WC: Roster Talk '13 — Switzerland

[duga]

I think the obvious spot for Diaz is Blum's, or maybe Seger's. Grossmann plays a different role.

Fitting Brunner in the team is a bit tricky. I think that Simpson's plan was to go with a Brunner - Romy - Hollenstein line, based on the fact that Romy was supposed to center the Hollenstein line before his injury, so replacing Bodenmann with Brunner could make sense, except that having i and Brunner on the ice together is a bit risky. He could play with Plüss, but that would mean dropping Moser, who is having a very good tournament. Maybe Bieber could be dropped and Moser could play with Trachsler and Walker? Or maybe on the Gardner line? Ambühl's skating it key to this line's defensive success, so Brunner would have to replace Suri, or maybe Gardner himself and have Ambühl playing center (by the way, I find it strange that it's Gardner and not Ambühl forechecking for this line, I would switch them).

Diaz for Blum does indeed make sence, even if you can't say anything bad about Blum's performance level until now.

Agree about the trickyness of shuffling Brunner into the Line-up without messing up this so well-balanced line-up.

Bodenmann just makes the perfect 3rd man for the i-line, letting the 2 others do most of the playmaking, and concentrate on finding shooting positions and crashing the net... though if needed he got the hands and smarts to support the other 2 with the "Tiki-Taki"-game. as you've written, with Brunner on this Line they could die in beauty...

so either taking Suri out or take Gardner out and do a complete rebuild of the other lines, maybe like this:
Brunner-Plüss/Walker-Suri
Niederreiter-Plüss/Walker-Moser
Bieber-Trachsler-Ambühl

about the Ambühl-Gardner issue:It's because of his 1-3-1 system where the C does control the opponent's puckholder into the trap...so he had to switch their positions and getting even worse in FOs... if Simpson is once forced to chance system, e.g. a double-forechecking,I'm sure we gonna see Ambühl flying again.

 

[stv11]

about the Ambühl-Gardner issue:It's because of his 1-3-1 system where the C does control the opponent's puckholder into the trap...so he had to switch their positions and getting even worse in FOs... if Simpson is once forced to chance system, e.g. a double-forechecking,I'm sure we gonna see Ambühl flying again.

Well, it's not written in stone that the guy taking faceoffs has to play the most forward position in a 1-3-1 system (by the way, I don't find Gardner that good at faceoffs). Ambühl would be more efficient playing high and Gardner would be useful at the red line where he can break up plays thanks to his long reach.

And Ambühl may not be a natural fit at center, but Gardner started playing that position almost by accident, when Huras was looking for the right guy to play with Peltonen and Maneluk. It was almost 10 years ago, but I still see him more as a winger.

 

[duga]

I love to see i, he's just a very smart hockey player. He still has too many giveaways, he needs to work on that, but you just have to realise where he came from and that this is just the second season he plays on a very high level. He still has time to progress and he will progress, I'm sure of that.

I'm not 100% sure, but from outside he always looked like a guy, who could fight some anxiety issues. and if that's true, it's amazing how far he has come until now, it's oftenly a career killer for young sports talent. Those guys oftenly get accused of being lazy, and not pasionate, and not caring about the game. And very typically they have 1 or 2 plays not working... and they dissappear into their own world for the rest of the game, and vice versus when they start good. Alexander Semin, my favourite Athlete in all sports since many years, suffered from similar problems...and it's amazing how his game finally came together over the last 2-3 years.

I totally agree to all the comments, Simpson has nominated a very well balanced roster with a great 4th line which can be used vs. the best of the opponents and can play nearly 15minutes a game. That's just the best 4th line I've ever seen playing for Switzerland.

this 4th line is really a pleasure.

I'm also very happy that Moser is back, he's had such a hard year, heavy injury a year ago, another injury mid-season, relegated with Langnau, I cannot imagine a worse year. If he continues to play like that I'm quite sure he will get several invitations for NHL-camps next autumn.

Agree. He gets better again with every game he's played in Stockholm. We'll see if he got the speed and talent for the NHL, his determination and physical condition won't be a problem.

 

[duga]

Well, it's not written in stone that the guy taking faceoffs has to play the most forward position in a 1-3-1 system (by the way, I don't find Gardner that good at faceoffs). Ambühl would be more efficient playing high and Gardner would be useful at the red line where he can break up plays thanks to his long reach.

And Ambühl may not be a natural fit at center, but Gardner started playing that position almost by accident, when Huras was looking for the right guy to play with Peltonen and Maneluk. It was almost 10 years ago, but I still see him more as a winger.

I guess for Simpson it's not so important that the forechecker creates a take-away. but when the blue line can't be held, a Ambühl definitely is faster back into the play than Gardner. I'm not sure how much he considers that... and in all other lines it's the FO-man that steers the forechecking, so he probably wants all lines to play the same system, incase he has to shuffle the lines.

Not that I'm aware of any swiss FO%-stats, but I always guessed guys like Romy, von ARx, Jeannin or Gardner are the top swiss in that departement. (at least he took a lot of D-FO's for Bern in the Play-offs)

Though he hasn't got the playmaking-skills like a typical Center, I agree with that. Anyway he wouldn't have been considered for a top-12 spot if it wasn't for Romy's injury.

 

[jonas2244]

Faceoffs were the only really weakness of the team the first 4 games. Only vs. Slo the team won more than 50%, no single player has more than 50% of his faceoffs won. i rarley won anything in the first 3 games. And that is a problem.

 

[ficohok*]

Diaz coming ?

 

[SCBdude]

Diaz coming ?

Nothing official yet. But I would really like to see him play for von Gunten

 

[jonas2244]

"Reto #Berra starting goalie in tomorrow's game vs #Denmark. "No comment" from Simpson on a possible arrival of #Diaz."

SwissHockeyNews on twitter

 

[koh19]

Before today's game against Denmark, 7 out of the 33 top scoring leaders are Swiss. That is unheard of. This team is on a mission.

 

[ficohok*]

Before today's game against Denmark, 7 out of the 33 top scoring leaders are Swiss. That is unheard of. This team is on a mission.

And Hollestein has a chance to set record for number of points for Swiss player at one WC (Elite). Currently record is hold by Andy Ton with 9 pts from 10 matches.

 

[jonas2244]

Habs confirm Galchenyuk and Plekanec. No word on Diaz yet.

Most insiders think that Simpson did call Diaz. Question is if he's fit or still feeling a little bit bad from his concussion.

 

[jonas2244]

Raphael Diaz is joining the Swiss team!

http://swisshabs.blogspot.ch/2013/05/raphael-diaz-rejoindra-lequipe-de-suisse.html?spref=tw

 

[jonas2244]

So finally also the Swiss team confirms the arrival of Rafael Diaz. He'll join the team on monday afternoon, will have a training with the team in the evening and will play on tuesday.

Gerber to start today, so I'd guess we'll see Berra vs. Belarus and Gerber in the Quarters.

 

[ficohok*]

So finally also the Swiss team confirms the arrival of Rafael Diaz. He'll join the team on monday afternoon, will have a training with the team in the evening and will play on tuesday.

Gerber to start today, so I'd guess we'll see Berra vs. Belarus and Gerber in the Quarters.

Any word on Hiller/Sbisa/Brunner ? Today is Ana-Det 7th game...

 

[jonas2244]

There is no need for a goalie and I'd guess also not for another defenseman. Brunner is surley a possibility, but as he could only be here for the quarters I don't know if Simpson wants to do this.

 

[ficohok*]

There is no need for a goalie and I'd guess also not for another defenseman. Brunner is surley a possibility, but as he could only be here for the quarters I don't know if Simpson wants to do this.

But Streit would be nice addition, as NYI are out of the PO

 

[jonas2244]

Streit said some time ago that he won't come because he plays with an injury.

 

[Rillijuti]

Will Gerber play in last game vs Belarus before playoffs?

 

[jonas2244]

Good question, I don't know. Berra might get another start because he was great in the other games. On the other side there is no reason to rest Gerber, he has enough breaks between the games. I'd guess we get an answer on monday evening after the first training with Diaz.

 

[stv11]

So, no Brunner in the end. Not such a bad thing, we won't have endless controversies if Switzerland is out in the quarterfinals.

On the other hand Sbisa is available, but I'd be very surprised if he's contacted.

 

[The Noot]

But Streit would be nice addition, as NYI are out of the PO

He's a great player, obviously. But to be honest I'd rather just take Diaz and leave the remaining roster spot open in case of an injury.

The thing with Streit is, that he's "too good". If he's added to the team, Simpson will most likely shuffle the lines on the perfectly fine PP and the defense will be changed, too. That leads to some lost chemistry and makes us weaker, as Streits abilities can't cover that.
And if we have him on the roster, he'll be involved in nearly every offensive action when he's on the ice. That makes us highly predictable. Not only at even strength, but also on the powerplay.

Diaz on the other hand is great at what he's doing, but he's still some kind of a "role player". Unlike Streit, you don't have to build the team around him to get him to excel in his role. He would fit in perfectly fine for Blum or Grossmann, no major line changes must be done.

Let's see how this whole story works out. I'm proud of this team anyway and I am embarassed that I ran them down at the beginning of this WC.

So, no Brunner in the end. Not such a bad thing, we won't have endless controversies if Switzerland is out in the quarterfinals.

On the other hand Sbisa is available, but I'd be very surprised if he's contacted.

I honestly want both of them as far as possible from this team. Brunner is a good player and would probably have a huge impact on our offense in every other scenario, but I think that he'd be too tired to have a big impact on this team. So why should we take the risk if the upgrade might not be as big as imagined?

And Sbisa... After this season, I don't see him anywhere near the NT. He may have the tools, but the last thing this team needs is a Bezina 2.0 (Now available with even better tools and even more stupid decisions!).

 

[stv11]

Diaz on the other hand is great at what he's doing, but he's still some kind of a "role player". Unlike Streit, you don't have to build the team around him to get him to excel in his role. He would fit in perfectly fine for Blum or Grossmann, no major line changes must be done.

There's still a question mark here, as Blum and Grossmann play with the only line that doesn't see any power play time, so it's likely Diaz would be fit on some power play unit. Or maybe the guy he will replace is Von Gunten?

Let's see how this whole story works out. I'm proud of this team anyway and I am embarassed that I ran them down at the beginning of this WC.

Well, we were all pessimistic, so the embarassement is shared

And bashing coaches is a tradition in international sport anyway. I've even seen Greek fans bash Otto Rehhagel, so I guess that even if Switzerland wins this tournament, in nine months someone will be complaining Simpson left his favorite player out of the Olympic squad.

And Sbisa... After this season, I don't see him anywhere near the NT. He may have the tools, but the last thing this team needs is a Bezina 2.0 (Now available with even better tools and even more stupid decisions!).

I don't think Sbisa's decision making is as poor as Bezina's, in the current team he would be an upgrade over Furrer, but not significant enough to bother.

 

[The Noot]

There's still a question mark here, as Blum and Grossmann play with the only line that doesn't see any power play time, so it's likely Diaz would be fit on some power play unit. Or maybe the guy he will replace is Von Gunten?

That's true. But honestly I don't want to see Von Gunten being the "odd man out". He's playing (like many others) a great tournament so far. And he was a force on the powerplay.

I honestly don't really know where we should place Diaz on the PP. Of course, he's one of the best PP players that we currently have, but I'd really prefer to use him on 5-5 or even during our boxplay. Our current PP lines are running red hot and still can be changed as soon as they cool down. Diaz on the other hand is very versatile and I believe that we can entrust him with a more defensive role than usual, since our offence really doesn't need any help so far (1st in the whole tournament!)

I don't think Sbisa's decision making is as poor as Bezina's, in the current team he would be an upgrade over Furrer, but not significant enough to bother.

Ask Ducks fans what they think about Sbisas decision making. You could believe that we are talking about a cupboard on skates that tries to play hockey

They might overreact a little (as his A game is WAY better than that and he would have all the tools to develop into a solid #2-#3 D), but as a person that follows the Ducks pretty closely I can see that his decisions were absolutely horrible from time to time. Additional to that, he's been beaten wide nearly every game, and that's on the small rink. He would get eaten alive on the wide rink against skilled opponents.

It's just a typical season "zum abhaagge" (Sry for swiss german, can't really think of a word for that in english. If someone knows something, please tell me. I'll correct it afterwards.) for him. I honestly even hope that he can get some time in the AHL next year so he can take some responsibilities and he can develop his offensive skills. It's in him somewhere, but he is forced to play a shutdown role in Anaheim and they have plenty of talented, young puckmovers in their organisation with Fowler, Sbisa, Vatanen and Lindholm. Their future on the blueline is pretty bright, but that's a different story on a different board

 

[jonas2244]

Simpson said that he doesn't invite another defender so we don't have to speculate over Sbisa.

Berra to start tomorrow, well deserved.

 

[ficohok*]

Simpson said that he doesn't invite another defender so we don't have to speculate over Sbisa.

Berra to start tomorrow, well deserved.

I agree ! I am just afraid that Simpson won't choose "wrong" goalie for quarters. Both Gerber and Berra were great so far, just hope that one of them won't have "soft" game when it matters most.