National Championship 1st Stage: The most important things to know about the start of the National League season

Internationally, Switzerland is one of the best in ice hockey. But the National League championship also has a lot to offer domestically. The most important questions before the start of the season on Tuesday.

Who is the top favorite?

As balanced as the top Swiss league may be, on paper there can only be one favorite: the ZSC Lions. The defending champions from Zurich are still top-notch in both offense and defense. Compared to the championship season, sports director Sven Leuenberger only had to make a few changes to the squad. The Finn Santtu Kinnunen is a strong defender. Departures of experienced players such as Simon Bodenmann (retirement), Reto Schäppi (to Kloten) and Phil Baltisberger (SCL Tigers) were compensated for with talents from the team’s own youth team. The few changes in the team also pose the risk of a championship blues. Coach Marc Crawford, however, will do everything in his power to prevent this from happening. A big plus in addition to the immense quality in the team is the routine: the current ZSC squad has experience of almost 2000 NHL games.

Who are the biggest challengers?

Last season, ZSC was challenged by Lausanne HC in the playoff finals until the end. After the departure of Connor Hughes, the Vaudois are relying on a young Swiss goalie duo in Kevin Pasche (21) and Thibaut Fatton (22), thereby demonstrating courage. With five new foreigners, the face of the team has changed significantly, but not the demands, which are still high. This also applies to EV Zug, the champions of the 2021 and 2022 seasons, who want to play at the top again after a reorganization of the team. Genève-Servette and Fribourg-Gottéron can also be expected again this season. While the Genevans had a difficult last season after their championship debut in 2023 and even missed the playoffs after winning the Champions Hockey League, the longing for their first championship title is still great in Fribourg. Servette has to play its first eight games away from home due to the renovation of the Les Vernets hall.

What does the fight for lines promise?

Because the play-in system means there are two dividing lines (six and ten teams), the qualification has become even more exciting. While Davos, Lugano, Biel and Bern want to prove once again that they are good enough for the playoffs, the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers, Ambri-Piotta and the SCL Tigers are keen to return there. The last playoff qualification for the Leventines and Emmentalers was five years ago. Ajoie and Kloten will probably be the most difficult. The last two promoted teams are aiming for the next step in their development.

Who is betting on a new coach?

Last season, two clubs, Kloten and Biel, sacked their coaches. After interim solutions, both are starting the championship with a new head coach. Kloten is now under the leadership of former Finnish national coach Lauri Marjamäki, while Biel is relying on a Swede, Martin Filander. Filander is to lead the major changes in Seeland following the departure of numerous Swiss key players and the resignation of Beat Forster (new assistant coach). There was little movement in the squad in Freiburg. After the separation from Christian Dubé, however, there is a new boss there too, in the form of his previous assistant Patrick Emond. Emond, like his predecessor, is Canadian.

With Christian Wohlwend (Ajoie), Thierry Paterlini (SCL Tigers), Luca Gianinazzi (Lugano), Jan Cadieux (Servette), Luca Cereda (Ambri-Piotta) and the Canadian-Swiss dual citizen Josh Holden (Davos), six head coaches in the national league currently have a Swiss passport. Cereda is also the longest-serving coach in the league (in office since 2017/18), while Gianinazzi is the youngest at 31 years of age.

What new attractions can fans expect?

In addition to local stars such as Denis Malgin and Calvin Thürkauf, foreign players will also provide plenty of spectacle on Swiss ice in the coming months. For many years, the league was flooded with Canadians; some, such as (the controversial) Todd Elik, have achieved great popularity here. But that trend is long gone. Of the 94 foreign players, only 13 come from the country of the record world champions. That is 12 fewer than in the previous season. SC Bern fits the picture perfectly, having not a single Canadian in its ranks for the first time since the 1969/70 season. Sweden and Finland have the most imported players, with 30 each. The Rapperswil-Jona Lakers are relying on a Swedish sextet, four of whom are newcomers.

In total, the 14 clubs have signed 36 new foreign players. Ambri has pulled off a late coup with the (temporary) return of Czech world champion Dominik Kubalik. The Finnish whirlwind Jerry Turkulainen and his compatriot Oula Palve (most recently the league’s top scorer in his home country) could be a big attraction, both of whom are new to Ajoie. Bern is announcing a real sharpshooter in the form of the Swedish giant Victor Ejdsell. Or Lausanne will be looking at long-time KHL defender David Sklenicka.

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