Switzerland: NLA Talk

[SCBdude]

SC Bern are your 2016/17 NLA Champions!

 

[rimpirate]

SC Bern are your 2016/17 NLA Champions!

#NotMyChampion

But congratulations anyway. I might be less bitter if the $CB had not benefited from some of the most biased reffing outside football...

 

[amikaro]

But congratulations anyway. I might be less bitter if the $CB had not benefited from some of the most biased reffing outside football...

Oh my. That's not true. Bern deserved every little bit of that cup. Neither Zug nor Lugano were a threat to Bern. Let's log the last matchup Zug vs Bern:

Game 1: Bern destroyed Zug
Game 2: Bern defeat Zug
Game 3: Zug luckily won in OT
Game 4: Zug finally showed a good game and won in OT
Game 5: Bern destroyed Zug
Game 6: Bern destroyed Zug

Sidenote: I cheer for Zug.

 

[Milos Krasic]

Wonder if names like Derek Roy and Tommi Santala will find their way back to NLA after being released by their KHL clubs.

 

[Voodoozz]

Hi, do you guys know where i could find NLA players game logs ? I can't find it ...

 

[stv11]

on hockeyfans.ch, go to "Statistiken" and then "Spieler". Click on a player name and you get game by game stats.

 

[Voodoozz]

on hockeyfans.ch, go to "Statistiken" and then "Spieler". Click on a player name and you get game by game stats.

Thank you very much

 

[BlizzardSloth]

Appartently the Swiss NLA hasn't got through to much people here on the forum compared to other leagues in Europe, despite being on of the top leagues over here. Even the Benelux league thread is more up to date than the one for the NLA. Why do you think it is that way? Is the access to it worse compared to Liiga, SHL & others? Or is interest in NLA just not as high as for leagues from countries which are traditionally seen as powerhouses in hockey like Finland and Sweden?


Also, with the season 19/20 around the corner in a little bit more than two weeks, who are your favorites for the Swiss Championship this year? Who are your contenders for the Swiss Cup and do you think one of the five Swiss teams could even make it to the top of the Champions Hockey League?

For me it's gonna be a battle between Bern and Zug again, but I see Zug having an advantage here with their heavy (and probably very costly) reinforcements they made during off-season.
Only teams I predict at the bottom are Rapperswil (even with Cervenka) and HC Davos (Looking forward to see Wohlwend at the boards ), between top and bottow two I can see everything happen. And of course I hope for another surprise by my hometown team from Zurich.

What are your predictions?

 

[stv11]

NLA talk never took off on this board. I guess the main reason is that there aren't as many Swiss posters as there are Swedes, Fins or Russians.

Regarding the upcoming season, no team seems to have improved or declined much compared to last season, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Bern and Zug back at the top, Rapperswil and Davos struggling and the rest being close. I might give Zug the edge, not because of their summer spending (Genoni and Hofmann are great additions, but they replace Stephan and Suri, not some no name players, and although their new imports look great on paper, it's not like the ones they had last season were useless), but because Bern lost some pretty big pieces in Genoni, Haas and maybe Scherwey.

I can't see any other team challenge them. ZSC lost a lot of depth with Karrer, Miranda, Herzog and Bachofner, Lugano is working well to improve on their main weaknesses from last season (import production and special teams) and did well to replace Hofmann but the drop off from Merzlikins to Zurkirchen might be too much to overcome, Lausanne and Biel both made some decent additions but still lack the depth to challenge the top teams, and Geneva and Langnau look pretty much the same as last season. I can see Fribourg back into the playoffs if their new imports work out, and Ambri fall down a notch as they haven't replaced Kubalik.

 

[Rigafan]

Appartently the Swiss NLA hasn't got through to much people here on the forum compared to other leagues in Europe, despite being on of the top leagues over here. Even the Benelux league thread is more up to date than the one for the NLA. Why do you think it is that way? Is the access to it worse compared to Liiga, SHL & others? Or is interest in NLA just not as high as for leagues from countries which are traditionally seen as powerhouses in hockey like Finland and Sweden?


Also, with the season 19/20 around the corner in a little bit more than two weeks, who are your favorites for the Swiss Championship this year? Who are your contenders for the Swiss Cup and do you think one of the five Swiss teams could even make it to the top of the Champions Hockey League?

