Genève-Servette part-owner, general manager and coach Chris McSorley had a lot of off-season changes to make and the changes will be ongoing. So far things look good in the Champions Hockey League with two wins in two games.

by Rémy Lamon

GENEVA - Starting a new season is never easy for any hockey team. It is exciting for fans to be back and meet the new players. But did the first CHL change this?

The Genève-Servette Hockey Club finished the 2013-14 season in the Swiss NLA semi-finals. As usual, some players left the team to join others, especially the NHL or KHL. The team's leading scorer, Canadian Matthew Lombardi, went to the New York Rangers, while Latvian Kaspars Daugavins joined Dynamo Moscow. Replacing players like that is a real headache for any general manager and Chris McSorley, Genève-Servette's part-owner general manager and head coach, had to find solutions.

After his club's Champions Hockey League game on 23 August against Villach SV, McSorley recognised that his team did not start the game in the best manner, as Villach scored a goal after only 14 seconds. This could have destroyed the mentality of the team and the first period looked a little like that, with a second goal in the last 20 seconds of the period. But the team from Geneva reacted in the second and third periods to win 4-2 after an intense game.

“We are pleased with the final two periods,” McSorley said. “We knew Villach has a special way of playing. They created chances and played to our weaknesses. We were lucky after the first period. They could have easily scored a third or fourth goal. Our first goal woke us up.”

But what was the secret for this change? Especially after what looked like losing some of the team best payers at the end of the of last season. Signing experienced NHL players was the way chosen by McSorley: Matt D'Agostini, Paul Ranger, and Tommy and Taylor Pyatt have joined Genève-Servette for the new season. These four players together account for 1751 NHL games.

“One third of our team is new,” McSorley pointed out. “This is the hardest season yet to work tactically. Our NHL players' reputations are high. We needed them because we had to start the season three weeks earlier than usual. We needed more hockey intelligence. I like my team now. But we'll be different later in the season because the chemistry between the players will transform us.”

The hard task is now to create chemistry between players, even if the two first CHL games show that Geneva is on the right path after two victories in Group C.

But how do these new players adjust to Europe? Paul Ranger, a 29-year-old defenceman with 323 games of NHL experience, summarised it very well, with a big smile after the game. “The main difference for me is easy to define: there is more room on European rinks. The game is less physical and more skilled. There are far more openings to rush.”

The Canadian seems to have quickly settled down in Geneva, and in the team's first CHL game, a 4-3 win over Frölunda Gothenburg, was picked at the team's best player. Maybe is the acclimation not only in the team.

“The atmosphere is awesome. The fans are awesome. Geneva is a great place! The fans are always cheering, even if we play badly as we did in the first period. This does reinforce our motivation.”

The fans are present for the CHL everywhere and this is a proof that this competition is what Europe needed.

McSorley added, “I had to make changes for the second period. I moved our experienced NHL players together. I knew it was too much for Villach and I do apologise to (Villach head coach) Hannu Jarvenpaa because our budget allows us these players. Our budget is five times bigger than that of Villach. Sorry Hannu.”

Here is perhaps one of the strengths, but also challenges of this new CHL: mixing teams from all around the Europe, where budgets are so different, as ice hockey doesn't have the same recognition in every country.

The CHL will surely make the sport more visible, and McSorley acknowledged the league's CEO, who attended the game in Geneva. “I would like to thank the CEO of CHL, Martin Baumann. I have been in Europe for 15 years. The CHL is what hockey needs in Europe. I never expected such support from member clubs, CHL staff and the fans. Hockey is going beyond the hardcore fans, even in the first season. I'm looking forward to being back in front of you next year!”

Finally, hockey is all about friendship: tough and rough on the ice, but mutual respect after the game. McSorley, acknowleding again the bad first period against Villach, said of his counter-part, “I hope Hannu will be an as good a host in Villach as we were tonight with his team, offering him two goals in the first period.”