Patrick Fischer made a last wave of cups for the World Championship which begins Friday in Finland. Romain Loeffel, Noah Rod, Andre Heim and Mike Künzle were sent home.
It is to say the least unexpected to see Romain Loeffel and Noah Rod discarded at the last moment. Present at 5 Worlds and 2 Olympics, the future defender of Bern did not find favor in the eyes of Fischer this year, while the captain of Geneva-Servette had been in the last 3 campaigns. Among the surprises are strikers Marco Miranda (long injured this season) and Nando Eggenberger.
So that makes 25 names with 3 goalkeepers, 8 defenders and 14 attackers. The list is not definitive, however, as Switzerland have their eyes on Nashville with the hope of seeing the Predators eliminated by Colorado (the Avalanche lead 3-0 in the series) and Roman Josi flying to join the Finnish capital. Engaged with the Hershey Bears in AHL, defender Tobias Geisser could be an option in the event of elimination.
News at the weekend
As for forwards Nino Niederreiter (Carolina) and Kevin Fiala (Minnesota), remember that they are out of contract. This means that the Swiss federation must take out rather expensive insurance in the event of injury. If they were to join the Swiss team, it could be in place of Miranda and Eggenberger.
The director of national teams Lars Weibel also specifies that the selection is not final and that we will know more at the end of the week.
ats/btro