‘We don’t have a single player under contract’

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Something like this doesn’t happen every day in Swiss ice hockey. SC Langenthal, a former Swiss League top club, has to set up a completely new team after being voluntarily relegated to the MyHockey League. The Oberaargauer invite you to a public training, a so-called try-out. Ice hockey players without a contract can thus present themselves at the top of the club.

But how good should the players for the amateur competition MyHockey League actually be? To find out, BlickTV presenter Armando Flüeler ventures onto the ice. Shortly before the start of the training, the nervousness of the hobby ice hockey player visibly increases. “I can hold a stick well and skate reasonably well. But the boys here all have top hockey training. I have a lot of respect.”

A horror with announcement

But how did Langenthal come to be desperate for players? We rewind to December 2022. SC Langenthal announces to stop professional activities after 21 seasons in Switzerland’s second highest league and three championship titles. But the retreat was foreseeable. The SCL has been looking for a new home for years. The Schorenstadion, built in 1961, is no longer economical for a professional club. The rental contract expires. There have been plans for a new ice rink for years, but the city is struggling with funding.

Now Langenthal faces a new beginning and the first season in the MyHockey League. But: “At the moment we don’t have any players under contract.” says head of sports and general manager Marc Kämpf (32), who was still on the ice with the first team until a few weeks ago. All contracts with the previous players have expired.

Heavy pace at the tryout

A clear player profile is now being sought: “I want guys who can run well. If you have good skaters, everything becomes easier.” The former SCB striker sees the fact that the first team currently consists of zero players as an opportunity. “We can now form the team exactly as we want.” There are plenty of candidates. Nearly 40 ice hockey players gathered in SC Langenthal’s locker room on Saturday evening for the second and final tryout, coming from all over Switzerland, even neighboring countries, to secure a spot in the new team, many of them young, U20 juniors, eager to launch their career.

Shortly before training starts, the mood in the locker room is tense. On the ice you can see that the try-out level is extremely high. Under the watchful eye of coach Robert Othmann and sports director Marc Kämpf, sprinting, checking and fighting take place. Now it is decided who will get on the ice when SC Langenthal reinvents itself in the MyHockey League.

Incidentally, the training for Blick reporter Armando Flüeler is over after fifteen minutes. Not because the amateur ice hockey player gets injured. But because the level is simply too high for him. “I can never keep up with the guys here. The intensity is great, the speed, the power. Madness!” The video shows how much Armando Flüeler lagged behind at the try-out.

Source : Blick