WJC: 2022 Switzerland roster talk
- Thread starter Eye of Ra
- Start date
Not a bad attempt at a possible roster. There are major questionmarks behind Rochette's participation however. As of right now, its not clear if he wants to play for Switzerland again and if the federation even wants him back. He would be a welcome addition from a roster quality perspective though. Then I am not the biggest fan of Derungs, Fust and Bottini. Joel Henry is playing a terrific season with the GCK Lions right now. He is a slightly undersized quick skating forward with good offensive instincts and a good compete level on top of that. He should definitely be on the roster for one of the three afromentioned players. It might also be worth looking into some other 03 born players like Joel Marchon or Livio Truog for potential roster spots.
Overall I think this team is somewhat better than last years version. It certainly helps that the (even for recent Swiss standarts) weak 2001 birth year has aged out. Especailly the D corps with Meier, Zanetti, Sidler, Bichsel etc. looks quite promising. With Slovakia having a golden generation of prospects and Germany still being on the tail end of their own, its not going to be an easty torunament for us once again.
Coachingwise Bayer hasn't impressed whatsoever in 2020 neither from a system/tactics perspective, nor with his communication skills. So we will just have to hope for the best in that regard. In my opinion they should promote u17 coach Patrick Schöb to the position, at least he and his assistans know how to run special teams. Hopefully Fischer will at least abstain from interfering with the head coach this year, as he spectacularly failed to steer the ship in the right direction last year after the initial loss against the Slovaks.
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Stewie Griffin
What the deuce
Will not be a good tournament for the Swiss. Will most likely be in the relegation match against Austria.
The top end talent isn't there like they've had in previous years, but it is a fairly experienced team. Could have up to 11 players returning from last year.
Also interesting to note that Theo Rochette is not there
SergeConstantin74
Always right.
- Jul 7, 2007
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He said no last year because he thought it was complicated with the quanrantines and he would have missed a lot of games with Quebec. Did he say no again or they just didn't invite him?
Eye of Ra
Grandmaster General of the International boards
I would actually have Austria as the favorite in that game. Austria has a deadly first line with Kasper, Wallner and Peeters.
Antiillafire
Registered User
I’m not sure. Swiss have much better depth and defense. I also think Knak will have a big tournament. Kasper is the best player from both teams but I’d say 6-7/10 of the best players combined from both teams would be Swiss. Knak and Canonica are better than any Austrian player not named Kasper
According to Swiss media the federation decided to not invite him. They felt like a lot of players went out of their way despite of the complicated situation to attend the world juniors in 2020. So they thought that Rochette wasnt commited enough last year and therefore didnt deserve the invite this year. Sort of blows from a competitive perspective though as we could have used every bit of talent on that roster. I also dont really get the line of argument from the federation since last season was an incredibly unusual situation and its understandable if a player wants to play it safe and prioritize his career.
filip85
Registered User
- Feb 7, 2017
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Isn't Rochette declined in pre-COVID era for one U20 or U18 tournament (can't recall correctly) because he opted for Canada, but either wasn't invited in their camp or was one of the last cuts ?!
No its true he declined the swiss nomination for an Ivan Hlinka U18 tournament to play for Canada in the same tournament. But apparently the Ivan Hlinka memorial didnt lock him in permanently for Canada.
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Ivan Hlinka is no IIHF-tournament so it has no influence on eglibility. Rochette could play for either Switzerland or Canada with immediate effect, he is eglible for both nations and has not played and official IIHF-tournamet which would bind him to one nation.
Pavel Buchnevich
Drury and Laviolette Must Go
Lack of an all around game would be my guess. He has undeniable skills in some areas but is a liablity in others. Especially his tendancy to take penaltys has cost the national teams he was on in the past. I would still have taken him over some of the other forwards on the roster any day of the week though. I have no idea how USHL superstar Ray Fust made the roster for example. Other than phisicality he brings nothing to the table.
Greuter will probably be a project for the coming years. Most likely he wont be getting drafted since no team even wanted to throw a pick at him in the CHL import draft. But I do think that if he can figure out the mental maturity he still seems to lack and improve his skating he could turn into a nice late bloomer story like Janis Moser. If he will be ever good enough to get a real shot at the NHL we will have to wait and see. I sort of doubt it at this point but you never know.
