As was expected, Kevin Fiala has been added to the Swiss national team’s roster at the IIHF World Championship. The 28-year-old Los Angeles Kings forward’s addition had been delayed due to an unspecified family issue.

“We all know Kevin – his commitment to the team and Switzerland is impressive,” said Swiss coach Patrick Fischer. “He always gives his all for Switzerland and loves to represent our country internationally with great passion. With him, we gain a valuable, creative, and goal-scoring element for our offense.”

Fiala has missed Switzerland’s first two games of the tournament – an overtime loss to Czechia and a regulation win over Denmark – and it’s unclear from the announcement if he’s already in Herning. If so, he might be ready for Monday’s game against the USA. Switzerland’s fourth game is not until Thursday against Germany.

Last year in Czechia, Fiala joined the team two games into the tournament following the birth of his daughter and had an immediate impact. He registered 13 points in eight games en route to the silver medal and was voted tournament MVP.

Big game for Kevin Fiala after birth of daughter In his first game at the 2024 IIHF World Championship, Kevin Fiala scored his team’s only goal in regulation time and again in the shootout as Switzerland defeated host Czechia 2-1 to earn a points split of the same score in what could turn out to be a key game for seeding in Group A.

With that, here is the updated Swiss roster:

Goaltenders (3): Sandro Aeschlimann (HC Davos), Stéphane Charlin (SCL Tigers), Leonardo Genoni (EV Zug).

Defensemen (9): Tim Berni (Genève-Servette HC / Columbus Blue Jackets), Dominik Egli (Frölunda HC, SWE), Michael Fora (HC Davos), Andrea Glauser (Lausanne HC), Sven Jung (HC Davos), Dean Kukan (ZSC Lions), Christian Marti (ZSC Lions), Janis Moser (Tampa Bay Lightning), Jonas Siegenthaler (New Jersey Devils).

Forwards (15): Andres Ambühl (HC Davos), Sven Andrighetto (ZSC Lions), Nicolas Baechler (ZSC Lions), Christoph Bertschy (HC Fribourg-Gottéron), Kevin Fiala (Los Angeles Kings), Nico Hischier (New Jersey Devils), Grégory Hofmann (EV Zug), Ken Jäger (Lausanne HC), Simon Knak (HC Davos / Nashville Predators), Denis Malgin (ZSC Lions), Timo Meier (New Jersey Devils), Tyler Moy (SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers), Damien Riat (Lausanne HC), Dario Rohrbach (SCL Tigers), Sandro Schmid (HC Fribourg-Gottéron).