WJC: Team Switzerland 2018 Roster talk

[jonas2244]

There is a first roster for the preparation camp. No surprise is that Nico Hischier is not available.

Players to watch for: Barandun, Geisser, Gross, Stadler on D. Kurashev, Eggenberger, Miranda, Nussbaumer on Offence.

I thought Akira Schmid would get a shot in the goal, wonder why not.

Goalkeepers (3): Matteo Ritz (Lausanne HC), Andrin Seifert (EHC Kloten), Philip Wüthrich (SC Bern).
Defence (10): Davyd Barandun (HC Davos), Tim Berni (GCK/ZSC Lions), Dominik Egli (EHC Kloten), Tobias Geisser (EVZ Academy), Colin Gerber (SC Bern), Nico Gross (Oshawa Generals / OHL), Simon Le Coultre (Moncton Wildcats / QMJHL), Victor Öjdemark (EV Zug), Elia Riva (HC Lugano), Livio Stadler (EV Zug).
Offence: (18): Fabian Berni (GCK/ZSC Lions), Marco Cavalleri (Victoriaville Tigres / QMJHL), Nando Eggenberger (HC Davos), André Heim (SC Bern), Ken Jäger (HC Davos), Gilian Kohler (Kootenay Ice / WHL), Philipp Kurashev (Québec Remparts / QMJHL) Sven Leuenberger (EV Zug), Guillaume Maillard (Genève-Servette HC), Marco Miranda (GCK/ZSC Lions) , Nicolas Müller (Modo Hockey / SWE), Valentin Nussbaumer (EHC Biel), Stéphane Patry (Erie Otters / OHL), Dario Rohrbach (EHC Basel/KLH), Stefan Rüegsegger (SCL Tigers), Justin Sigrist (Kamloops Blazers / WHL), Axel Simic (Lausanne HC), Dominik Volejnicek (EV Zug).

Click to read more...

 

[Speyer]

There is a first roster for the preparation camp. No surprise is that Nico Hischier is not available.

Players to watch for: Barandun, Geisser, Gross, Stadler on D. Kurashev, Eggenberger, Miranda, Nussbaumer on Offence.

I thought Akira Schmid would get a shot in the goal, wonder why not.

Goalkeepers (3): Matteo Ritz (Lausanne HC), Andrin Seifert (EHC Kloten), Philip Wüthrich (SC Bern).
Defence (10): Davyd Barandun (HC Davos), Tim Berni (GCK/ZSC Lions), Dominik Egli (EHC Kloten), Tobias Geisser (EVZ Academy), Colin Gerber (SC Bern), Nico Gross (Oshawa Generals / OHL), Simon Le Coultre (Moncton Wildcats / QMJHL), Victor Öjdemark (EV Zug), Elia Riva (HC Lugano), Livio Stadler (EV Zug).
Offence: (18): Fabian Berni (GCK/ZSC Lions), Marco Cavalleri (Victoriaville Tigres / QMJHL), Nando Eggenberger (HC Davos), André Heim (SC Bern), Ken Jäger (HC Davos), Gilian Kohler (Kootenay Ice / WHL), Philipp Kurashev (Québec Remparts / QMJHL) Sven Leuenberger (EV Zug), Guillaume Maillard (Genève-Servette HC), Marco Miranda (GCK/ZSC Lions) , Nicolas Müller (Modo Hockey / SWE), Valentin Nussbaumer (EHC Biel), Stéphane Patry (Erie Otters / OHL), Dario Rohrbach (EHC Basel/KLH), Stefan Rüegsegger (SCL Tigers), Justin Sigrist (Kamloops Blazers / WHL), Axel Simic (Lausanne HC), Dominik Volejnicek (EV Zug).

I am not excited about this years team at all. With Hischier, Siegenthaler, Karrer and Van Pottelberghe the best players from last year are not returning. On top of that Gross, Kohler, Eggenberger and to a lesser extent Kurashev have all been stagnating this year. Nussbaumer and Berni are the most intriguguing prospects to me right now. I thougt Schmid was one of the best goalie prospects we have had the last couple of years, so i'm surprised about him not getting a shot, even as #3, too.

I hope we can avoid relegation this year, pretty much all the other nations seem to have improved while we apperently have regressed...

 

[czechcanadian]

What about Damian Riat?
And who is all drafted on this team?