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- Sep 29, 2016
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Besides Bichsel, coaching will be most interesting to watch this year. Coaching was what cost us last year and the team would have been capable of more if it had some sort of strategy or discipline and if the coaches had leaned towards the right players. Obviously, Bayer was just a dummy HC last year but with Wichser replacing Fischer it could be different. Of course, the Swedish moron is still behind the bench but I don't think Wichser is necessary part of that rotten clan so we might find out whether Bayer is actually capable of properly coaching a team or not.
The team itself isn't bad. I'd like more righty defenders and a bit more scoring upfront but it is what it is. The team is very deep and experienced, Patenaude should normally provide solid goaltending. Some inexperienced defenders are on the team but Meier, Sidler and Chanton played very well in last years tournament already. Delémont hasn't but he's an NL pro now so I'd say it's fair to expect more. They're joined by three promising youngsters from overseas and sensation Lian Bichsel so I'm pretty happy with the defense. Many returning players upfront as well and big things can be expected from Hofer, Knak, Allenspach and Biasca. Canonica has always sucked ass with junior national teams lately so my expectations for him are trending towards zero. Though they're also returning players, I wouldn't expect much from Derungs or Fust either but though he's a 02 born, new big kid Cavalleri could be a player to watch. Some of the younger new guys like Robin, Henry or Garessus are interesting as well based on their experience or stats in pro leagues. I like also like that they added some older righty forwards with pro experience like Graf or Fahrni to the team. The other two guys I'd add to the Derungs, Fust and Canonica category. If they're anything more than complementary players, I'm excited.
The team itself isn't bad. I'd like more righty defenders and a bit more scoring upfront but it is what it is. The team is very deep and experienced, Patenaude should normally provide solid goaltending. Some inexperienced defenders are on the team but Meier, Sidler and Chanton played very well in last years tournament already. Delémont hasn't but he's an NL pro now so I'd say it's fair to expect more. They're joined by three promising youngsters from overseas and sensation Lian Bichsel so I'm pretty happy with the defense. Many returning players upfront as well and big things can be expected from Hofer, Knak, Allenspach and Biasca. Canonica has always sucked ass with junior national teams lately so my expectations for him are trending towards zero. Though they're also returning players, I wouldn't expect much from Derungs or Fust either but though he's a 02 born, new big kid Cavalleri could be a player to watch. Some of the younger new guys like Robin, Henry or Garessus are interesting as well based on their experience or stats in pro leagues. I like also like that they added some older righty forwards with pro experience like Graf or Fahrni to the team. The other two guys I'd add to the Derungs, Fust and Canonica category. If they're anything more than complementary players, I'm excited.
Two Swiss players currently in isolation because of COVID, which was the reason why the SUI - CZE preparation game (December 23th) was cancelled. One player was tested positive, other one, apparently his roommate, was isolated as well. The rest of the team was tested negative two consecutive days after that and seems to be OK and ready to play. The names of the isolated players have not yet been disclosed.
- Sep 29, 2016
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Well, if Patenaude is among them then we might as well go home. Loic Galley in net would be quite the adventure. Hofer, Allenspach, Knak, Biasca, Bichsel or one of the returning defenders would be tough blows as well. We lost Yves Stoffel last year who would have been one of the top forwards. Hope we're more lucky this year.
It's tough for the entire team anyway because they didn't get to play an exhibition game and weren't able to practice either.
The Head Crusher
Re-retired
that happened last year with Germany as well, however it was apparent when the games started up who they were.
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- Sep 29, 2016
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In an ideal world, this year it won't be all that obvious. Because if it is, it probably means we have a problem
The Head Crusher
Re-retired
In an ideal world, this year it won't be all that obvious. Because if it is, it probably means we have a problem
i mean apparent in that the will be the ones scratched from tomorrow’s game. Hopefully this is a 1 off for the tournament and we have nipped the spread in the bud. Just sucks for those players who have worked to get to this level and now could miss the tournament.
- Sep 29, 2016
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Canada4Gold
Registered User
- Dec 22, 2010
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The official website has 17 players listed on the Swiss roster so far. I assume any players here are in the clear as they would be cautious in naming a player who ends up not being able to play.
IIHF - Switzerland
IIHF - Switzerland
They are apparently not sure which players will be allowed to play in the first game, so they are waiting. Or maybe they are not sure which guys will be fit to play given the fact they were not allowed to practice from Thursday until today.
