Hobby fisherman, student and pardoner: these six newcomers can shake up the national team

Marcel AllemannIce hockey reporter

Stéphane Charlin (23), goalkeeper, SCL Tigers

He was once considered even more talented than Akira Schmid, who was the same age. He already has 48 NHL games under his belt, while Charlin hit the ground running with his hometown club Servette and has now truly launched his career with the SCL Tigers. Also because he has become physically more robust and professional. At 191 cm he is one of the tall goalkeepers, but he is also characterized by his reflexes. The NHL is the dream of de Romand, who enjoys playing poker and bowling in his spare time, but first has to make his national team debut.
World Cup odds: intact, but not yet 2024.

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Benoît Jecker (29), defender, Fribourg

The former junior international is currently playing the best and most productive season (5 goals, 8 assists) of his career. Jecker was underestimated for a long time and he had to take detours to reach his current status at his parent club Fribourg. At the age of 16 he moved to the juniors in Davos, three years later he went to Biel, where he made his debut in the NLA and stayed for five years. Two years followed in Lugano before he returned to Fribourg in 2020 and developed into a reliable asset in defense. He is also working on his life after hockey and continues his education at the Economic University in Freiburg.
World Cup odds: unlikely.

Dario Wüthrich (24), defender, Ambri

Was called up to replace the injured Inaki Baragano and is the most fantastic newcomer. The man from Aargau went through the youth department of EV Zug, but hardly saw a place in the National League. In January 2023, the former U20 national team player was loaned out to Visp in the Swiss league for the remainder of the season. However, with his transfer to Ambri this season he was able to give his career a new boost. Now the defensive back (0 goals, 4 assists in 122 NL games) is already in the national team. His girlfriend Sophie Hediger (25) is also currently on a high: the snowboard crosser celebrated her first two World Cup podiums in the past two weeks.
World Cup odds: equals zero.

Tino Kessler (27), striker, Biel

Comes from Schiers GR from Prättigau and completed the juniors at HC Davos. But after stagnating there, Kessler moved to Biel in 2020 and has developed into a top performer there. This has also been noticed by HCD and they will therefore bring in the dynamic striker next season. He will now even do that as a national player. In addition to ice hockey, the Graubünden resident also has a great passion for fishing.
World Cup odds: minimal.

Marc Marchon (28), striker, Kloten

He is one of the biggest bastards on Swiss ice, covering a genre that is in high demand. So big that before this season he was able to sign a three-year contract with SC Bern from next season. And that is why it is only logical that the former EVZ junior can appear in the national team for the first time. He creates a lot of mess on the ice, but also scores more than 10 NL goals per season and is also a very friendly, well-mannered guy. He is also trained as a sports manager at the HSG and always has to watch his vitamin levels because he does not like salad, vegetables or fruit.
World Cup odds: small outsider opportunity as a role player.

Théo Rochette (21), striker, Lausanne

At U17 we were in danger of losing the dual nationality and son of Stéphane Rochette (ex-referee and current TV pundit for the French-language department of MySports) to Canada. But since he played in a tournament for the Ahorn Leaves, but never in a World Cup, he is still eligible to play for the national team. However, he was persona non grata with the association until last summer, when he rejected selection for the 2020 U20 World Cup because he did not want to be quarantined during the pandemic at the time. However, the disagreement has now been resolved and Rochette has been pardoned. Romand would have been present at the December meeting had he not been injured. Rochette’s scoring numbers in the QMJHL junior league were magical and it’s actually inexplicable that he always got passed over in the NHL draft. That is why he returned to Lausanne in the summer and is now trying to realize his NHL dream through the National League, following the example of Pius Suter (Vancouver).
World Cup odds: big, but hardly already in 2024.