Switzerland: Swiss hockey and international recognition

[torero]

who remembers when we only had Steit, Aebischer and Gerber in the NHL ? and Ambuhl or Wick trying in the AHL !! (and treated like dogs)

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NHL

Today, we are in NHL semi finals and 1 team is going to the finals, with 2 Swiss in it (Josi, Weber), among which a key player. (could have been 3 ... but injuries decided diferently for Fiala)
The other finalist could be Pitsburgh with ... our dear and yet old (for the hockey world) Streit !! who probably isn't playing the first roles like he use to for the Islanders but still makes some passes to Crosby so that this last can score goals ;-)

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the AHL

In the Semi-finalist, you have one team who's best goal scorer is Swiss (Vermin) ... and Richard Tanner who left the team ... still don't know what happened.

and an other semifinalist from San José Barracuda with 3 Swiss among which, 2 key players (Mueller and Meier) and a third who plays sometimes (Rod).

Last Year, Kukan won the AHL trophy !!

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I am impressed ... impressed by the number of players that are in these top leagues as well as by the teams they play in !! They contribute in good successfull teams.

And maybe a Swiss will be the first drafted ever !

last year, our LNA teams did pretty well in CHL.

This year's WC wasn't that bad ... some terrible losses, but also some great wins and all in all, and good game delivered by an unknown Swiss team. (unknown meaning that they are not too

When will we have our first Olympic medal ? or even have our gold WC ?

Any opinion or remark on all this ? gor a great conversation on Swiss Hockey !??

Click to read more...

 

[HankHenry]

I've been impressed by the progress made by the Swiss national team, they seem to be steadily improving year by year. I'm not sure what their ceiling will be in terms of international rankings or tournament success but they have proven to be capable of beating all of the top teams. I would rank them 7th overall right now but they're knocking on the Czech's door for six. Capable of a medal in a best on best. Gold in WC if they have their best players possibly.

 

[torero]

I've been impressed by the progress made by the Swiss national team, they seem to be steadily improving year by year. I'm not sure what their ceiling will be in terms of international rankings or tournament success but they have proven to be capable of beating all of the top teams. I would rank them 7th overall right now but they're knocking on the Czech's door for six. Capable of a medal in a best on best. Gold in WC if they have their best players possibly.

This is were i block ... because if we have the best players, the other will have them too.

While Josi, Nino, Fiala, Meier, Malgin, Ghetto ... and soon Hischier are and will be good. Crosby, Letang or Ovie and Malkin ... are really challenging.

Our best chance to be WC gold or Olympic gold is when NHL'ers aren't comming. I think. Hence our best players ... since they are going for the NHL.

 

[SemireliableSource]

It's not that hard to find out/figure out what's up with Tanner Richard. He supposedly has already signed with a Swiss club for 2017-18, very likely won't be re-signed by the Lightning, fell down the depth chart when other forwards returned to Syracuse from Tampa Bay, and as a result he left the team to play in the World Championships.

 

[Milos Krasic]

Ambuhl or Wick trying in the AHL !! (and treated like dogs)

Add Severin Blindenbacher to that list.

 

[Urbanskog]

This is were i block ... because if we have the best players, the other will have them too.

While Josi, Nino, Fiala, Meier, Malgin, Ghetto ... and soon Hischier are and will be good. Crosby, Letang or Ovie and Malkin ... are really challenging.

Our best chance to be WC gold or Olympic gold is when NHL'ers aren't comming. I think. Hence our best players ... since they are going for the NHL.

Not exactly, the players representing the host nation in the WC always have a great interest in playing while the players of other teams are more inclined to decline invitation.

Who knows what will happen in 2020.

 

[Harri McBain]

And now including Hischier to that list

 

[The Noot]

who remembers when we only had Steit, Aebischer and Gerber in the NHL ? and Ambuhl or Wick trying in the AHL !! (and treated like dogs)

++

NHL

Today, we are in NHL semi finals and 1 team is going to the finals, with 2 Swiss in it (Josi, Weber), among which a key player. (could have been 3 ... but injuries decided diferently for Fiala)
The other finalist could be Pitsburgh with ... our dear and yet old (for the hockey world) Streit !! who probably isn't playing the first roles like he use to for the Islanders but still makes some passes to Crosby so that this last can score goals ;-)

++

the AHL

In the Semi-finalist, you have one team who's best goal scorer is Swiss (Vermin) ... and Richard Tanner who left the team ... still don't know what happened.

and an other semifinalist from San José Barracuda with 3 Swiss among which, 2 key players (Mueller and Meier) and a third who plays sometimes (Rod).