 

[Speyer]

What about Damian Riat?
And who is all drafted on this team?

Riat is a 97 birthyear and aged out. I think Geisser (Capitals) is the only drafted player, wich says a lot about this teams quality. There are a few late 99's and 00's on the squad that will probaly get taken in mid and later rounds this year though.

 

[jonas2244]

Yeah, no reason to be exited, but still solid enough to avoid relegation. Kurashev may have an NHL-upside, Eggenberger is a Nino-type of player but not as good as Nino was at this age. Dominik Egli is a small offensive defender who has stepped into with (a struggling) EHC Kloten and seems to have a good impact there. Outplayed Serge Weber (1997 born) who had a top-4 role on the U20-team last year.

Goalkeeping is crucial, as always, and neither Ritz nor Wüthrich or Seifert seem to be the real deal.

 

[JClark]

The good news for Switzerland is that they are in Group B with Belarus so they are most likely not going to have to play in the relegation games.

 

[Samuel Desbiens]

Philipp Kurashev is a dangerous offensive player in the QMJHL, particularly on the PP. I saw him play two weeks ago and he was quite good. I like him a lot from what I saw since he decided to play with the Quebec Remparts. I'm looking forward to see what he can bring to this Switzerland team at WJC.

Other than that, I do not know many players on this team. Hopefully they will be able to surprise me during the tournament! For sure, the absence of Hischier (New Jersey), Siegenthaler (aged out) and Van Pottelberghe (age out) are tough.

 

[SwissGrog]

Riva is playing well and stepped up to cover for injuries in NLA with Lugano. Really doing all the small things right, ver nice outbreak pass, is going for sure to be a top pairing NLA defender.

 

[jonas2244]

Nussbaumer is injured, 2-3 weeks, close call for the WJC.

Just saw that Riva has 5 points in 7 U-20 international games this year which is pretty good for a defender. Tough job to cut 3 players on Defence.

 

[duga]

A few thoughts:

Overall among skaters the 98ers are the worst generation for a long time. Maybe since the 91ers or even the 88ers?

The 90ers were very poor for forwards, but had Josi, Sbisa, Geering, Stoob on D.

The 92ers were bad on D, but produced arguably the best forward group so far when you combine quality and depth.

The 94ers were mediocre on D, but had a few promising prospects on attack as well as good depth.
And so on.
Every generation had its strong identity. there was always something to look forward the Ds, or the forwards, the depth or some singular gems. But you have a hard time to mention something to be excited about.

The results on international stage have been very poor from the u16 level on, but were a bit better lately. (As it is quite typical in general for swiss junior teams when they get older)

The hierarchy always was GK>>D>F for them. And with Volejnicek and Roberts (I liked him alot 2-3 years ago) once 2 of the 3 most promising forwards, stagnating at best over the last 2 years, things look even worse now for the attack.

Stadler is a a similar story but on higher level.

No surprise there are so many underagers for the first call.

On the other hand, and here I disagree a bit with the aforementioned, the GKs are of very fine quality. (96ers, 87ers, 84ers like quality and depth) I haven't seen a lot of Seifert, but heard good stuff. Wüthrich and Rytz have both the potential to be at least good starters in the NLA, maybe more IMO. Always liked Rytz more than eg van Pottelberghe. Anyway there's a bunch of goalies born between 96 and 98, who have the potential to replace Berra and Genoni when their level drops. Very important after nearly 10 years of producing only mediocrity on this position.
So for Schmid, the competition is pretty tough here, even after his intriguing performance, he showed at the Hlinka. But for next year he's the clear frontrunner.

It's a pity Nussbaumer just got injured. He already played himself into Nr.1 Center position at the latest tournament in Monthey. It still makes me wondeer, why on earth they have chosen Kohler, Weibel and Patry over him for last years U18 WC, as he was already clearly better.
Would have liked a Nussbaumer-Heim-Maillard combo as Centers 1-3. If he isn't fit, the chances that Kurashev will play C are rising IMO.

Miranda has all the tools, but is a bit an enigma, can skate up the ice as effortlessly as prime i or Kukan. Could possibly be a force and the Nr.1 Wing.

I haven't seen much of Eggenberger this year, but as I read in this thread, he has a bit of a hard time, right?
He has a nice set of tools, but is still a bit raw. Hasn't he played Center as well lately for Davos?

