International Hockey Roundtable
Switzerland Announces Home Squad for Swiss Hockey Games
Switzerland Announces Home Squad for Swiss Hockey GamesThe Swiss Ice Hockey Federation announced on Wednesday the team that will play on home ice in Fribourg at the Swiss Ice Hockey Games Dec. 12 to 15.
It will be the second leg of the 2024-25 Euro Hockey Tour. In the first leg in Helsinki last month, the Swiss finished third with three points.
“The excitement for the Swiss Ice Hockey Games is huge,” said head coach Patrick Fischer. “It’s always something special to play in front of your own fans, and that gives us extra motivation. Not only do we want to continue to develop as a team and build on our performance at the Karjala Cup, but we also want to give something back to the fans for their support - commitment, passion, and team spirit."
Of the 24 players, 23 play domestically in the National League, the only exception being defenseman Dominik Ergli, who plays for Frölunda HC in Sweden.
The roster is led by five players each from EV Zug and Lausanne and four from the defending champion ZSC Lions. Fresh off two-point performances in the first leg of a Champions Hockey League quarterfinal win over Eisbären Berlin in Germany, Zurich top-liners and former NHLers Sven Andrighetto and Denis Malgin will lead the offense.
First-place Davos only has one player on the team – defenseman Sven Jung. The team’s legendary winger, 41-year-old Andres Ambühl scored a goal in two games at the Karjala Cup in Finland but will not be playing this time.
Goaltenders (2): Stéphane Charlin (SCL Tigers), Ludovic Waeber (EHC Kloten).
Defensemen (8): Dominik Egli (Frölunda HC / SHL), Lukas Frick, Andrea Glauser, Fabian Heldner (all Lausanne HC), Sven Jung (HC Davos), Roger Karrer (Genève-Servette HC), Dean Kukan, Christian Marti (both ZSC Lions).
Forwards (14): Sven Andrighetto, Denis Malgin (both ZSC Lions), Thierry Bader, Marco Lehmann (SC Bern), Christoph Bertschy, Sandro Schmid (Fribourg-Gottéron), Attilio Biasca, Fabrice Herzog, Grégory Hofmann, Sven Senteler, Dario Simion (all EV Zug), Ken Jäger, Damien Riat (both Lausanne HC), Calvin Thürkauf (HC Lugano).