Except for the exclusion of Richards (but then again I understand the rational for Corvi and Almond) I think that every choice can be easily defended. I get why Scherwey, Vermin, Herzog and Bodenmann over Hoffman, Brunner, Fazzini etc. I also get why Corvi over i, even if I personally would have taken i. Specially since Richards won't be there, a center that can win faceoffs can be important.
The good thing is that there are actual choices to be made, this feels like a new, fresh feeling. Fischer can choose a roster that he believes fits better together, rather than just the maximum number of players than can actually play hockey, fill the rest and then try to figure out how to play.
He will probably do different choices for the world championship.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have depth!
While Im with you with pretty much all of your post.
One thing though, i will never help your team improve FO% Just by the eyetest over all those years with ZSC, he's among the worst centers in the NLA on the dot, and would loose them regularly against wingers, after their center got sent away. He's way to weak to use his fine hands effectively face to face.
And when he can't glide on open ice, but has to play stationary or along the boards in the offensive zone, he's so weak that even the slightest push knocks him off the puck. Even if he looked rejuvenated with Praplan and Hollenstein at the Spengler Cup with space and time and is a joy to watch like that, the glaring weaknesses in his game were exposed too when the games thightened up. Unfortunately he isn't a step further than he was 5 years ago.
While Corvi is physically average, no where near as elegant a skater and as an unproven player, you don't know if or how he can transfer his talent to the higher level of play, something i has done in the past, the holes in Corvi's overall game are nowhere near as big. He is somehow the more solid choice of the 2. And can actually shoot the puck.
Therefore Corvi over i IMO.