The guys in NA have been quite less influential than one had hoped. I mean, Patry after his absolute no show at the Hlinka, I was expecting some bumps, but Sigrist's and Kohler's struggles after a promising start come somewhat as a surprise to me. Patry probably is more of an insurance call if one gets injured, as he is in NA anyway.

Gross seems to have gained a bit of influence lately statwise and he fought mononucleosis at the start of the season, so he's maybe on the upswing.

Geisser will be the leader on D I suppose. I always liked his smart plays with the puck in the D zone and he is a surprisingly good skater. I acctually prefer him over Gross.

Riva was mentioned already. He doesn't look out of place in the NLA.

A guy I think could surprise positively is Nicolas Müller. He's flying a bit undee the radar I think. I liked what I saw at the U18 WC, and he had some good showings before.

And from what I've seen of the 00ers, I would choose Jeremi Gerber over Patry and probably Kohler as well.

Overall the team is probably too young this year to make a proper push, but nevertheless when everything comes together, this team won't be totally free of talent.

 

[Canada4Gold]

The good news for Switzerland is that they are in Group B with Belarus so they are most likely not going to have to play in the relegation games.

The down side of that is it only takes 1 loss against Belarus to potentially get relegated(if they then lost to DEN or SVK in the relegation side) instead of being in the other group where if you go to the relegation side then Belarus has to beat you twice. But then I guess if you're in the other group there's no guarantee it'll be Belarus you have to beat if they were to upset someone in their group play, but now you get a guaratted chance to beat Belarus to keep yourself alive.

Haven't seen a Denmark roster thread yet. But they seem decent again this year, would you guys say Switzerland is better, worse or equal to Denmark this year? Not that it will likely matter as they're unlikely to face each other, but I'm curious.

 

[Sofaw]

I don't know much about Switzerland. Someone in this tread mentioned that Switzerland only bring 1 NHL drafted player. Denmark has 4 and besides that the leading top scorer in the USHL. But the the guys for the 3-4 Lines are not of the same quality. All in all I would say that the Danish team is a bit weaker compared to last year.

 

[Canada4Gold]

 

[duga]

Seifert in Goal, Öjdemark on D, and Berni, Patry, Rüegsegger and surprisingly Volejnicek on attack were cut.

With so many forwards already cut, Nussbaumer probably is fit enough to play.

So, 2 more defensemen and 1 other forward to go.

Goalies are set (or did A.Schmid got a late call? He's listed on the SIHF page. Somebody knows?)



I'd guess one of Rohrbach, Jäger, Kohler or the unknown Cavalleri could be the most probable ones on the attacking side.

Tough task on D though, no one seems to be clearly weaker than the rest. Barandun or Egli maybe, or even Gerber, LeCoultre or Stadler?
Egli as a right hander option for the PP might be on the safe side. (His shot selection was horrendus though in Monthey)

 

[Swissfan5411]

Seifert in Goal, Öjdemark on D, and Berni, Patry, Rüegsegger and surprisingly Volejnicek on attack were cut.

With so many forwards already cut, Nussbaumer probably is fit enough to play.

So, 2 more defensemen and 1 other forward to go.

Goalies are set (or did A.Schmid got a late call? He's listed on the SIHF page. Somebody knows?)



I'd guess one of Rohrbach, Jäger, Kohler or the unknown Cavalleri could be the most probable ones on the attacking side.

Tough task on D though, no one seems to be clearly weaker than the rest. Barandun or Egli maybe, or even Gerber, LeCoultre or Stadler?
Egli as a right hander option for the PP might be on the safe side. (His shot selection was horrendus though in Monthey)

…

 

[StevenEllisNHL]

Does anyone know what the lineup (with numbers, preferably) from yesterday?

 

[Quethas]

Does anyone know what the lineup (with numbers, preferably) from yesterday?

Here are the lineups
http://www.tilastopalvelu.fi/ih/gamerosters/index.php?gameid=51925&season=

 

[John Agar]

For the Switzerland vs Canada pre-WJC game I just started a GDT...

If you are watching the game... come join the discussion...

 

[jonas2244]

Akira Schmid has joined the team as third goalie (or even more?). 2000-born Schmid had a great U18-WC last year and is hoped to be a good prospect on a position where Switzerland seems to have problems lately.