For me it's gonna be a battle between Bern and Zug again, but I see Zug having an advantage here with their heavy (and probably very costly) reinforcements they made during off-season.
Only teams I predict at the bottom are Rapperswil (even with Cervenka) and HC Davos (Looking forward to see Wohlwend at the boards ), between top and bottow two I can see everything happen. And of course I hope for another surprise by my hometown team from Zurich.

What are your predictions?

I'd love to follow the NLA more closely, as you say its one of the top leagues for hockey but the Swiss are so strict with their geo-blocking its basically impossible to keep track outside of Swiss unless you speak/read one of the languages.

If this is now incorrect and there is a way to keep more up to date please inform me!

 

[BlizzardSloth]

its basically impossible to keep track outside of Swiss unless you speak/read one of the languages.

If this is now incorrect and there is a way to keep more up to date please inform me!

Sadly I can't really inform you in a good way I guess. I don't know if there's any possibility to watch the games without an UPC MySports account (broadcaster of the league). They also have recaps of all games on YT which should be available for everyone I guess. But you should be able to watch the playoff's at the website of our state TV if you use VPN.
For updates I would recommend https://swisshockeynews.ch which is in English.

 

[Kuracmugger]

which teams do you guys got winning the swiss championship and do you belive some players that are active in switzerland at the moment could go to north america for the next season?

For me i think and hope my team the zsc lions win the Championship and perhaps
Scherwey maked his way over to north america

 

[BlizzardSloth]

which teams do you guys got winning the swiss championship and do you belive some players that are active in switzerland at the moment could go to north america for the next season?

For me i think and hope my team the zsc lions win the Championship and perhaps
Scherwey maked his way over to north america

As a ZSC fan myself I also hope for Zurich to win the championship. But if I had to bet my money on a team it would be EV Zug or EHC Biel I guess. But I would consider Zurich a contender aswell.

I definitely can see Scherwey making his way into the NHL. Also I think that Pius Suter's time is about to come, he had a damn good start this season. I'm not sure about Hofmann's contract situation but I'm still really surprised that the guy isn't playing in the NHL, he's definitely good enough. I don't really see Haas staying in NA though since the Oilers don't seem to be really keen on giving him a lot of time to prove himself.

 

[Kuracmugger]

As a ZSC fan myself I also hope for Zurich to win the championship. But if I had to bet my money on a team it would be EV Zug or EHC Biel I guess. But I would consider Zurich a contender aswell.

I definitely can see Scherwey making his way into the NHL. Also I think that Pius Suter's time is about to come, he had a damn good start this season. I'm not sure about Hofmann's contract situation but I'm still really surprised that the guy isn't playing in the NHL, he's definitely good enough. I don't really see Haas staying in NA though since the Oilers don't seem to be really keen on giving him a lot of time to prove himself.

Yeah suter really is a powerhouse in the NL but we should not forget he profites alot from garret roe.But i see him in the nhl in the near future. I think hoffman just signed a new contract with zug but i dont know how long it is. Also i hope janis jerome moder can make his way to NA

 

[BlizzardSloth]

Yeah suter really is a powerhouse in the NL but we should not forget he profites alot from garret roe.But i see him in the nhl in the near future. I think hoffman just signed a new contract with zug but i dont know how long it is. Also i hope janis jerome moder can make his way to NA

Suter surely profits from Roe, nonetheless I think he's ready now. I just checked Hofmann's contract and according to Luzerner Zeitung his contract is valid until the season 22/23 without (!) an exit clause for the NHL. And you're right, I completely forgot about Janis Moser, he could make it aswell.

 

[Kuracmugger]

Suter surely profits from Roe, nonetheless I think he's ready now. I just checked Hofmann's contract and according to Luzerner Zeitung his contract is valid until the season 22/23 without (!) an exit clause for the NHL. And you're right, I completely forgot about Janis Moser, he could make it aswell.

I think that contrat from hoffman ruined his nhl chances considering he’s born in 1992.But suter should make his way over next or in two years i expect that he will get an invitr to an nhl Training camp. And moser should put on some weight he is really light and should get stronger.

 

[AintLifeGrand]

I’ve become an Ambri and Lugano Fan this season.

First season following NLA Bc The predators are pretty boring this year tbh

spent some time in Ticino in May and fell in love with the area so Lugano and Ambri seem like obvious teams to go for.

