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WC: General Talk '14 — Switzerland

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The Heat are down 2-0 in their series, one more loss and they are eliminated. Baertschi could be available if he gets an invite.
 
jonas2244 said:
http://swisshockeynews.ch/index.php...chsler-missing-half-of-the-silver-boys-absent

No Blindenbacher, no Trachsler. Especially Blindenbacher is a huge blow.

Seger, :eek::eek::eek::eek:i, Schäppi, Bodenmann, Blum and Stancescu will join from the finalists. No Geering?
Click to expand...

Apparantly Geering and P.Bärtschi didn´t get an invitation. At least in Geerings case this is very surprising. Maybe also an injury but nobody deemed it worth mentioning.

Also very surprising is the fact that the Rumors about Bodenmanns injury seem to have been false altogether. Although it is very probable that he´ll make the team, I don´t really want him there. He played terrible in the finals.
 
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And Seger is just great, he's such a great guy. I mean he's 36, has won everything a Swiss hockey player can ever win, he has a family, I'm sure he is tired after this season in which he played the Olympics and the full playoffs but he's still there. We'll miss him very much when he retires.
 
I wonder who will play center now that Trachsler is out. I guess it's a big boost to Froidevaux's chances, or maybe Monnet but I don't see him on the 4th line. That's the kind of player that reminds me of the 2012 team.

The only things that keeps me optimistic is that the mood was pretty much the same one year ago.
 
All teams are in the same troubles. That what keeps me optimistic too.

Every olympic year, it is the same story!
 
stv11 said:
I wonder who will play center now that Trachsler is out. I guess it's a big boost to Froidevaux's chances, or maybe Monnet but I don't see him on the 4th line. That's the kind of player that reminds me of the 2012 team.

The only things that keeps me optimistic is that the mood was pretty much the same one year ago.
Click to expand...

:eek::eek::eek::eek:i, Romy and Ambühl are set. 4th should go to either Froidveaux or Schäppi. Froidveaux has a slight edge because he´s been with the team longer than Schäppi.

Monnet is a very versatile player and I could see him becoming the 13th forward on the team.
 
2-1 loss in today's game. Czech added Cervenka while Switzerland scratched Josi and Brunner, probably enough to give both teams a different face compared to Friday.

According to the play by play on hokej.cz, the Czech Republic was better in the first period while the second was more balanced. Then Switzerland put pressure early in the third but then the Czech controled the game. Switzerland failed to convert a 1'54'' five on three.

Now let's wait for the next cuts. I guess Huguenin and Kparghai are the most likely defensemen to go home, while I can see Plüss, Neuenschwander and Simek be replaced at forward.
 
18 players who were at Sochi or wm 2013 won't be part of the team. We ll really see how depth this team is.
 
swisdan said:
All teams are in the same troubles. That what keeps me optimistic too.

Every olympic year, it is the same story!
Click to expand...


Last time their were the olympic games, we could have been WC !!

Ending up first of the group ... beating Canada. All games won. and then ... :
loosing in QF vs Germany 0-1 ... with a differential of 20 shots on goal in our favour. (and Helbling fighting the German bench)

Germans lost to a weak Russian team in SF who lost in Final against a non convincing Czech republic.

That year could have been our year.

This year will be our year. !!
 
jonas2244 said:
And Seger is just great, he's such a great guy. I mean he's 36, has won everything a Swiss hockey player can ever win, he has a family, I'm sure he is tired after this season in which he played the Olympics and the full playoffs but he's still there. We'll miss him very much when he retires.
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Indeed. I despise the ZSC but Seger is just a great hockey player. Respect for the guys who still want to fight at the WC in an olympic year. Not so much for the ones who hide behind injuries (altough it's somewhat understandable).

I like the invitation for Fiala, but from the playoffs to the international stage it's another step - let's see what he can do. And not sure if I'm rooting for Ninos Minnesota or not...
 
torero said:
Last time their were the olympic games, we could have been WC !!

Ending up first of the group ... beating Canada. All games won. and then ... :
loosing in QF vs Germany 0-1 ... with a differential of 20 shots on goal in our favour. (and Helbling fighting the German bench)

Germans lost to a weak Russian team in SF who lost in Final against a non convincing Czech republic.

That year could have been our year.

This year will be our year. !!
Click to expand...

It's true that the 2010 team wasn't that impressive when you look at it (I remember being very pessimistic before the tournament). The two offensive lines where Brunner-Ambühl-Monnet (played amazingly well, but this year's Brunner-Romy-Hollenstein line can be even better) and Déruns-Plüss-Rüthemann (started with Lemm, but after a few games it appears it lacked physical play. Déruns had great offensive numbers that year, it's unclear so far if we'll have a better 2nd line next month). Then the depth at forward went quickly down, with Lemm-Romy-Savary (Lemm was out of place after his demotion, Romy was a purely defensive player at the time, and Savary was a "best of the rest" kind of player, a bit like Rüfenacht right now. Safe to say that a line based on Suri and Ambühl is better, at least on paper) and Jenni-Trachsler-Duca (Trachsler at the time had no international experience, Jenni made a comeback after playing for the last time in 2006, and Duca was a solid NLA players but a bit limited at this level, like Stancescu now. Not more impressive than any fourth line combination we have now).

