The dream team of qualifying: a wizard at the back, a Swiss NHL prospect up front

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Anyone in goal for the Lions quickly comes under suspicion that they are merely benefiting from the performances of those in front of them. But without the Czech’s saves, the Zurich team would not have been number 1 in qualifying. This is also underlined by his breathtaking statistics: 1.88 goals conceded per game, 93.21 percent defense percentage.

Increasing the number of foreigners to six has brought a new breed of players to the National League over the past two years: Cerberus, the hellhound who guarded the underworld in Greek mythology. A lawyer who takes his job description seriously and first and foremost… defends it. The best example of this is Patrik Nemeth. The Swedish cabinet, who is 1.92 meters tall and weighs 103 kilos, is now doing in Bern what he did in the NHL earlier in ten years. No one achieves his goal with impunity. No one in Bern is complaining that Nemeth doesn’t play a big role offensively.

Dahlbeck also came to Switzerland as a ‘stay-at-home defender’. And in his second year, the Swede, who played in the NHL and KHL, was still extremely solid on defense and had the best plus/minus record in the league (+30) along with Marcus Sörensen. He is now living out his attacking passion in our spectacular competition, scoring 7 goals and 26 points in qualifying.

All good things come in threes. The same goes for the Swedes in this qualifying team. The top scorer and top scorer of the competition should not be missed. But Sörensen offers more than just everyday score points: he is also an extremely spicy guy who does not shy away from flirting and also interferes verbally. He learned this in the NHL, where he got his hands dirty working for now-retired veteran star Joe Thornton.

What an explosion of performance. Last season, Lugano’s captain only managed 19 points, now he fought with Marcus Sörensen for the scorer title until the end and scored 60 points. With his strength he led the way for the Ticino team and formed a super storm with Michael Joly and Daniel Carr. The trio scored 65 of Lugano’s 159 goals. Thürkauf’s strong performance certainly did not go unnoticed by NHL teams. Until the end of June, his rights remain with the Columbus Blue Jackets, for whom he played three games in the 2019/20 season.

There are also Swiss players in the National League who are not only followers, but also leaders. One of these is the Fribourg peak. Since returning from North America in 2018 (9 NHL games for Minnesota), Bertschy has been performing and scoring goals consistently. Bertschy has never been as strong as this season. Especially at the beginning of the season, he flew over the ice and was almost unstoppable.

The former teacher knows what he is doing. Everyone in Bern noticed this when the successful coach arrived in the summer. In qualifying, the Finn led the Bernese team to 5th place. With ice hockey that is even more tailor-made for the play-offs than for qualifying. Under him, SCB plays extremely straight and structured.

Source : Blick