The Champions Hockey League held a press conference in Zürich yesterday, with participating Swiss NL teams present.
Switzerland will be represented by five teams in 2022/23 - EV Zug, Fribourg-Gottéron, ZSC Lions Zurich, Rapperswil-Jona Lakers and HC Davos.
Monika Reinhard, CHL Communication & Digital Media Director, opened the stage before inviting CHL CEO Martin Baumann to present relevant information about past CHL Champions, the CHL's reach and participating teams from across Europe for 2022/23.
Baumann went on to discuss the Group Stage Draw, welcome NL newcomers Rapperswil-Jona Lakers to the pan-European competition and present the CHL format leading up to the big Final on 18 February 2023.
Then Matthias Krieb from MySports took to the stage to present how his company plan to utilise its partnership with the CHL.
"We bring the best ice hockey and the CHL fits perfectly within that space"Matthias Krieb, MySports
"We are the number one ice hockey content platform in Switzerland and are active in the digital and TV space. We have really been focusing on ice hockey in the last few years and are working on an app that should be available in the next few weeks."
"We bring the best ice hockey: NL, international, etc. and the CHL fits perfectly within that space," said Krieb.
"Apart from live content, it's important for us to look behind the scenes, to try to bring the clubs closer to fans - that's something we would like to bring in for the CHL."
The press conference then headed to individual interviews with players and coaches.
EV Zug Head Coach Dan Tangnes was asked what the key to his club's consistent CHL qualification is: "We are proud to have played in every CHL season, I think it's a compliment to our management for putting together the effort and resources for a team to qualify every year," he said, "but at the same time we haven't been able to make a huge impact in the tournament. That's something we hope to do sooner rather than later."
Zug have played in seven CHL seasons, making it as far as the Quarter-Finals in 2019/20.
"You need to be ready from the start"EV Zug Head Coach Dan Tangnes
"We have big expectations and hopes and are looking forward to getting started," added Tangnes.
What does it take to make it to the Final? According to Tangnes, "It takes a lot".
"You're competing against the best teams in Europe and you need to bring your A-game every time. You need to be ready from the start."
"I think it's time the Swiss teams make an impact. We have five strong representatives from the Swiss NL that have every opportunity to go all the way," he ended.
New Zug signing Peter Cehlárik won the CHL back in 2014/15 and "just wants to come in and help the team win."
“We want to go all the way," he said when asked what his club's goal was, "I expect a big challenge in every game we play. I think for us the main goal is to compete against the best teams and be able to win."
Nico Dünner of the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers said: "We have high expectations and are in to win every game. We know it’s going to be tough but we play hockey to win.”
“We are focusing on our team, our system, our strengths. We know it’s going to be tough but we are looking forward to it," he said.
“I’m really excited, I think we started building a really good team last year and showed we can beat any team in the league," ended Dünner.
Dominik Egli from HC Davos thinks: "It’s going to be a big challenge for us, especially in our group. Hopefully a good run for us.”
“Our staff have been scouting the teams pretty well because we don’t know so much about the other teams”
“It’s great to be back, summer was short but we love to be on the ice, to play the games and the challenge. It’s exciting to play against our opponents in the CHL," said Egli, adding: “Hopefully we can have a good run and go all the way!"