The defense was led by Seger and Vauclair, followed by a 19 years old Josi, a very good at the time Hirschi and an ok but nothing special Du Bois. Then there were Bezina and Helbling. Only time will tell if players like Kukan or Schlumpf are up to the task, but it's safe to say that with a top notch Josi and two other NHL defensemen, the top 4 already looks better. Goalies, on the other hand, were better in 2010 with Stephan and Gerber.

In the end, this team was very inconsistent, started the tournament with four impressive wins before dropping three in a row (everyone remember the loss against Germany, but the 3-2 against Norway and the 5-0 against Sweden weren't impressive either, to say the least).

Assuming that this year's team will look like this:

Hollenstein - Romy - Brunner
? - :eek::eek::eek::eek:i - ?
Suri - Ambühl - ?
? - ? - ?

I already like the first and third line better than in 2010, as mentionned above. The 2nd line, however, doesn't look that great right now. With Monnet, Bodenmann, B. Plüss, Pestoni, Fiala and maybe Rüfenacht as potential offensive players, it would fail short of Rüthemann, M. Plüss and the 2010 version of Déruns. Niederreiter, Moser or maybe Bärtschi are needed here. Any combination of Stancescu, Froidevaux, Schäppi and Rüfenacht will make a decent enough fourth line, although definitely disappointing compared to what it could have been with Bieber, Trachsler and Walker.

In my opinion, the key to this team's success will be the offensive production of the 2nd line. So far in the Simpson era, having two lines able to score has always been the main factor in qualifying for the quarterfinals: in 2010, Brunner-Ambühl-Monnet and Déruns-Plüss-Rüthemann could find the net, in 2011, Gardner-Plüss-Rüthemann did but Sprunger-Monnet-Ambühl didn't, and in 2012 Brunner-Romy-Moser did but Wick-Ambühl-Niederreiter didn't. Of course, last year all four lines scored regularly.
 
Update:

Roster Prodictions:

Green: Players that possibly could join the team
Red: Players that are on the team right now but probably have to make place for the Green or who likely won´t survive the final cut
Black: Players that are on the team right now and are likely to remain


Goalies (3):
Berra Reto (Colorado Avalanche)
Genoni Leonardo (HC Davos)
Manzato Daniel (HC Lugano)
Mayer Robert (Hamilton Bulldogs / AHL)

Defensemen (9):
Blum Erik (Kloten Flyers)
Grossmann Robin (HC Davos)
Huguenin Anthony (HC Fribourg Gottéron)
Josi Roman (Nashville Predators/NHL)
Kamerzin Jérémie (HC Fribourg-Gottéron)
Kukan Dean (Lulea HF/SWE)
Ramholt Tim (EV Zug)
Schlumpf Dominik (HC Lugano)
Seger Matthias (ZSC Lions)
Weber Yannick(Vancouver Canucks)
Streit Mark (Philadelphia Flyers) or Diaz Raphael (New York Rangers

Forwards (13):
Ambühl Andres (HC Davos)
Bärtschi Sven (Calgary Flames)
Bodenmann Simon(Kloten Flyers)
Brunner Damien (New Jersey Devils/NHL)
:eek::eek::eek::eek:i Luca(ZSC Lions)
Froidevaux Etienne(Lausanne HC) -> Toss up between him and Schäppi
Fiala Kevin (HV 71)
Hollenstein Denis (Genève-Servette HC)
Monnet Thibaut (HC Fribourg-Gottéron)
Niederreiter Nino (Minnesota Wild)
Moser Simon (Nashville Predators)
Pestoni Inti (HC Ambrì Piotta)
Plüss Benjamin (HC Fribourg-Gottéron)
Romy Kevin (Genève-Servette HC)
Rüfenacht Thomas (HC Lugano)
Schäppi Reto (ZSC Lions)
Suri Reto (EV Zug)
Stancescu Victor (Kloten Flyers)

One of the D-men Marks Streit (Philadelphia Flyers) or Raphael Diaz (New York Rangers) likely will join the team after Round 1 of the NHL-playoffs
Either F Nino Niederreiter (Minnesota Wild) or G Reto Berra (Colorado Avalanche) likely will join the team after Round 1 of the NHL-playoffs
F Sven Andrighetto could possibly join the team if granted leave by the Montreal Canadians. Yet it remains doubtful that Swiss Hockey will inquire about him

stv11 said:
Assuming that this year's team will look like this:

Hollenstein - Romy - Brunner
? - :eek::eek::eek::eek:i - ?
Suri - Ambühl - ?
? - ? - ?
Click to expand...

