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Olympics: Team Switzerland 2022

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iginlafan77 said:
Born in Switzerland, but did he actually play there at all?
Also, he's very likely to make Canada this year
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Well, at the u20-level sure. But I don't think he projects to ever be someone who makes Canada best-on-best but of course it's far too early to tell

This is what I got from EliteProspects but I don't know the situation really:
"Plays with a Swiss Player-licence and doesn't count against the foreign-contingent in Switzerland"

It seems he lived in Zurich til he was 10 and then moved back for one season to play in the swiss league as well
 
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If he has a Swiss licence it probably would mean that he'd be eglible to play. But yeah, don't see him choosing Switzerland over Canada.
 
jonas2244 said:
If he has a Swiss licence it probably would mean that he'd be eglible to play. But yeah, don't see him choosing Switzerland over Canada.
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Not sure if that is enough, I could imagine he needs the actual citizenship. A Swiss hockey licence makes him a non-import player. E.g. he could come over to play in the domestic league and his team could still use up the max amount of imports without him counting against. Nation team is different from what I recollect. But I would love to have him in our team.
 
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Mekkh said:
Well, at the u20-level sure. But I don't think he projects to ever be someone who makes Canada best-on-best but of course it's far too early to tell

This is what I got from EliteProspects but I don't know the situation really:
"Plays with a Swiss Player-licence and doesn't count against the foreign-contingent in Switzerland"

It seems he lived in Zurich til he was 10 and then moved back for one season to play in the swiss league as well
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3rd overall pick, successful at the U18s, likely to be a key member of Canada's U20s.
Obviously it's difficult to make Team Canada for a senior tournament, but he absolutely does have the potential to do it. Certainly could be in the mix for world championships in a few years
 
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Shawn Heins 44 said:
Not sure if that is enough, I could imagine he needs the actual citizenship. A Swiss hockey licence makes him a non-import player. E.g. he could come over to play in the domestic league and his team could still use up the max amount of imports without him counting against. Nation team is different from what I recollect. But I would love to have him in our team.
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Ah yes, you're right. Don't think he'd qualify for a Swiss citizenship currently.
 
The McTavish discussion is strange considering that he has already represented Canada in a sanctioned tournament (last year's U18 WC) so unless he acquires Swiss citizenship and moves to Switzerland for 4 continuous seasons without representing Canada in a sanctioned tournament in the meantime, he won't be eligible to play for Switzerland.
 
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Urbanskog said:
The McTavish discussion is strange considering that he has already represented Canada in a sanctioned tournament (last year's U18 WC) so unless he acquires Swiss citizenship and moves to Switzerland for 4 continuous seasons without representing Canada in a sanctioned tournament in the meantime, he won't be eligible to play for Switzerland.
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Its just wishful thinking , not even by Swiss who are not considering it as a legit option, but by international fans who just want the strongest possible Swiss roster for entertainment reasons. In real life MacTavish doesnt have a Swiss passport, considers himself 100% Canadian and doesnt have any intention to play at the olympics for any other country.
 
How about Redwings prospect goalie Joren van Pottelberghe? The 24-year-old is statistically the best keeper in Switzerland. In 25 games this year he has a .924 save percentage and 2.12 GAA. In 40 games last year he had a .914 sv% and a 2.49 GAA.

Joren van Pottelberghe – Dieser Schweizer Goalie würde gerne in China spielen

The Swiss, who has Belgian parents, is, thanks to his strong performances, also an option for the national team. He took part in the Germany Cup and is certainly a candidate for the Olympic Games in Beijing for national coach Patrick Fischer. Van Pottelberghe says: "That's one of the big goals I'm working towards this season. It's a tournament that doesn't happen every year, so you definitely want to be there. It would be great if I could be a part of it."
 
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cjeagle said:
How about goalie Joren van Pottelberghe? The 24-year-old is statistically the best keeper in Switzerland. In 25 games this year he has a .924 save percentage and 2.12 GAA. In 40 games last year he had a .914 sv% and a 2.49 GAA.

Joren van Pottelberghe – Dieser Schweizer Goalie würde gerne in China spielen

The Swiss, who has Belgian parents, is, thanks to his strong performances, also an option for the national team. He took part in the Germany Cup and is certainly a candidate for the Olympic Games in Beijing for national coach Patrick Fischer. Van Pottelberghe says: "That's one of the big goals I'm working towards this season. It's a tournament that doesn't happen every year, so you definitely want to be there. It would be great if I could be a part of it."
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He should be frontrunner for the third goalie spot. I guess there are some other guys in the running such as Melvin Nyffeler or the rising Akira Schmid but JVP probalby makes the cut. I doubt he will see any action though, unless one of Genoni or Berra really sucks in the first game...
 
So let's throw in some names

Goalies:
Berra/Genoni/JvP

Defense:
Diaz
Alatalo
Untersander
Frick
Müller
Egli
Weber
Loeffel
Geering
Marti

Genazzi does not seem to be in Fischers plans anymore. Rathgeb never showed that he's good at international level. Huguenin has great stats on a weak team. Maybe Kreis? Heldner played WC, Glauser always was getting calls. Schlumpf also played in November. I always liked the smartness of Karrer.

