that the competition is just very strong. Lots of 05 defensemen who probably weren't as highly regarded a couple of years ago are trending nicely. Then there's also the emergence of Ludvig Johnson who flat out outplayed Leon Muggli in Zug. He's sometimes even getting more ice time despite him leaving for Fribourg next season. I don't think Muggli is trending any better than Ustinkov. His performances in international games have been mostly underwhelming. His standing is the only reason why I think he's still a lock to make the roster. If we're being honest, Johnson isn't the only 06 born defenseman to kinda catch him. The same goes for Gian Meier and Basile Sansonnens. Meier was Switzerland's best player at the WJC18 and went on to crack Frölunda. Sansonnens got drafted and is still holding down his spot on the top pairing of the Memorial Cup hosts.

 

[Pieck]

Balanced team with lots of pro players, but who will be that guy, the guy who makes the PP a threat, the guy who gets you goals when you need them most? Doesn't have to be a Niederreiter/Hischier/Kurashev type guy either, we've seen guys like Biasca and Dionicio have that impact too. Could it be a returnee like Braillard, Reber, Gredig, Muggli? Or the 17 year old Steiner?

 

[Kuracmugger]

Balanced team with lots of pro players, but who will be that guy, the guy who makes the PP a threat, the guy who gets you goals when you need them most? Doesn't have to be a Niederreiter/Hischier/Kurashev type guy either, we've seen guys like Biasca and Dionicio have that impact too. Could it be a returnee like Braillard, Reber, Gredig, Muggli? Or the 17 year old Steiner

It‘ll probably be a combination of those players maybe Steiner will be this good but his linemates won‘t be as good as they are in rouyn

 

[Hinterland]

It‘ll probably be a combination of those players maybe Steiner will be this good but his linemates won‘t be as good as they are in rouyn

I'm not so sure about that. Braillard, Reber and Steiner are all highly skilled PP specialists. Steiner is a huge shooting threat, Braillard and Reber are very good at making plays with man advantage. I don't think Reber and Braillard are any worse than Zonnon/Verreault. Question is who's gonna quarterback the PP. That Swiss team doesn't have a high scoring dynamic puck hog and sharp shooter like Ty Higgins on defense. Guys like Johnson, Ustinkov, Schneller or G.Meier are certainly capable of running a PP though.

 

[Kuracmugger]

I'm not so sure about that. Braillard, Reber and Steiner are all highly skilled PP specialists. Steiner is a huge shooting threat, Braillard and Reber are very good at making plays with man advantage. I don't think Reber and Braillard are any worse than Zonnon/Verreault. Question is who's gonna quarterback the PP. That Swiss team doesn't have a high scoring dynamic puck hog and sharp shooter like Ty Higgins on defense. Guys like Johnson, Ustinkov, Schneller or G.Meier are certainly capable of running a PP though.

Yeah they‘re good but i see Zonnon and Verreault as a bit better. We‘ll see who Steiner will be playing with probably the one‘s you named but that would be a pretty small and non physical line for the small ice. I‘d put Johnson as the PP1 Point and Schneller 2. Ustinkov hasn‘t impressed me in this position last year at the u18‘s.

 

[jonas2244]

According to blick.ch 2009-born Jonah Neuenschwander is also in Canada fighting for a roster-spot altough not being on the official roster-list.. He played 5 games with the NL-team of Biel (1 A) and is 1 PPG in the U-20 league at the age of 15.