Berra (Hopefully) ->Starter
Mayer/Genoni -> Back-up or 1A/1B if Berra isn´t available


Josi - Blum
Seger - Streit/Diaz
Grossmann - Weber
Kukan - Schlumpf
Ramholt

Hollenstein - Romy - Brunner
Bärtschi(/Plüss/Fiala) - :eek::eek::eek::eek:i - Niederreiter(/Plüss/Fiala)
Suri - Ambühl - Pestoni
Bodenmann - Froidveaux/Schäppi - Moser/Stancescu
Fiala

I possibly like this line-up even more than our Olympic roster. A young team with a very great potential and all of them eager to show themselves. In Seger, Ambühl and possibly Streit we do have veterans who can all lead a team. If Berra is available we do have a goalie who is well rested and in need to prove himself. If not, Genoni is an experienced Goalie and Mayer could turn out to be the big Surprise. With Josi we do have last years MVP who had an outstanding season in the NHL. And Bärtschi, Niederreiter and Brunner all have the talent to excel on international ice. :eek::eek::eek::eek:i, Hollenstein and Kukan all had an amazing season and there is no reason why it shouldn´t continue.
 
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Richi said:
Hollenstein - Romy - Brunner
Bärtschi - :eek::eek::eek::eek:i - Niederreiter
Suri - Ambühl - Pestoni
Bodenmann - Froidveaux/Schäppi - Moser
Fiala
Click to expand...

If Bodenmann makes the team, you can bet he'll play with :eek::eek::eek::eek:i, and Moser, despite having the skillset to play a fourth line role, is just too good to be put there. Both him and Niederreiter will be top 9 wingers if available. About Pestoni, last week I thought he would be kept with Ambühl and Suri, but as Simpson split then up during the last two games, I'm not so sure anymore. Maybe Moser will play on the third line and Niederreiter and Bodenmann will play with :eek::eek::eek::eek:i? Or the 2nd line could be Niederreiter-:eek::eek::eek::eek:i-Moser? I could also see Rüfenacht be used to bring physical play on an offensive line in case neither Niederreiter nor Moser make it. Then there's Bärtschi, who is tough to fit on the team. I guess he could play with Suri and Ambühl, but is he really an improvment over Pestoni? Fiala, I assume, won't make the team and is just here to get experience.

For the fourth line, with the player material available, I'd go with Rüfenacht-Schäppi-Stancescu. Not great, but it's the best we can get with the available players, and there's no known chemistry to be used.
 
Is it a wise decision to make a Berra who's sitting around the starter without discussion? I'd say let's play Genoni or Mayer until they screw up.
 
stv11 said:
If Bodenmann makes the team, you can bet he'll play with :eek::eek::eek::eek:i, and Moser, despite having the skillset to play a fourth line role, is just too good to be put there. Both him and Niederreiter will be top 9 wingers if available. About Pestoni, last week I thought he would be kept with Ambühl and Suri, but as Simpson split then up during the last two games, I'm not so sure anymore. Maybe Moser will play on the third line and Niederreiter and Bodenmann will play with :eek::eek::eek::eek:i? Or the 2nd line could be Niederreiter-:eek::eek::eek::eek:i-Moser? I could also see Rüfenacht be used to bring physical play on an offensive line in case neither Niederreiter nor Moser make it. Then there's Bärtschi, who is tough to fit on the team. I guess he could play with Suri and Ambühl, but is he really an improvment over Pestoni? Fiala, I assume, won't make the team and is just here to get experience.

For the fourth line, with the player material available, I'd go with Rüfenacht-Schäppi-Stancescu. Not great, but it's the best we can get with the available players, and there's no known chemistry to be used.
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While all of this is based on asumptions, I think your arguments make lots of sense. My line-up was based on some thoughts about the roster. First of all, your right, Bärtschi is really hard to fit anywhere in this line-up because we don´t know with whom he might develop some chemistry. :eek::eek::eek::eek:i might be the best fit for him because he might be the only center we have who has the hockey sense to play alongside Bärtschi. Niederreiter would complement this line perfectly as a guy who is strong in the corners and has the ability to finish.
One could also make an argument for a Bodenmann - :eek::eek::eek::eek:i - Hollenstein line which has excelled at some times in the past. This would mean that either Niederreiter or Moser would be moved up to the first line with Romy and Brunner.
The reason I´ve put Pestoni on the third and Moser on the fourth is that Moser´s abilities to shut down the offensive lines of opponents is well known. With Bodenmann I don´t really know whether he can play RW. In this case he could also become a candidate for the RW spot on Ambühls line.
As it is now I expect Rüfenacht/Pestoni/Plüss/Fiala/Stancescu to fight for the third and fourth line RW job, assuming of course Bärtschi/Moser/Niederreiter can make it. Rüfenacht, Plüss and Stancescu add grid to the fourth line while Fiala, whome I truly expect on the roster, and Pestoni could add an creative element.
 
chokei said:
Is it a wise decision to make a Berra who's sitting around the starter without discussion? I'd say let's play Genoni or Mayer until they screw up.
Click to expand...