Forwards:
Malgin
Bertschy
Corvi
Andrighetto
Fazzini
Ambühl
Moser
Martschini
Scherwey
Hollenstein
Haas
Thürkauf
Simion
Vermin
Riat
Herzog

The obviuos. Mottet maybe, late comeback from Brunner? Zangger is having a great season, Pestoni is also good, Sandro Schmid could get a spot because he can play wing and center. Center-depth with Malgin, Haas, Corvi and Bertschy isn't that bad. But you probably want Bertschy on the wing.

What do you think?
 
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I agree with you picks for the goalies, and I think that Diaz, Alatalo, Untersander, Müller, Loeffel, Weber and Frick are pretty much locks on defense. Then you mentioned all the names that will come in consideration for the last three spots. I'm not the biggest Heldner fan but I have to admit he did well at the last WC and really improved over the last 2 seasons, Schlumpf can be a decent depth player, I like Karrer too but he's unproven at this level, Geering and Egli are interesting too, but maybe Fischer will want more physical defensemen, and I've never been a big fan of Marti.

At forward I'm not sure. The five games played so far this season weren't great, to say the least. The Hollenstein-Haas-Praplan line could never recreate the magic of 2017, Bertschy-Malgin-Scherwey was a potential Olympic line but didn't exactly impress, and Fazzini and Pestoni's performance at the Deutschland cup showed why they are not built for international hockey.

Corvi, Haas, Malgin and Bertschy should be the four centers. I used to agree with your point about Bertschy being better on the wing, but I have to admit that he did great at center at the last two WCs. I think Moser went from improbable to close to a lock if Niederreiter and Meier are not there, Vermin, Andrighetto, Scherwey and Ambühl will make it for sure, so that's three top 12 spots left. Mottet did well last year, as did Martschini in 2019, and you forgot Rod, who should be back in late January. Hollenstein was intriguing early in the season but he couldn't keep up, and Thürkauf may have a shot at the WC with a good training camp, but I have a hard time seeing him get into the Olympic team without showing what he can do before. Herzog and Simion have a good shot, not sure about Riat.
 
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MB94 said:
is Tobias Stephan no longer an option for SUI?
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He hasn't played for the national team in years and isnt having a very good season this year either. He is also 37 years old. I think there are at least half a dozen goalteners in the NLA who would make the roster before him, maybe even more.
 
Speyer said:
He hasn't played for the national team in years and isnt having a very good season this year either. He is also 37 years old. I think there are at least half a dozen goalteners in the NLA who would make the roster before him, maybe even more.
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tears to my eyes.

never understood how he never was awarded more starts with the national teams with how consistent he was in the NLA as being a top goalie. Pretty much ever since he joined after leaving Dallas up until this season.
 
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It's like 2018. Anything is possible but it's also possible to fail very early. It's up to Fischer to build a team that works.
 
I don't know how optimistic I am after the last two tournaments. I guess a reason to be optimistic is that the last time the exhibition games were so bad was in 2018 and that season ended pretty well.

And even without considering whether we have a better shot at a medal, I'm disappointed we won't get to cheer for Josi, who's already 31, in another olympic tournament because of some greedy businessmen who don't give a crap about hockey. Hopefully Nashville misses the playoffs or gets out quickly.
 
stv11 said:
I don't know how optimistic I am after the last two tournaments. I guess a reason to be optimistic is that the last time the exhibition games were so bad was in 2018 and that season ended pretty well.

And even without considering whether we have a better shot at a medal, I'm disappointed we won't get to cheer for Josi, who's already 31, in another olympic tournament because of some greedy businessmen who don't give a crap about hockey. Hopefully Nashville misses the playoffs or gets out quickly.
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Yeah sucks about Josi who is probably having the second best season of his life right now and will most likely be out of his prime when the next tournament comes around. The best you could hope for is another "World Cup of Hockey" appearance with "Team Europe" wich hopefully wont happen again.

I am not super exited about our team for next year. With Hoffman, Suter and Moser some of our best NLA players have left to NA in the last couple of years. Andrighetto seems to have lost a step, and some of the vets like Diaz are clearly aging. In addition to that, I don't have quite the same confidence in Genoni like I had a few years ago. All in all I don't think this roster is as good as the one in 2018.

I am also not sold on Fischer as a coach. He is a good motivator but has clear weaknesses on the tactical side. Outside the silver run in 2018 he hasn't had much success in the knockout stage of any tournament. I guess we have to wait and see but I am not super optimistic about a medal this time around...
 
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I think most swiss were super exited in 2018 and thought there was a chance to perform well in a tourny without NHL and we all know what happened... my expectation now is pretty low. I don't think that the team in 2018 was notably stronger except the goalies where I agree I don't have a clue which should be the starter. I doubt that we have the needed firepower on international level it's not the pace of the game but the swiss based players cannot cope with having to make decisions faster especially on smaller rinks. With regard to Fischer, i see it similarly to you, the elimination of the two world cups was identical, they started the game well, had everything under control, became passive and let the opponent's game be imposed on them and they were not able to adapt to the new circumstances, which in my opinion is the coach's fault.
 
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