International Ice is NHL.com’s weekly series, covering topics that go beyond what’s happening in the NHL with a focus on players, clubs and national teams in Europe.
In this issue: Switzerland builds on the pillars of Kukan and Andrighetto at their home tournament
From today, Thursday to Sunday, the Swiss national team will complete another endurance test with a view to the IIHF World Championship 2023. The team will meet Finland, Sweden and the Czech Republic at the Swiss Ice Hockey Games in Fribourg. The tournament is the second of four stops on the Euro Hockey Tour 2022/23 in which this quartet will face each other. At the start of this series of competitions, at the Karjala Cup in November in Turku, Finland, the national team finished second.
This time, Switzerland’s 25-man squad includes two debutants in goalkeeper Connor Hughes from Fribourg-Gottéron and striker Willy Riedi from ZSC Lions. The two newcomers complement a squad with a lot of international experience. Nine players have already played at the Karjala Cup. The key players of the Swiss team include the two former NHL pros Dean Kukan and Sven Andrighetto, both of whom are in the service of the ZSC Lions.
Blueliner Kukan left North America after seven years in May and joined the top club from Zurich. He has had an excellent season there. With 24 points (five goals, 19 assists) from 27 appearances, he is the team’s top scorer. This haul also means he shares first place among all defenders in the National League. With a plus-minus balance of +19, he is even the sole leader among the defensive players and second best in the overall ranking.
Video: BUF@CBJ: Kukan scores two goals
While Kukan often flew under the radar with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL, he was one of the top performers from the start with the ZSC Lions. “Being able to play a bigger role was the main reason why I returned. And I have to say: It’s a lot more fun,” Volketswiler told the Swiss daily Blick.
His five goals, which he has already scored halfway through the regular season, are particularly notable. Before that, he had never scored more than four goals in a season during his professional career. “Scoring goals was never really my thing. But I generally shoot a lot more here. There’s more space than on the smaller ice fields,” explained Kukan.
With his experience and his class, the defensive player is not only one of the leaders in his club, but also in the national team. The same applies to Sven Andrighetto, who has 114 points (55 goals, 59 assists) from 126 regular-season appearances with the ZSC Lions in two and a half years.
The Swiss national coach Patrick Fischer is looking forward to the forthcoming duels against top-class opponents. “We’re really looking forward to performing in front of our home crowd. We’re motivated to pick up where we left off in Turku in front of hopefully many fans in Fribourg,” he said. At the Karjala Cup, his protégés won against Finland and the Czech Republic. Only against Sweden did the Nati lose out after extra time.
[Ähnliches: Josi beim SRF zum MVP des Jahres gewählt]
Switzerland will start their home tournament tonight with a game against Sweden. At the same time, Finland and the Czech Republic play in Helsinki before both teams travel to Fribourg. On Saturday there will be encounters between Sweden and Finland as well as Switzerland and the Czech Republic. Switzerland meets Finland and Sweden meets the Czech Republic on Sunday.
Lars Weibel, Director Sport at Swiss Ice Hockey, is excited about the ideas of the national team. “Together with the local organizers in Fribourg, we want to put together a great event and, with the support of our fans, present our ice hockey from the best side,” he emphasized.
Switzerland’s squad for the Swiss Hockey Games:
goalkeeper: Gauthier Descloux (Genève-Servette HC), Connor Hughes (Fribourg-Gottéron), Ludovic Waeber (ZSC Lions)
defender: Santeri Alatalo (HC Lugano), Dominik Egli (HC Davos), Michael Fora (HC Davos), Lukas Frick (Lausanne HC), Dean Kukan (ZSC Lions), Simon Le Coultre (Genève-Servette HC), Romain Loeffel (SC Bern), Christian Marti (ZSC Lions)
striker: Sven Andrighetto (ZSC Lions), Christoph Bertschy (Fribourg-Gottéron), Enzo Corvi (HC Davos), Jason Fuchs (Lausanne HC), Gaëtan Haas (EHC Biel-Bienne), Fabrice Herzog (EV Zug), Marco Miranda (Geneva -Servette HC), Killian Mottet (Fribourg-Gottéron), Tyler Moy (SCRJ Lakers), Vincent Praplan (Geneva-Servette HC), Damien Riat (Lausanne HC), Willy Riedi (ZSC Lions), Noah Rod (Geneva-Servette HC ), Tristan Scherwey (SC Bern), Calvin Thürkauf (HC Lugano)
The dates in Switzerland at a glance:
15th December
8:15 p.m .: Switzerland – Sweden
December 17th
8:15 p.m .: Switzerland – Czech Republic
December 18th
1:00 p.m.: Switzerland – Finland
All national team games are broadcast live on the SRG channels (SRF, RTS, RSI).
[Ähnliches: Roman Josi bricht Rekord von Mark Streit: “Das bedeutet mir viel”]