Are we not good enough?: Association responds to Niederreiter’s concerns with the national team

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Blick: Mr Schärer, Nino Niederreiter is concerned about the development of Swiss ice hockey. Justifiably?
Stefan Schärer: Nino is right in saying that other countries, such as Slovakia, are investing a lot in their prospects. In order to keep up with this development, we trust that our Swiss prospects can take on more responsibility at different levels in a targeted manner.

Where does the association see the reasons why only a few Swiss have been selected in the NHL draft in recent years?
We also see that Switzerland has produced fewer NHL drafts in recent years. We have had several conversations in recent months to find out the reasons. Compared to Slovakia, Switzerland had 20 percent more NHL drafts between 2014 and 2018. However, over the past five years, Slovakia has produced three times more NHL drafts than Switzerland. We were also overtaken by Germany and Belarus in NHL drafts. We are currently analyzing and revising our strategy. Together with the clubs in the National League and Swiss League, we must review the athlete path and jointly define a strategy to advance our prospects.

Niederreiter doubts whether Swiss players will benefit from the National League. How does the association see the development since the increase to six foreigners?
The National League is an attractive product. However, the evaluation of the U20 World Cup has shown that competitors of the same age from Europe’s top countries clearly receive more playing time in their top competitions. This allows these players to develop at a higher level, strengthening the national team and giving the player a chance at an NHL draft.

Source : Blick