Where’s the bang – and which club makes you yawn?: The National League’s spectacle rankings

Stephen Roth And Dinosaur Kessler

The SCB moves. In the capital, three thirds without a shot on target creates more emotions than elsewhere a hat-trick or a ‘stängeli’. Players change as quickly as the prices in the supermarket. Four wins in a row? The next crisis will certainly be around the corner soon. And there she is! Even a standout player like Jussi Tapola has to be careful. And boss Marc Lüthi didn’t even let go.

They offer: Sörensen, Berra, Bertschy, Sprunger et al. Of course there is also Chris DiDomenico, with everyone eagerly awaiting his first loss of control since his return from Bern. And all this in a stadium tailor-made for the most dramatic performances possible. Wonderful.

Now the Zeelanders are making music on the ice again. Including encores (already 14 extensions). A lot happened before that, especially outside. Hardly a day goes by without a transfer announcement – ​​save yourself if you can. And there was also a crackling atmosphere between ex-coach Antti Törmänen and his successor, “Anti-Antti” Petri Matikainen.

A manager from the DEL who, as a coach in a crisis, can also claim to have won all the derbies of the season (so far). Sapperlot. And yet a play-out series against Ajoie is looming, wonderful. This is a sensation.

National League

The big transfer overview

Wohlwend will stay with Ajoie next season

Former Lausanne boss Petr Svoboda

“In Switzerland I encountered racism and hatred”

“Bite me all over my body”

Biel striker Mike Künzle and his life with neurodermatitis

John Slettvoll/Bill Gilligan

They fought each other, united – now they look back

Captain and top scorer Calvin Thürkauf is a force, his accomplice Michael Joly is one with a very fine knife. And then Lugano is also part of the biggest spectacle of Swiss hockey, the Ticino Derby. Apart from the ice, we have kept our nerves in check so far. The young coach Luca Gianninazzi (31) has already survived two bear markets.

There is the charisma of the record champions. There is the Spengler Cup, which as an event fascinates the masses. There’s a former bully coach who gets high marks from everyone and for everything – unless you ask Tomas Jurco. But no one asks him.

Spectacle with the master? Not always. But if so, then huge. Furthermore, they were the first Swiss team to reach the final of the Champions League 2.0. That makes up for the warm evenings.

It’s a shame if they don’t have a few more points under their belt – otherwise all hell would break loose on the highway to the carefree buffer zone. But they have Christian Wohlwend, and not only is he preparing them for a riot, he could lose his nerve at any moment.

Well, Ambri is also part of the derby. And the Montanara still offers goosebumps. But the fake underdog romance? Trite.

Somehow you get excited about the Tigers, that’s something. Then there’s Julian Dirt and some pretty entertaining Finns, one even with a tongue-in-cheek name (Mäenalanen) and Swiss goalkeepers who will put you in a good mood.

If ex-boss Petr Svoboda had not recently made absurd accusations of racism against Switzerland, people would have forgotten that HC Lausanne still exists. Without the Czech it has become lukewarm. No more chaos and no more bandit hockey.

In any case, the goalkeeper Nyffeler, who lets his fists fly for a teammate (Moy). Otherwise? Nothing much happens. Even a sports crisis can now be easily dealt with, because there are others that are even worse.

The EVZ is a lot, but not spectacular. Everything professional, correct and clinical, like in the OYM training center in Cham. At least there is Lino Martschini, who makes people sit up and take notice with a hat trick.

There used to be: the legendary third place, robust figures, a tangle of agreements in the Hallenstadion. And now? A beautiful new building between the railway and the highway, a captain who says ‘Fagg’ with false indignation after a derby defeat and a false deficit in performance culture at the level of the sporting director. Yawning.

National League 23/24

Presented by

		team	SP	T.D	PT
	1	HC Fribourg-Gotteron	40	41	81
	2	ZSC Lions	39	40	80
	3	EV train	39	48	77
	4	Lausanne HC	39	23	68
	5	HC Lugano	40	16	64
	6	SC Bern	40	-7	62
	7	Geneva-Servette HC	39	-8th	59
	8th	HC Davos	37	13	57
	9	EHC Biel	39	3	57
	10	HC Ambri-Piotta	39	-8th	53
	11	SCL Tigers	40	-39	48
	12	SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers	39	-32	43
	13	EHC Kloten	40	-49	40
	14	HC Ajoie	36	-41	30