A Swiss Examination

I'll never turn down an opportunity to watch a Spengler Cup game since the teams that play at that tournament always have players that I had forgotten were still playing. That's not to say that I didn't expect them to be playing, but statistics and results from the Swiss National League aren't posted on SportsCentre. The Spengler Cup always features the host HC Davos team who always seems to have a former NHL player on their roster, but the Fribourg-Gottéron team that is joining them as the second Swiss team in the tournament has attracted some solid talent as well.

We'll start with the top team in the National League as HC Davos is having a whale of a season in leading the league to this point. They sit with a 20-5-4-3 record and 71 points - 12 points better than second-place Lausanne HC! Forward Matej Stransky leads the league in scoring and goals with 18 tallies and 16 assists, so teams will need to keep an eye on him in ten days. Enzo Corvi is tied for third-place in scoring with 29 points, and his 20 assists are two off the league lead in that category while Filip Zadina, the former Red Wings and Sharks forward, is third in team scoring with 26 points. Add in former NHL forwards Adam Tambellini and Rasmus Asplund and former NHL defender Klas Dahlbeck, and HC Davos has proven scoring talent!

Defensively, Sandro Aeschlimann has 13 wins on the season to go along with a 2.05 GAA and a .928 save percentage, so he's providing solid goaltending for Switzerland's top team. They have a goal differential of +44 through 30 games - 17 goals better than Lausanne HC - and they are the only team to hit triple-digits in goals at 118. They're the fifth-best team at preventing goals as they've surrendered 74 goals, but Davos will likely live and die by their scoring abilities.

Looking to close the gap on Davos is Fribourg-Gottéron who sit tied for second-place with Lausanne HC at 59 points on a 15-9-6-2 record. They are the third-best defensive team, and a large part of that success is due to former NHL goaltender Rito Berra who sports 14 wins, a 1.52 GAA, and a .935 save percentage in his 21 appearances. Berra also has four shutouts and he's surrendered just 32 goals this season of the 73 total that the squad has given up, so I'm expecting Fribourg-Gottéron to lean on their defensive game in Davos.

That doesn't mean they can't score, though, as they have former San Jose Sharks forward Marcus Sörensen leading the way with seven goals and 29 points as he leads the league in helpers while being tied for third-overall in scoring. Sandro Schmid has nine goals and 27 points to help Fribourg-Gottéron, and former Minnesota Wild prospect Christoph Bertschy has eight goals and 20 points. Fribourg-Gottéron has some scoring, and they'll need it at the Spengler Cup.

You might be thinking, "Didn't Brendan Lemieux land in Davos?", and the former NHLer did sign there where he's still not living up to his draft potential. He's played in just 13 games this season, missing almost all of November and recording just two goals and two assists. It's reported that Lemieux hasn't quite measured up in the fitness department, but we'll see how this year's tournament treats him. Of course, this is the kind of poor sportsmanship shown by Lemieux at last season's tournament as his language on camera was atrocious!

In other "he's playing there?" news, Genève-Servette HC's Jesse Puljujärvi is having a solid season despite not going to the Spengler Cup. The former NHL winger is tied for third in league scoring with 29 points, one point back of teammate and former NHL centreman Markus Granlund. Former NHL defender Erik Brännström is the top-scoring defender in the National League with 27 points for Lausanne HC, putting him tied for fifth-overall in scoring. Former NHLers Zach Sanford has 26 points for HC Lugano, Jimmy Vesey has 26 points for Genève-Servette, and Denis Malgin has 25 points for the ZSC Lions.

Between the pipes, former Laval Rocket netminder Connor Hughes has nine wins in 16 games for Lausanne HC while posting a 2.00 GAA, a .921 save percentage, and two shutouts. Former Maple Leafs prospect and 2022 Olympic gold medalist Harri Satari has eight wins on a bad ECH Biel-Bienne team where he sports a 2.80 GAA and a .899 save percentage. Five-time Swiss National League champion Leonardo Genoni is still stopping pucks for EV Zug at age 38 where he has nine wins, a 2.20 GAA, and a .914 save percentage.

For the guys who were looking for a clean slate, Drake Caggiula has 19 points for Lausanne HC, Tomas Tatar has 18 points in 20 games for EV Zug, former Islanders prospect Tanner Fritz has 18 points and Victor Rask has 15 points for SC Rapperswil-Jona, Julius Honka is currently injured after scoring 13 points for SC Rapperswil-Jona, Josh Jooris has 12 points for Genève-Servette HC, Linus Omark has 11 points in 15 games for HC Lugano, and disgraced Canadian forward and alledged sexual predator Alex Formenton is having a whale of a season with nine points in 24 games for HC Ambrì-Piotta.

For that last guy, I'm glad he's having an amazing season in the Swiss Alps where he can avoid any accountability. Excuse my sarcasm.

When people talk about the "big tournament" at during the holidays, I know they're referencing the World Junior Championship that TSN has built into its own industry. I'm not saying that I don't watch those games, but I spend more time focusing on the Spengler Cup because these are the guys that already made the NHL and are now looking for one last championship while playing out their days in a fabulously picturesque country. If that's how my career ended, I'd be all for it!

Maybe that's why I relate to the guys in the Spengler Cup more - I'm closer to the end than I am to the beginning on this ride.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!