1. Berra is right now training with the Avalanche, him being scratched should not affect his play and just makes him more eager to prove himself
2. Berra played outstanding during the Olympics
3. Berra played outstanding during the last WC
4. Berra has NHL-caliber talent, Genoni does not and with Mayer it´s at least questionable
5. Genoni and Mayer would not even be in the discussion if it wasn´t for the absence of Gerber, Hiller, Flüeler, Stephan and of course Berra

Looking at these (in my opinion) facts, Berra is the starter, no question!
 
Richi said:
While all of this is based on asumptions, I think your arguments make lots of sense. My line-up was based on some thoughts about the roster. First of all, your right, Bärtschi is really hard to fit anywhere in this line-up because we don´t know with whom he might develop some chemistry. :eek::eek::eek::eek:i might be the best fit for him because he might be the only center we have who has the hockey sense to play alongside Bärtschi. Niederreiter would complement this line perfectly as a guy who is strong in the corners and has the ability to finish.
Click to expand...

I didn't think about this option, but Bärtschi - :eek::eek::eek::eek:i - Niederreiter could indeed be a good combination.

Richi said:
One could also make an argument for a Bodenmann - :eek::eek::eek::eek:i - Hollenstein line which has excelled at some times in the past. This would mean that either Niederreiter or Moser would be moved up to the first line with Romy and Brunner.
Click to expand...

Brunner, Romy and Moser where great together in 2012, and obviously Bodenmann-:eek::eek::eek::eek:i-Hollenstein worked well last year, but Simpson seems set on using the Romy-Hollenstein combination. Not a bad idea given that they played together the whole season. And if you go with that top 6, what to do with Niederreiter?

Richi said:
The reason I´ve put Pestoni on the third and Moser on the fourth is that Moser´s abilities to shut down the offensive lines of opponents is well known. With Bodenmann I don´t really know whether he can play RW. In this case he could also become a candidate for the RW spot on Ambühls line.
Click to expand...

This is true about Moser, but as I said in my last post, it would be a waste to have him in a checking role. Regarding the third line, Simpson experimented a bit in the games agains the Czech Republic, that's why I'm not so sure about putting Pestoni there anymore, but I don't think Bodenmann would be an option. Pestoni and Bodenmann are both players who are at their best when trying to find a good scoring position, so if you have to choose between the two, it makes sense to take the one who's been with the team for three weeks and played with Suri and Ambühl. Maybe Suri-Ambühl-Moser is the right combination?

Richi said:
As it is now I expect Rüfenacht/Pestoni/Plüss/Fiala/Stancescu to fight for the third and fourth line RW job, assuming of course Bärtschi/Moser/Niederreiter can make it. Rüfenacht, Plüss and Stancescu add grid to the fourth line while Fiala, whome I truly expect on the roster, and Pestoni could add an creative element.
Click to expand...

I don't think creativity is a factor for picking the fourth line. Even the highly successful fourth line we had last year scored mostly by creating turnovers or crashing the net. With the depth being lower this year, toughness, positionning and forechecking skills should be a priority.
 
Richi said:
1. Berra is right now training with the Avalanche, him being scratched should not affect his play and just makes him more eager to prove himself
2. Berra played outstanding during the Olympics
3. Berra played outstanding during the last WC
4. Berra has NHL-caliber talent, Genoni does not and with Mayer it´s at least questionable
5. Genoni and Mayer would not even be in the discussion if it wasn´t for the absence of Gerber, Hiller, Flüeler, Stephan and of course Berra

Looking at these (in my opinion) facts, Berra is the starter, no question!
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100%, Berra has proven his worth, and while Genoni is a solid goalie and probably the current start, it's safe to say he's behind Berra. Mayer, while a bit of an unknown, is an AHL backup and we can't even be sure he's ahead of Manzato.
 
I'm not doubting Berras talent. The "but he hasn't started in ages!" argument doesn't apply on the international stage then it seems.;)

Besides, IMO Gerber played very well with Kloten this season, but was outplayed by Flüeler in the final, Stephan also played very well with Geneva and had a great Spengler Cup, and Hiller and Berra are simply better than Gerber at this point in their careers.
 
If the goalies situation stays as it is now, I can trust Genoni but not really Mayer or Manzato. If I would have the choice, Genoni would play 75% of all games and the rest for Mayer. Manzato would be the third.
 
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