The Swiss Ice Hockey League is a paradise for hockey players – the most desired place to work among players, right after the NHL. The only exception is the Russians, who often prefer to play in the KHL.
- Swiss hockey will face challenges in the coming years.
- The NHL may expand to Europe.
- Zurich Lions will continue to want Finnish players.
Possibly the most sought-after hockey job in Europe is the ZSC Lions, or Zurich Lions.
The club’s sports director Sven Leuenberger doesn’t fully agree with Iltalehti’s claim that his team can pick the best players from outside the NHL in their ranks.
– That thing has changed. When I started about 20 years ago in this business, there were probably four teams in Switzerland on the same line, with money and the reputation of a big club. Bern, Zurich, Lugano and Davos were the top teams people wanted to attend.
– At that time, Russia was also a good place for players to go for a long time.
More good payers
Vili Saarijärvi (left), Sakari Manninen, Markus Granlund and Jesse Puljujärvi will be playing in the Geneva-Servette team next season as well. Geneva is a good payer. TIMO KUNNARI
The level of puck is expanding in Switzerland.
– The battle between the clubs has intensified, there are more clubs here that are able to acquire good players. I think for about 6-7 years, this year’s champion Friborg, Geneva and Lausanne could have been added to that group. All these teams are able to get good players and they are not far from what we can bet on, the 56-year-old former player thinks.
However, the competition is tough even in Switzerland.
– For example, Geneva has won the Swiss championship and the CHL. However, everyone in the puck world probably knows that big money does not automatically mean winning the championship, Leuenberger reminds.
ZSC has won 11 Swiss championships. The team plays in a brand new arena, Zurich is a pleasant city, and the salary level is the best in hockey on the continent.
My own quirks
ZSC Lions sports director Sven Leuenberger is one of the most prominent puck bosses in Europe. Jenni Gästgivar
Although the Lions pay the best foreigners a net salary of up to 400,000 euros per year and the Swiss top players 700,000 euros, the organization does not want to build teams based only on Swiss star players and foreigners.
– We have a good junior program. Every year we raise 1–2 players from our own juniors to the representative team. We now have 13 of our own fosters in our team. We are not only building on foreigners, Leuenberger reminds.
The Finnish player is still eligible for Switzerland’s top team.
– I am still interested in Finns; you have a lot of good players.
Mikko Lehtonen and Juho Lammikko played in the Lions last season.
The threat of the NHL
Mikko Lehtonen cheers for the Swiss championship in the Zurich Lions shirt on May Day 2024. PDO
The NHL opened an office in Zurich. The big league is making a significant marketing campaign in Germany. Taalaliiga may be planning to expand to Europe.
It could mean, for example, establishing a separate European division, from which one or two of the best teams would qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs in the spring.
Is the NHL a threat or a partner to European leagues in the future?
– Good question. We have talked about it and we know the situation. The NHL already plays regular season games in Finland and Sweden, among others.
NHL-level prices might scare off viewers even in prosperous Switzerland.
– It may sound stupid, but many people would not be able to pay NHL-level ticket prices in Switzerland. A whole season, 40-50 games, could be a problem in this regard, hockey would become a sport for the rich, and that would be completely wrong.
Europe is a difficult economic region in the sense that the countries are very different in size and the number of potential fans and players varies greatly.
– Germany has 85 million inhabitants, Switzerland has nine, Leuenberger reminds.
The challenges of Euro hockey
Dean Kukan scored a goal for the Zurich Lions in the spring playoff game. Many hockey players would like to play in Zurich. PDO
Swiss ice hockey will face challenges in the next few years.
– I’m talking about the situation in Swiss ice hockey. We have several arenas in this league that are less than five years old. It can be said that we have new arenas. We can’t take many new steppes in that direction. The incoming money will remain the same for the next few years.
– That’s why we have to find ways to make ourselves interesting, I believe that the situation is the same in Finland. It’s not easy. The money for the puck comes from the same people.
– Maybe the NHL needs to head to Asia, for example. In Europe, big economic steps are unlikely to be taken in hockey in the next ten years due to the war and many other things. The economy probably won’t improve much, one of Europe’s most prominent puck bosses thinks.