Leading the way in the Swiss league: a farm team as the top power

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The playouts? No. Although sponsors, fans and TV viewers were given the illusion during 52 qualifying matches that the third and final battle, with the fear of relegation breathing down their necks, would offer the real excitement. The designated play-out finalists Kloten and Ajoie, despite sporting shortcomings (Ajoie) and serious strategic errors (Kloten), escape unscathed because the National League sets its own rules, and not a higher authority with an eye for the big picture.

In NL everyone knows that for the total product a structure with two closely linked and permeable leagues of 10 or 12 would be the ideal solution – but nothing changes because a change in mode requires a unanimous decision. No one sees the branch they are sitting on. Or as Marc Lüthi says in Hockey Talk: “A club cannot survive relegation.” The motto: After us the flood.

The GCK Lions are now a top team

So you leave the rest of Swiss ice hockey to its fate. In the Swiss League, the successful farm team ZSC Lions is in the final against La Chaux-de-Fonds, which is not allowed to continue due to the complacent rules of the National League. An event like a grammar school festival in the province: the whole village is there, but no one else gets tickled. A short time ago the GCK Lions were hardly a play-off candidate, now they are among the top teams in the Swiss league.

What does Chur know that everyone else doesn’t?

The EVZ disbanded its farming team two years ago and says it has excellent relations with it. Langenthal stepped down a year ago, while Olten, eager to move up, threw a double-digit million sum down the chimney for his three-year project. Martigny has withdrawn from this dilapidated structure and the Ticino Rockets are likely to follow the Valais soon. Chur, who voluntarily decided to climb into this bottomless barrel, will be mentioned as an anachronism – perhaps the inhabitants of Graubünden know more than anyone else.

Kloten can celebrate – don’t forget the invitation to the ZSC Lions

Things don’t look any better further down the line: the MyHockey League and the 1st League have been cannibalizing each other at the same level for years. There has been an unclear debate for a long time about how young talent should be integrated into professional business operations in the best possible way. Swiss ice hockey is a pyramid that balances on the top and lets the worn foundation erode.

The end of the season can now be celebrated extensively in Kloten. We were able to beat our generous neighbor from the city three times and the support of the farming team was in addition. An invitation to the big party at the edge of the forest would be appropriate.

Source : Blick