1. any way to watch NLA games in the US?

2. What is the diff in fan culture between Ambri and Lugano

 

[stv11]

I’ve become an Ambri and Lugano Fan this season.

You do realised that's the equivalent of saying "I'm a Canadiens and Bruins fan", or "I'm a Red Sox and Yankees fan". Biggest sports rivalry in Switzerland.

1. any way to watch NLA games in the US?

I'm afraid there is no legal way to watch outside of Switzerland.

2. What is the diff in fan culture between Ambri and Lugano

The clubs are different in every possible way. Lugano is the succesful (7 championship between 1986 and 2006) team from the rich city (big banking center) down in the plain, Ambri has never won the league despite being the older club (first played in the NLA in the 50's while Lugano had a few stints in the 70's but only became a regular NLA team in 1983), and is based in a village high up a valley.

Now for all the differences, the fan cultures are actually fairly similar as they are both influenced by the ultra culture of Italian soccer.

 

[AintLifeGrand]

Can someone post like a cliff notes version of the characteristics of each NLA team and compare them to An NHL squad

I’m definitely becoming a Lugano and Davos guy

 

[BlizzardSloth]

Can someone post like a cliff notes version of the characteristics of each NLA team and compare them to An NHL squad

I’m definitely becoming a Lugano and Davos guy

This is gonna be hard. Especially since our fan culture is a big part of how the club is perceived by other people. Also since, like most European leagues, the NLA has a promotion/relegation system it doesn't mean that only the big cities have a franchise, some teams are from small towns and even villages. But I'll try to give you a little overview (without an NHL comparison) even though a lot of people probably disagree.

Let's start with the most heated rivalry in Swiss hockey, the teams from the Italian speaking part of Switzerland:

1. HC Ambrì-Piotta *1937 (La Valascia, cap. 7000, *1959):
Ambrì and Piotta are small villages and both part of a municipality called Quinto with a population of just around 1000 people. The municipality is located in the Leventina Valley in the mountainous north of the canton of Ticino. Their arena is open at it's end which, combined with the winds in the valley, makes it probably the coldest arena in western Europe.
The team usually plays a tactical defense first game since they can't afford losing, as simple as it is.
Sadly they have to build a new arena during the next years since "La Valascia" is in a potential avalanche path. Ambrì is one of the financially struggling teams in the NLA and are mostly always fighting against relegation but still have the most passionate fans in the league. Their fans are well known for their left-leaning views (Not a usual thing in Swiss hockey culture) and they are heavily influenced by Italian ultra culture. They only made a finals-appearance once in 1999 where they lost against HC Lugano, or as they would call it; LugaNO!
(I may be biased on this. Even though I'm not a fan of the club I frequently visit their games and kind of support them.)

2. HC Lugano *1941 (La Resega, cap. 8000, *1995):
While Ambrì is the poor club of the league, their opponents in the canton of Ticino are exactly the opposite. Located at the shores of Lago di Lugano the city is well known as Switzerland's gateway to mediterranean culture. Lugano was the first fully professional team in Swiss Ice Hockey and they have a very successful past where they were known as "grande Lugano" (great Lugano) with 7 championships won between 1986 and 2006. But even though they always have a good roster they haven't won anything during the last 13 years, they came closest in 2018 where they lost the finals in game 7 against their rivals from Zürich. Lugano has a pretty balanced team with some very gritty players but also snipers like Fazzini who are able to make the difference on the scoring board.
Games against Ambrì and Zürich are probably the most heated to experience in Lugano and can get pretty rowdy.

3. ZSC Lions *1930 (Hallenstadion, cap. 11'200, *1939):
Zürich is, like Lugano, one of the big clubs in Swiss hockey. With 9 championships (6 since 2000) they are on of the most successful teams in the recent times. They won back to back titles in 2000 & and 2001, both against HC Lugano. This, paired with the fact that Zürich is perceived as the city of the snobby German speaking part of Switzerland, makes for a heated rivalry between Zürich and Lugano.
Zürich has also won the only Champions League where the KHL participated in 2009. As cherry on the top they then also beat the Chicago Blackhawks for the Victoria Cup. Zürich is known for playing a less gritty but more tactical hockey.
Even though ZSC was known for having a great atmosphere back in the last century and early 2000's it sadly has become the opposite after the renovation of their Arena. Doesn't matter the seats you have, you're always a mile away from the ice. Makes for good view though. And they're currently building a new arena so this will get better soon.
(Pretty biased on this one. I've been a supporter of this club since I got into the old smoke filled arena as a kid in the 90's and I still visit every game of my hometown club.)