Last Year, Kukan won the AHL trophy !!

++

I am impressed ... impressed by the number of players that are in these top leagues as well as by the teams they play in !! They contribute in good successfull teams.

And maybe a Swiss will be the first drafted ever !

last year, our LNA teams did pretty well in CHL.

This year's WC wasn't that bad ... some terrible losses, but also some great wins and all in all, and good game delivered by an unknown Swiss team. (unknown meaning that they are not too

When will we have our first Olympic medal ? or even have our gold WC ?

Any opinion or remark on all this ? gor a great conversation on Swiss Hockey !??

I ****ing hate this narrative.

They got treated like any other "nobody" from overseas. Prove yourself in the AHL, if we can find a spot for you, you get to the big boys if you play well.

This is a grind that can take several years and they didn't have the patience for it. Not everyone gets Brunner's (frankly absurd) treatment of getting slotted right into a line with Datsyuk and Zetterberg.


We are making progress, tho. Especially over the last 10ish years, we have went from a fringe top 10ish team to a solidified member of the new "Top 8" in terms of NHL presence and international recognition.

One way it's showing is the fact that scouts seem to trust our development system more than ever, with a Swiss prospect being drafted in the first round being more the rule than the exception in recent times. Even players who stayed here until their draft season are getting more and more recognition, with notable examples being Nino, Baertschi, Ehlers and now Hischier. Another big name that comes up in this regard is Auston Matthews, who spent his draft year in the NLA.

On the other hand, I'm not too happy about the progress of our National teams. I think the current generation (the 26-34 years olds at least) are pretty much stagnant (let's not count Josi for a second here) when compared to the generation before. You have to say that it feels good to not be reliant on Canadian "imports", though. Gardner and DiPietro were cool and all, but it's nice to know that we have the quality in our own system to replace players like this.

I am really excited about the following generation of players, at least at the top end. Especially Hischier is going to be a very important figure, since he's pretty much our biggest hope to finally break that "glass ceiling" we seem to have at the Center position.

The future is bright. And even if I don't dare to start talking about olympic medals or a WHC gold, I think we might get dangerously close 5-6 years down the line.

 

[torero]

I ****ing hate this narrative.

They got treated like any other "nobody" from overseas. Prove yourself in the AHL, if we can find a spot for you, you get to the big boys if you play well.

This is a grind that can take several years and they didn't have the patience for it. Not everyone gets Brunner's (frankly absurd) treatment of getting slotted right into a line with Datsyuk and Zetterberg.

They were not patient enough ... i agree with that.

Yet they were simply treated badly ... i remember seeing Ambuhl on a 3rd line with some players that were simply not understanding him, same for Wick. They were faster, more creative, with better stick handling ... but were left their in the 3rd line.

Maybe they were treated for the "princess" attitude they may have had. It was painfull. That was an attitude to break a player's ego, not to get a good game out of him.

They were not nobodies ! This was some weeks after these same players played in Vancouver olympic games against some pronger, niedermeyer, crosby, luongo and went to OT and lost in a dramatic fashion. With specifically Wick and Ambuhl being among the Swiss leaders.

So you may dislike it ... Yet this is what happend.

as per Brunner ... special entry thanks to his friend Zeterberg ... and he wasn't out of place !!
To put him in AHL would have been plain stupid.
NHL suffers from the problem of having to many good players ;-)
"a player has to prove he can endure" ... or other such wrong ideas that tag the hockey. Trust me, NHL is a place that is full of old fashioned principles, awfull conventional wisdom, it is simply terrible. But they are sitting on a gold fountain therefore no major cleaning has ever found place.

 

[TaiMaiShu]

Anyone know why Hischier wears #18 for Swiss? Vs. 13 in Juniors?

 

[Sverra]

Anyone know why Hischier wears #18 for Swiss? Vs. 13 in Juniors?

if you still wondering, he's weating 13 for swiss national team as well. I think he wore #18 just for the "prospect camp", if I remeber correct that was without printed names on it.
At the kick-off meeting this year he's definilty listet as #13: