Switzerland: Swiss players in North America

[torero]

Swiss hockey players in North America

So we will have :
Streit playing for the Islanders
Gerber for the Senators
Hiller for the Ducks.

Does soemone know if :

Tobias Stephan will stay in Iowa ?
Ramholt will probably play with the Philadelphia Phantoms/AHL ?
Will Sbisa have a shot in Philadelphia ?
what will predators do with Josi.
what is going to happen to Yannick Weber.
where is Simek going to play. (Canucks ?)
what happend in the Blue's trainig camp with Berra ?
What happened to Luca i ?

i imagine that Manzato will stay in Albany /AHL/Huricanes.
i also imagine that Julien Sprunger will stay in Switzerland.

Did i forget someone ?

What do you think about those players ? where do you see them in some years ?

Click to read more...

 

[torero]

I just read something on Dallas, saying that Stephan would be backing Turco !
(some Hiller-Stephan duels ?)

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/070808dnspostarslede.417c882.html?npc

Anyone has another Buzz ?

Hopefully our goalies will be paving the way for some field players. They deserve better than this "swiss cheese" reputation they have.
(though they should NOT play in NLA or they WILL become soft !)

 

[On Axis]

About Berra:

He came to the Blues' prospect camp last week and looked decent. However, there isn't much room for him to get quality playing time in the minors, unless he wants to play in Alaska of the ECHL. With the lack of a transfer agreement now, I think the Blues will have him get quality time in Switzerland for now, until our goalie situation pans out.

 

[torero]

About Berra:

He came to the Blues' prospect camp last week and looked decent. However, there isn't much room for him to get quality playing time in the minors, unless he wants to play in Alaska of the ECHL. With the lack of a transfer agreement now, I think the Blues will have him get quality time in Switzerland for now, until our goalie situation pans out.

i am afraid that he may not get enough quality time in Switzerland. Last year he started playing in Davos with another goalie ... both were suposed to share time on ice. the other goalie ended beeing first goalie. so he turned a bit in a backup.

Hopefully he will get more ice time this year. He deserves it.

 

[devilman]

Tobias Stephan will stay in Iowa ? See above, projected backup in Dallas
Ramholt will probably play with the Philadelphia Phantoms/AHL ? yes
Will Sbisa have a shot in Philadelphia ? no, 1 more year juniors
what will predators do with Josi. stays in Bern with an extended role with the senior team of SC Bern
what is going to happen to Yannick Weber. maybe ahl
where is Simek going to play. (Canucks ?) ahl
what happend in the Blue's trainig camp with Berra ?
What happened to Luca i ? maybe ahl, but got drafted by the Rimouski Océanic

i imagine that Manzato will stay in Albany /AHL/Huricanes. ahl
i also imagine that Julien Sprunger will stay in Switzerland. stays one more year

There's also Roman Wick, OTT, who'll stay with Kloten Flyers

 

[Analyzer*]

There is rumour that Montreal might sign Yannick Weber to play in the AHL this year.

 

[swisdan]

A good thread.

All the swissplayers who were out of Switerland last year:

http://www.cpacon.com/~suissehockey/stats.htm


Is somebody interesting to take over my web site? I'm definitiely too busy this time.

 

[Rafik Soliman]

It will be an interessting year for Swiss Nord America Players....

For Tim Ramholt it's probably a make it or break it season! Although, Philly is a nice City, not so big so maybe he'll like it there? But there will be always offers from Switzerland which he has resisted for many years now....
Sbisa will probably spent another year in the CHL. With an increased role and tons of Ice Time! Probably has another Shot at the Memorial Cup!

Tobias Stephan's time is now! I hope he knows his chances and prepares himself well for the new season. The backup job is his to lose, and since there are a lot of Free Agent Goalies, the Stars will hire one soon when Stephan should falter....

As for Weber, he still could play another year in the WHL as an Overager... But will this help his developement? I don't know... On the other side, there will be a lot of defenders on the Roster of the Hamilton Bulldogs. Can he get enough Ice Time? Will he have to go to Cinncianti, the recent ECHL-Champion?

i will probably join the Rimouski Oceanic, since the level of play in major junior is higher than in the tier 1 USHL.... i originally wanted to play for the NCAA St. Cloud University but got dismissed because the NCAA said he had a pro contract with the organisation of the ZSC Lions.... He could prove, that he didn't had one....

Berra, Sprunger and Wick still have no Entry Level Contracts and from now on are Free Agents and need invitations to training camps.... Berra is now in the St.Louis Camp, and I hope for him, that he takes whatever contract he gets and goes ECHL or UHL or whatever league they want him to play... He's so talented but needs playing time and that he won't get in Davos since he's sharing his playing time with Leonardo Genoni, who's always battled with him for the starter role (with the EHC Dubendorf, the GCK Lions and the U20 Swiss National Team). Genoni is kind of Berras nemesis....

 

[worstfaceoffmanever]

Does Josi still have a contract with Bern?

 

[torero]

Does Josi still have a contract with Bern?

He will, with certainty, play with Bern in the coming season (08/09).

This must, IMHO, imply a contract with Bern.

Yet he also has a contract with the Predators since he was drafted by them.

To tell the truth, i do not really understand how these "draft" contracts work ... i can imagine a form but it would be nice if a knowledgeable person could give a clear explanations on how it works. With whom the player has the contract ... what the player is suposed to do, ... as long as he is not playing for the team or the farm team ... does he has the choice where to play ... and so on ... in the case of Josi, does Nashville has the contract with Bern ?? does nashville have a "call" option contract with Josi ???

tks

 

[Rafik Soliman]

Jup, Josi has a contract with the SC Bern until 2008/2009. After that he will be a Free Agent...

Josi has not signed a contract with the Nashville Predators yet. The Preds have drafted him and own his right for two years.

That means they need to have him under contract within two years. Otherwise they will lose the rights to Roman Josi and he'll become an unrestricted Free Agent and can sign an Entry Level Contract with every team in the NHL.

But now with no agreement between the NHL and the IIHF Josi has to be a Free Agent in Switzerland to come over to North America or have an "NHL out-Clause" in his Swiss-Contract... But the co-existence of an NHL-Contract and a swiss-contract should work. Kevin Romy has signed a NHL-Contract with the Philly Flyers, but is currently playing with the HC Lugano.

Pretty complicated.... I'm not even sure if I wrote it right... LOL

 

[worstfaceoffmanever]

Jup, Josi has a contract with the SC Bern until 2008/2009. After that he will be a Free Agent...

Josi has not signed a contract with the Nashville Predators yet. The Preds have drafted him and own his right for two years.

That means they need to have him under contract within two years. Otherwise they will lose the rights to Roman Josi and he'll become an unrestricted Free Agent and can sign an Entry Level Contract with every team in the NHL.

But now with no agreement between the NHL and the IIHF Josi has to be a Free Agent in Switzerland to come over to North America or have an "NHL out-Clause" in his Swiss-Contract... But the co-existence of an NHL-Contract and a swiss-contract should work. Kevin Romy has signed a NHL-Contract with the Philly Flyers, but is currently playing with the HC Lugano.

Pretty complicated.... I'm not even sure if I wrote it right... LOL

It's pretty complicated, but you covered it pretty well.

Also, with the lack of an IIHF transfer agreement, the whole "signed within two years" rule is kind of up in the air, so they may actually have MORE than two years to sign their European prospects.

The Predators did three "sign-and-loans" last year with European prospects: Patric Hörnqvist, Teemu Laakso, and Robert Dietrich. I wouldn't be surprised if they do the same with Josi and bring him over next year.

 

[swisdan]

Are you sure that Nashville's option on Josi lasts only 2 years?

It seems very short.

 

[worstfaceoffmanever]

Are you sure that Nashville's option on Josi lasts only 2 years?

It seems very short.

Well, I think the PA wanted to make things fair on prospects with the new CBA, because NHL clubs used to get the rights to European players for 5 years, and only got the rights to North American junior players for two years (and 4 years for NCAA, but that's for different reasons). Reducing the time for which a team retains a Euro's rights allows more teams to negotiate with that player and possibly bring him over to the NHL, or allow European clubs to sign the player without the risk of him bolting for the club that holds his NHL rights.

Of course, with the lack of an transfer agreement, there's talk that the rules for rights to European players will return to the old five-year exclusivity.

 

[Rafik Soliman]

Well, I think the PA wanted to make things fair on prospects with the new CBA, because NHL clubs used to get the rights to European players for 5 years, and only got the rights to North American junior players for two years (and 4 years for NCAA, but that's for different reasons). Reducing the time for which a team retains a Euro's rights allows more teams to negotiate with that player and possibly bring him over to the NHL, or allow European clubs to sign the player without the risk of him bolting for the club that holds his NHL rights.

Of course, with the lack of an transfer agreement, there's talk that the rules for rights to European players will return to the old five-year exclusivity.

I'm pretty sure, that the NHL-Team holds the rights for a Player for only two years... It's the same with Roman Wick, Julien Sprunger and Reto Berra... Whom theoretically are unrestricted Free Agents.

But wasn't it in the old CBA, that a NHL-Team held the rights of an Euro until he reached the UFA-Age of 30!? I'm pretty sure, that it was more than 5 years....

 

[worstfaceoffmanever]

He will, with certainty, play with Bern in the coming season (08/09).

This must, IMHO, imply a contract with Bern.

Yet he also has a contract with the Predators since he was drafted by them.

To tell the truth, i do not really understand how these "draft" contracts work ... i can imagine a form but it would be nice if a knowledgeable person could give a clear explanations on how it works. With whom the player has the contract ... what the player is suposed to do, ... as long as he is not playing for the team or the farm team ... does he has the choice where to play ... and so on ... in the case of Josi, does Nashville has the contract with Bern ?? does nashville have a "call" option contract with Josi ???

tks

Josi being drafted by the Predators is NOT the equivalent of signing a contract with the Predators. Patric Hörnqvist was drafted in 2005 but didn't sign a deal until the spring of 2007.
The Predators DO, however, hold exclusive NHL negotiating rights with Josi (European clubs are free to negotiate with him if they so choose). The Preds will still have to get Josi to sign an entry-level contract before their exclusivity window expires.

Once signed to that contract, though, the Predators can loan the player back to the European team if they feel he needs further development time or if he wants to return to Europe to play out his contract with a European club. In both situations, the contract does not become active until the season in which the player first comes to North America. However, once a player is loaned to a European club, that loan lasts the duration of the season. Unlike with major-junior players, a player on loan in Europe with an NHL contract cannot be recalled by the NHL team that season. He is effectively lost to the organization for a year, but it doesn't count against his NHL contract.

Does that make sense?

 

[torero]

Josi being drafted by the Predators is NOT the equivalent of signing a contract with the Predators. Patric Hörnqvist was drafted in 2005 but didn't sign a deal until the spring of 2007.
The Predators DO, however, hold exclusive NHL negotiating rights with Josi (European clubs are free to negotiate with him if they so choose). The Preds will still have to get Josi to sign an entry-level contract before their exclusivity window expires.

Once signed to that contract, though, the Predators can loan the player back to the European team if they feel he needs further development time or if he wants to return to Europe to play out his contract with a European club. In both situations, the contract does not become active until the season in which the player first comes to North America. However, once a player is loaned to a European club, that loan lasts the duration of the season. Unlike with major-junior players, a player on loan in Europe with an NHL contract cannot be recalled by the NHL team that season. He is effectively lost to the organization for a year, but it doesn't count against his NHL contract.

Does that make sense?

Tks for this clear explanation.

Yet to make full sense in my mind and to clearly understand these draft deals, i would need a last explanation ...

This draft affaire looks like an option ... a right to excercise ... to contract the player during a determined period of time. After expiry the player is free to play for any NHL/AHL team he wants (he becomes UFA).

Now , what does the draftee get in this drafts contracts. In the case of Josy ... Predators have the right on him ... in the name of what ? or put differently , what does Josy receive in exchange of giving up his freedom on "NHL Land" for the determined periode ??

 

[Rafik Soliman]

Tks for this clear explanation.

Yet to make full sense in my mind and to clearly understand these draft deals, i would need a last explanation ...

This draft affaire looks like an option ... a right to excercise ... to contract the player during a determined period of time. After expiry the player is free to play for any NHL/AHL team he wants (he becomes UFA).

Now , what does the draftee get in this drafts contracts. In the case of Josy ... Predators have the right on him ... in the name of what ? or put differently , what does Josy receive in exchange of giving up his freedom on "NHL Land" for the determined periode ??

I'm not sure exactly what you mean?

With a contract, Josi gets the Chance to battle for a roster spot with the Nashville Predators. And normally an Entry Level contains also a Signing Bonus.

Before, with the IIHF-NHL Agreement the NHL payed an amount of $200k to the club who trained the Player in Europe, in this case it would have been the SC Bern. But with no Tranfseragreement, there won't be any payment, but the Player can not go to North America if he's still under contract with his European Club or has not an NHL-out Clause in his contract (as seen now with Victor Tikhonov, Jason Krog and so on)....

 

[torero]

I'm not sure exactly what you mean?

With a contract, Josi gets the Chance to battle for a roster spot with the Nashville Predators. And normally an Entry Level contains also a Signing Bonus.

Before, with the IIHF-NHL Agreement the NHL payed an amount of $200k to the club who trained the Player in Europe, in this case it would have been the SC Bern. But with no Tranfseragreement, there won't be any payment, but the Player can not go to North America if he's still under contract with his European Club or has not an NHL-out Clause in his contract (as seen now with Victor Tikhonov, Jason Krog and so on)....