4. SC Bern *1931 (PostFinance-Arena, cap. 17'031, *1967):
SC Bern is probably the biggest club in western Europe. They rank highest on avg. attendance outside of the NHL and are the most successful team in recent times with 5 championships since 2010 and 16 since they started playing in 1931. With their huge standing section for over 10'000 people in their arena it can sure be intimidating for visiting teams. Since the whole canton of Bern is pretty nuts for hockey SCB is the go-to club for thousands of people. Especially with the amount of success they had over the years. The club is known for a gritty kind of play and they use this image very offensively in their marketing ("We play according to a codex: hard, but hard"). Due to the fact that they very seldomly call up players from their own juniors and are more relying on offering contracts to players from other teams they face criticism from other fans but also their own. Due to their recent success SC Bern is the team you want to beat.

5. SCL Tigers *1946 (Ilfishalle, cap. 6050, *1975):
Another team from the canton of Bern. Located in the valley of Emmental we have the SCL Tigers from Langnau, a small town with a population of only 9500 people.
The Tigers are the only pro sports team in this region but they are deeply rooted in the rural region they're coming from. They also market themselves as a more traditional club and play Swiss folk music after the team has scored. Since they got promoted back to the NLA in 2015 the Tigers play a very defense orientated game which is not very spectacular but has gotten them to the playoffs once, and more important, kept them away from being relegated. In their past they have won one championship in 1976.

6. EHC Biel/Bienne *1939 (Tissot-Arena, cap. 6521, *2015):
Here we have the last team from the canton of Bern. EHC Biel/Bienne come from the bilingual city of Biel (as I'd say in Swiss German, or Bienne in French). After being promoted back to the NLA in 2008 the club has transformed to a championship contender nobody wants to play against. They play a very offensively oriented high paced game and due to their former NHL netminder Jonas Hiller they don't get scored on too much. This could transform into a problem since Hiller announced that he will end his career after this season and good goalies are hard to find in Switzerland. With championship titles in 1978, 1981 and 1983 Biel used to have a short era of success in the NLA and I'm pretty convinced that their forth championship title isn't too far from now. Biel, aswell as the SCL Tigers, have a strong rivalry with SC Bern.



I'll do the other half of the teams during the next week, don't know when I'll find time to do so.

 

[BlizzardSloth]

7. HC Fribourg-Gottéron *1937 (BCF-Arena, cap. 6500, *1983):
We stay in the Bernese region but skip cantons to Fribourg where HC Fribourg-Gottéron is located. Just across the so called "Röstigraben" in the French speaking part of Switzerland. Fribourg plays in the NLA since the 80's and due to it's location is one of the rivals of SC Bern. At one point in history, during the 90's, Fribourg had unmatched offensive power when they signed Andrei Chomutov and Slawa Bykow and their first championship seemed to only be a matter of time. In the end, they lost 3 finals in a row and couldn't get their hands on the trophy. And they never did 'til now.
The team plays very defensively and they've received the least goals of all teams this far. Problematic is the fact that they even score less goals than they receive even though their roster is pretty stacked with the likes of Viktor Stålberg, Daniel Brodin and David Desharnais. I guess being a fan of Fribourg means to suffer.

8. HC Lausanne *1922 (Vaudoise Aréna, cap. 9600, *2019):
We'll stay in the French speaking part a little bit longer with HC Lausanne. Located at the shores of Lake Geneva lies the newly built Vaudoise Arena, the new home of Lausanne's hockey team. They are back in NLA since their successful NLB-season 2012/13 where they got themselves promoted back into the highest league of Switzerland. Since then Lausanne has evolved into a contender for the championship and they are eager for their first championship in the NLA. They used to be known for their unspectacular, even boring, strategic game back when Heinz Ehlers used to be their coach (now SCL Tigers). Nowadays they still have a very strategical kind of play but it relies also on offensive plays.