 

[duga]

Very important win. Close as expected.
And now the reminder of the schedule will be at least though, probably ugly as well. Gks will have to stand on their heads.

Im truly missing a defenseman, who carries the puck up the ice confidently.

The best players IMO were Nussbaumer and Miranda, who grew more confident during the game. Kurashev and Maillard had there moments.
Geisser and Gross made a solid job in the D zone.

I was a bit disappointed with Mueller, and he was rightfully benched in the 3rd when they shortened the bench.
I wonder if he carries an injury, wasn't as involved as usual.

And Eggenberger needs a strong partner on his line, I hope they put him together with Nussbaumer for next game. And create a strong 2-way line with Heim and Leuenberger.

From outside
Wohlwend's reaction to the too many players penalty looked a bit questionable. He looked way too nervous. Not what they needed IMO.

 

[jonas2244]

Wohlwend is that type of guy who reacts like this. Not the first time. But the team reacted very well to that goal, so he could have been right with that reaction. He probably knows the team better than we do.
I followed the 2nd half of the game closely, I thought they played solid, but made not enough out of their upside in skating. Kurashev was meh, somtimes great, but also some not needed giveaways. Gross and Geisser played very solid, Gross is very calm, and we cannot forget, he's still an underager. Great how he lifts the stick of the Belorussian seconds before the end of the game.

I agree about Eggenberger. And Nussbaumer should go to NA next year, he could turn into another first rounder until 2019.

 

[Speyer]

I wasn't able to watch the whole game but i agree with waht one poster said about not having a player who can carry the puck into the offensive zone. The last few years guys like Siegenthaler, Karrer and Malgin could do this, but this year we are laking in that department. Unfortunatly we can't just dump the puck in either, because our forwards are not physically strong enough to recover it. i would also try to put the best guys in the top two lines instead of spreading them out more, we just don't have the deph for that. Wohlwend could start by moving Sigrist out of the top six. I didn't like him at all yesterday. He was always trying to make the flashy play but wasn't able to create much while beeing outmatched physically.

 

[duga]

Wohlwend is that type of guy who reacts like this. Not the first time. But the team reacted very well to that goal, so he could have been right with that reaction. He probably knows the team better than we do.
I followed the 2nd half of the game closely, I thought they played solid, but made not enough out of their upside in skating. Kurashev was meh, somtimes great, but also some not needed giveaways. Gross and Geisser played very solid, Gross is very calm, and we cannot forget, he's still an underager. Great how he lifts the stick of the Belorussian seconds before the end of the game.

I agree about Eggenberger. And Nussbaumer should go to NA next year, he could turn into another first rounder until 2019.

Don't get me wrong, I think he is a fine option as a coach. Competitive as hell (young Arno?)
But it's a thin line in actions, mimics and gestics between critizing and humiliating players in public, especially with young players. I thought he went too far. Didn't they got scored on immediately after his tirade?
And then gained the momentum change themselves through the equalizer? Same after the goal by Jäger yesterday where Wohlwend went euphoric. I prefer it when the coaches work as a emotional equalizer. That said, he definitely had his team very well prepared for the Russia game.

It's funny how as soon as Nussbaumer and Eggenberger where put together, they got scored on 2 times nevertheless I hope he gives them another try.

Miranda remains a pleasure to watch... fine hands and such an efforteless and agile skater for his size... but needs to bulk up some more... could be a very fine player in a few years.

Wüthrich reminds me somehow of M.Gerber, calm and excellent technique.

Geisser, with all his solid play in the d-zone, one could hope, he'd risk a bit more on the attacking game. The skills would definitely be there.

Let's hope for more efforts like yesterday by the team.

 

[jonas2244]

No worry, I totally agree on that. I just wanted to add, that it's difficult to judge situations like this without any insight in a team.

Raffainer had a good interview on MySports explaining the situation with the weak 98-ers. They made the best out of it with icing that young team. It could work out the next year (or 2019). Sometimes you have to do that and it was really surprisinig how good they reacted after the 1-2 goal by Belarus. Wohlwend now has a 3-0 record with winning against the weakest team in the group while Celio before lost twice (with the best team we ever iced at World Juniors). Now they can use the (probably) 3 last games to learn from the best.