So in essence, the draftee (Josy) gives up his freedom in North America to have the opportunity to battle for a playing spot at the drafter (Predators) team.

I am still surprised the player or draftee gets no financial compensation. tks for your usefull explanations.

 

[worstfaceoffmanever]

So in essence, the draftee (Josy) gives up his freedom in North America to have the opportunity to battle for a playing spot at the drafter (Predators) team.

I am still surprised the player or draftee gets no financial compensation. tks for your usefull explanations.

Well, I think most of the financial compensation comes in the form of making more money than you ever could dream of making in Europe, don't you?

And to comment on the original post... Tobias Stephan is the backup in Dallas this year. Hull and Jackson have said that it's his job to lose and they still haven't signed anyone, so he's probably gonna be the #2 going forward.

 

[torero]

Yannick Weber has been contracted by the Canadiens for 3 years. He will certainly spend some years with the Hamilton bulldogs or Cincinatti Cycones if their are to many defenders in Hamilton as described by Crackster here above.

reference article :
http://www.eishockey.ch/news/detail.asp?ID=317107

Little surprise ... he was a good player at Kitchener Rangers (if not an essential with some other promising elements ) ... had the trophy of the strongest shot (or fastest )... a same style than Streit ... in competition with Suban ...

but apparently, according to the way the mentioned article speaks about it, it has now been inked.

Here is the shaekespear's language version
http://canadiens.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=379601

 

[Rafik Soliman]

Great for Weber....

Hope he finds his Game quickly after his surgery which he had in the offseason!?
He still could play as an overager in the OHL, but I hope and don't think that will happen....

 

[torero]

In preseason ... 2 of our rookies are doing pretty well :

Weber (MTL) and Sbisa (Flyers).

Weber is accumulating points in preseason playing with Canadians and seems to be enjoying the favour of the structure ... Carboneau even seems to be sort of "proud of him" !! Yet according to chats on this board, he will have to go to AHL being "not NHL ready" for the coming year. His powerfull shot is specially appreciated (he won the highest speed shot last year as a junior) yet according to some comments, regretfully this shot often misses the target.

Sbisa also seems to be enjoying games with the flyers. Not having seen 1 of his games so far, but having read some literature .... apparently he is gaining strong support among journalists and fans ... but again, he is like Weber, he is deemed "not NHL ready" by many of the fans yet controversy is mounting (among fans !! professionals and trainers may perfectly know what they are doing !)
Interesting thread on him http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=554316

Stephen also appeared a couple of times in Star's goals.
His performance in %saves was below average, yet most of the goals he received were in penalty situation. Clime, his eventual competitor who had some good games is in the same situation, Even Turco, the starting goalie has %saves below .9 ... most of goals are in penalty situation again. Dallas seems to have a problem in penalty killing but it is preseason and i am not too worried about them. In all cases he seems to be the backup goalie. (nothing seems to be fixed in such a competitive environment.) read very positive comments on his skills in the training camp.

Manzato played for Carolina ... He wasn't very successfull with 4 goals in 14 shots. Since he didn't reapear ... .
We still hope the best for him and we know that over time he will become a solid NHL goalie (maybe he was impressed and colapsed like Bern ??!) ... i think (like with Bern) that this doesn't reflect his true value. Very positive comments were made on him by his trainer before preseason games.

Most of thes news are good news !! maybe one of Sbisa, Weber or Manzato will be called during regular season as injuries or sicknesses may hit some teams and then, ... if they play well and if they matured enough ... who knows ??

For the confirmed players ... Gerber and Hiller are doing very well, i saw no games of Islanders with Streit and couldn't find any meaningfull comment on him.

Other comments are welcome.

 

[jonas234567]

If Sbisa gets sent back to Juniors he cannot be recalled. Maybe he'll start the first few games with the Flyers and then they send him back.

Anyway, very nice camp of those two. Together with Josi Switzerland has a very strong defense coming and I wouldn't be very surprise when we'll see at least one of those (or perhaps all) at the WC in Switzerland next May.

 

[torero]

If Sbisa gets sent back to Juniors he cannot be recalled. Maybe he'll start the first few games with the Flyers and then they send him back.

Anyway, very nice camp of those two. Together with Josi Switzerland has a very strong defense coming and I wouldn't be very surprise when we'll see at least one of those (or perhaps all) at the WC in Switzerland next May.

exactly what jonas 234567 said ...

It has now been signed with the flyers ... and he is likelly to return with the juniors after some couple of games.

It still is a very serious next step ... he may be recalled during the season ... and maybe end up as a regular player this year.

Congratulations Luca !!!