The Spengler Cup is underway. The annual tournament features five European club teams and a team made up of Canadian nationals playing in Europe or the AHL. The club teams are allowed to augment their roster with pick-up, or substitute players. Most of these players come from Switzerland’s National League, which takes a break from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day.
The Spengler Cup has a long tradition of substitute players. The original purpose of them was to mitigate the talent disparity between top teams from the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Sweden and those from Switzerland and West Germany. Nowadays, they serve more to deepen the rosters of the teams – which might have to play as many as five games in six days – and allow them to give each player at least one game off.
A couple of teams are using this opportunity to bring back former players – including Finn Saku Mäenalanen, formerly of the Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets, to childhood club Kärpät Oulu, and veteran winger Sandro Schönberger to the Straubing Tigers.
Czech team Dynamo Pardubice, which is dealing with injuries to Roman Červenka and Jiří Smejkal, has opted to call up four players from its farm team, which competes in Czechia’s second-tier pro league. One of those is 20-year-old goaltender Jakub Vondraš, a Carolina prospect.
Dynamo Pardubice (CZE) – G Jakub Vondraš (Dynamo Pardubice B / CZE), C Tomáš Kaut (Dynamo Pardubice B / CZE), C Daniel Rákos (Dynamo Pardubice B / CZE), Michal Pochobradský (Dynamo Pardubice B / CZE).
Fribourg-Gottéron (SUI) – D T.J. Brennan (HC Ajoie / USA), F Michal Krištof (SCL Tigers / SVK), C Daniel Audette (EHC Kloten / CAN).
HC Davos (SUI) – D Theodor Lennström (Genève-Servette / SWE), C Oula Palve (Genève-Servette / FIN).
Kärpät Oulu (FIN) – F Saku Mäenalanen (SCL Tigers / FIN).
Straubing Tigers (GER) – D Zac Leslie (Adler Mannheim / CAN), LW Sandro Schönberger (Tölzer Löwen / GER), RW Eric Uba (Adler Mannheim / CAN).