After flirting with Canada: Rochette in the national team after three years of exile

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Théo Rochette (21) made his debut for the national team on Thursday in the 2-4 win against Finland and gave some examples of his talent. For example, he prepared Thierry Bader’s 1-0 goal.

The Lausanne attacker had to wait a long time for his debut. In December a foot injury prevented him from making his debut. Before that, he was blacklisted by the association for three years, after he decided to switch from the Swiss to the Canadian junior team in 2018. “We do not want to be a springboard for other associations. We want a long-term commitment to play for Canada,” the Canadian association said at the time.

Considered a top talent, the son of former referee Stéphane Rochette moved to the Canadian junior league QMJHL and hoped to be drafted early in the draft. But no NHL team secured the rights to him. He also couldn’t assert himself in the top-ranked Canadian national junior team. This season he returned to his parent club Lausanne, where he has already scored ten goals.

Weibel: “There is a clear rule”

He was blacklisted by the Swiss Federation only for rejecting selection for the 2020 U20 World Cup. “The quarantines made everything a bit complicated. “I would have missed a lot of championship games and since I haven’t had a good start to the season I didn’t want to do that,” he said at the time.

After three years, Rochette has now been pardoned. “There is a clear rule and we have applied it. But we also indicated that rehabilitation was possible,” says Nati director Lars Weibel.

“I’m happy to see my work rewarded,” says Rochette. “This story is a bit old and I’ve never been mad at anyone. We are no longer with the juniors, but with the professionals, and this team is a bonus with which I can continue to learn and improve.”

Source : Blick