9. Genève-Servette HC *1905 (Les Vernets, cap. 7200, *1958):
As the last club of Switzerland's francophone region we have Genéve-Servette. The Team from Geneva plays in the NLA since they took the spot of EHC Chur at the end of the season 2001/02. The man responsible for Geneva's success is Chris McSorley (Marty's brother), he acted as a GM and (!) coach for the team and established a very physical style of play while bringing a lot of north american players with dual citizenship across the pond. Even though Geneva made two appearances in the finals in 2008 and 2010, they did not manage to win a championship yet. But at least they won the prestigious Spengler Cup tournament back to back in 2013 & 2014. The team has to build a new arena during the next years since their old one isn't up to code anymore.

10. HC Davos *1921 (Vaillant Arena, cap. 7080, *1979):
Davos is probably the most popular club in Swiss ice hockey. The team from the mountain resort Davos with a population around 11'000 people is widely liked across the whole country, mostly in the german speaking part. Key factors are probably that a lot of people have already been skiing there, hoisting the prestigious Spengler Cup tournament and being the record holder for the most championships in Switzerland with a whopping 31 (!) times lifting the trophy. Even though a lot of them have been won during periods where a mountain resort simply had a lot of natural advantages in playing ice hockey compared to other places. Especially during the 22 years where Arno Del Curto used to coach in Davos the team became well known for playing incredible fast and skating a lot. This hasn't changed when former U20 national team coach Christian Wohlwend took over in 2019. Notable is their arena, even though during the week games often with miserable attendance, a visit is always worth it since they play i.m.o. in the world's most beautiful rink. It's basically a wooden hockey church.

11. EV Zug *1967 (Bossard Arena, cap. 7200, *2010):
EV Zug has become one of the big clubs in recent years and it's only a matter of time 'til they win their second championship after 1998. During the last years they invested heavily into their youth academy, but also they're building a new state of the art training center and do not shy away from luring successful players from all over to world to play in Zug. The canton of Zug being a tax haven sure helps a bit to convince players and find some sponsors. They play a very offensive game and are second in scoring this season so far with Grégory Hofmann being their point leader. Also they have signed national team goalie Leonardo Genoni and as a backup they have prodigy Luca Hollenstein. But every team has it's weak spot which for Zug is it's defense. But since Dan Tangnes coaches them extremely well I think by the end of the season they are the contender with the best chances to win the championship.

12. SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers *1945 (St. Galler Kantonalbank Arena, cap. 6100, *1987):
The NLA's "grey mouse" are definitely the Lakers. At the south shores of Lake Zurich in Rapperswil-Jona lies the SGKB-Arena which hosts the only big hockey team from the canton of St. Gallen, the Lakers. After being relegated in 2015 the Lakers got promoted again in 2018 by eliminating EHC Kloten in OT in game 7. After a disastrous first season back in the NLA with only 32 of possible 150 points they we're lucky that the NLB-winner couldn't play the promotion/relegation round since their arena isn't up to NLA code. Nonetheless the Lakers play a decent second season right now and even thought they probably gonna miss the playoffs again they are making huge steps into the right direction. If their center Roman Cervenka get's well soon and the team play the defense a bit tighter even a PO-spot could be possible. Sadly they still struggle with miserable attendance figures averaging less than 4000 spectators per game in the league with the highest avg. attendance outside of the NHL.

 

[AintLifeGrand]

Thanks for the thorough run down!

I think because I've spent most of my time in Ticino my Team will be Lugano (Ambri is too left leaning lol) and then Davos and the other German teams !

 

[Theokritos]

Despite of the cancellation of the playoffs, Fribourg-Gottéron report a positive balance sheet for the first time since 2012-2013. (swisshockeynews.ch)

 

[Hockeylife1938]

Hi everybody,
Hope you all well!
Find a video of a legendary line of last decade of Fribourg-Gottéron : SBP (Julien Sprunger, Andrei Bykov (son of Slava Bykov) and Benjamin Pluss.
They scored goals by the dozens...
https://youtu.be/ndB5k_MSzus

Greetings,

 

[Speyer]

Hi everybody,
Hope you all well!
Find a video of a legendary line of last decade of Fribourg-Gottéron : SBP (Julien Sprunger, Andrei Bykov (son of Slava Bykov) and Benjamin Pluss.
They scored goals by the dozens...
https://youtu.be/ndB5k_MSzus

Greetings,

I sometimes forget how good Sprunger used to be. I mean we are talking about a player who is 10th in all time scoring in the NLA...