The rankings of the new foreigners in the National League: will a Swede help SCB turn things around?

Due to the Ukraine war, the KHL is no longer focused on, but in terms of sports it is still number 2 in the world after the NHL. The new SCB goalkeeper stayed with CSKA Moscow even after the outbreak of war and became champion for the second time in a row. In the spring, he blocked 93 percent of shots in 25 playoff games and celebrated five shutouts. The Swede has everything he needs to do the most exciting work on Swiss ice and contribute to SCB’s turnaround.

Anyone who has followed the major international tournaments already knows Omark’s successor at Servette. Manninen has always excelled in the Finnish national team – he became Olympic champion in 2022 and won World Cup gold in 2019 and 2022, taking 4- 3 scored in overtime against Canada in the final. Last season he made the jump to the NHL with Stanley Cup winner Las Vegas after four years in the KHL.

Before coming to Europe in 2021, the Canadian spent his career in the AHL and the third-tier ECHL (champion and 2018 playoff MVP with San Antonio). But in Finland, near Hämeenlinna, the Quebecois flourished. Last season he was the Liiga’s top scorer with 64 points in 60 games and was MVP of the regular season and delighted the fans with spectacular actions.

The Finnish Nati forward has had an incredible season in Sweden. In 51 games, he scored 37 goals, scored 66 points for Oskarshamn and was named SHL top scorer and MVP. With that in mind, it was a bit surprising that the former San Jose forward didn’t get a second chance in the NHL.

At 70 kilos, the 2019 Finnish U20 world champion is probably too light for the NHL (25 games for Florida). With his speed and talent, he should do better in Switzerland. Last season he played mainly in the AHL with Charlotte (43 points in 62 games). Bitter: Heponiemi missed the first three months with a knee injury.

The Finnish wing’s trophy collection is impressive: 2019 World Champion, 2022 Olympic Champion, 2023 Champion and Champions League winner with Tappara Tampere. In Kloten, the goal scorer with the laser shot meets Miro Aaltonen again, with whom he harmonized well at Podolsk when he became KHL top scorer in 2022 with 29 goals.

The Czech filled the nets in the AHL for years. Most recently he scored 30 times in 62 games for Springfield. The right-handed shooter has never been able to definitively establish himself in the NHL (124 games, 41 points). His greatest strength: his shot. At the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic, he thundered the puck into the goal at a speed of 175.7 km/h, even surpassing Zdeno Chara’s NHL record (169.5 km/h).

The winger only made his debut in the Swedish top competition at the age of 25. At Skelleftea he was voted SHL rookie of the year and a year later he signed an NHL contract with Boston. But neither with the Bruins nor with Seattle could the right-handed shooter assert himself in the best league in the world (22 games, 5 points). He impressed in the AHL at Coachella last season with 47 points in 44 games.

In the spring, the elegant runner became Swedish champion for the second time with Växjö, after having already won the title (and the Champions League) with Frölunda in 2016. Last but not least, the right-handed shooter must further refine EVZ’s power play.

Just like Tömmerne’s predecessor, the strong running defender’s qualities lie mainly in the offensive, which the Swedish national defender underlined last season with 31 points in 34 games for Färjestad.

ZSC coach Marc Crawford knows the Latvian World Cup bronze hero, who was trained in Norway, from their time together in Ottawa. With San José (twice), Florida and most recently Tampa Bay, three other NHL teams believed in the smart wing’s qualities and gave him a chance.

Like his new SCB colleague Reideborn, the Canadian also played one season in the KHL after the start of the war before terminating his contract this summer. With Vladimir Tkachev and Reid Boucher, he formed the most productive striker in the competition at Omsk. With Avangard he won the Gagarin Cup in 2021. In the NHL he played only 52 NHL games.

Thanks to his versatility and perseverance, the 1.91 m tall, 95 kg forward has spent the last seven years in the NHL (446 games, 134 points). Together with Ryan Keller and Roman Wick, the later ZSC striker champion from 2014, the bearded Canadian became AHL champion with Binghamton in 2011.

The French-Canadian has competed for a permanent spot in the NHL for the past eight seasons, but has played far fewer games in the NHL (91) than in the AHL (364), where the 2013 U18 world champion played in 48 games for the Tucson Roadrunners scored 41 points last season.

The son of an American hockey professional, who made his money in Sweden, failed to find a permanent spot in the NHL in two attempts (63 games) and spent last season mainly in the AHL with Rochester (28 points in 47 games). In Sweden he was named the best defender in 2018.

In the National League, foreigners who have their strengths mainly in defense usually do not have an easy time with the fans. But the 103-pound Swedish bear comes with the credential of 537 NHL games.

Success follows the complete defender from Finland, who last played in Sweden for Färjestad: champion with Kärpät Oulu in 2014, U20 world champion in 2014, KHL champion in 2021 with Omsk, Olympic champion and world champion in 2022. Not a dazzling one, but perhaps a player who hardly makes mistakes.

Just like the new SCB foreigners Reideborn and Knight, the Swede with an NHL past (37 games for Columbus) also played in the KHL for Dynamo Moscow last season. Unlike his predecessor Chlapik, he is not a pure goalscorer, but was part of the most productive KHL series with Nikita Michailis and Curtis Valk in 2021/22 with Astana.

When the Dallas Stars drafted the Finnish U20 world champion at 14th overall in 2014, they expected him to have a great career. But the technically skilled and smooth-running defenseman only played 87 NHL games. Last season he played in Sweden for Lulea (46 games, 27 points).

Does Lugano finally have a defender who can provide the music in attack? Last season, the Canadian with no NHL experience scored 18 times in Sweden for Timra and then HV71. Of these, only 4 hits were too high.

The complete defenseman with 80 NHL game experience with Pittsburgh is an excellent runner. Last season he played in Sweden for Oskarshamn (42 games, 19 points).

The American striker was brought to the Emmental to score goals. Last season, the 2012 U18 World Champion recorded 30 points in 57 KHL games for Astana.

The strong Nygren successor has played in Sweden for the past seven years and scored 36 points in 52 games for Örebro last season. In 2015 he won the Champions League with Lulea. In his home country Finland he won the championship title with Jyväskylä in 2012.

Perhaps the complete defender is exactly the man Gottéron was missing. In Sweden he became champion in 2017 with HV71, in 2018 he won the AHL title with the Toronto Marlies and in 2021 he won the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay (without playing in the play-offs). Last season he played for Frölunda.

His scoring values ​​in Sweden were solid, but never outstanding. Last season he had 32 points in 52 SHL games with Skelleftea and had the best plus/minus record (+25) in the SHL. With his speed he could fit in well with the EVZ.

The career trajectory of the Harvard graduate (two NHL games) and veteran AHL pro is no surprise to anyone. But there is no reason why detective Pascal Müller did not give the American striker a two-year contract.

The credentials of the last person in this ranking are also impressive. The Canadian striker became Finnish champion with Tappara in 2022 and recorded 45 points in 49 games last season in Wolfsburg.