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FinnRhys · 02-15-2021, 04:16 PM

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With Switzerland knocked out of this season’s International Ice Hockey Federation tournament, this seems as good a time as any to take a look back at the Swiss team’s development and play during the S57 IIHF tournament.

Overall, the Swiss team played respectably this tournament, although I am sure many of my Swiss compatriots had hoped for a better performance and a longer run in the tourney. Entering Group B play, Switzerland knew it would need to play at a high caliber with minimal mistakes to make it through the group stages and into the single elimination playoffs. Coming off a Season 56 tourney which saw Switzerland win 7 games during round robin play, hopes were high that the Swiss team might be able to finally turn the corner this tournament and vie for the top spot in the group. Alas, it was not to be.

The Swiss team has, historically, been a decent middle of the pack to lower tier team. Indeed, in the last five IIHF tournaments Switzerland has averaged 6 wins during round robin group play. Only once in the last five tournaments, during last season’s tourney, have the Swiss won more than 6 games. To say that the Swiss team seems to be mired in mediocrity is an understatement, but it also lacks context. The Swiss national team program, as a whole, has certainly been consistent and at times has played above their class. While the number of wins may not be incredibly impressive, the consistency at being on the cusp of greatness is most impressive. While other teams have swung along the pendulum from good to poor, Switzerland has been incredibly consistent. And all of this consistency is coming from a nation with one of the lowest number of players in their player pool of any nation playing IIHF hockey. Indeed Switzerland had only 37 players eligible to choose from, many of which are still playing minor league hockey.

All of this to preface, that while Switzerland’s tourney this season may not have ended how they wanted it to, it was still incredibly impressive to see this nation continue to fight the good fight and play hard nosed hockey.

As already stated, this tournament did not see the Swiss make any big waves forward or contend for a medal round position, but it still was a productive tournament and there were a lot of good things the Swiss team was able to accomplish. First, center Slap McShotty is the real deal. McShotty, who plays his SHL hockey with the New England Wolfpack, paced the Swiss team with 20 points during round robin play with 6 goals and 14 assists and was far and away the most explosive forward on the team. McShotty’s play was all the more impressive as he actually was the second highest scorer in the entire tournament!

Second, Switzerland’s forward play, in general, was exceptional. Accruing 45 total goals during round robin play, Switzerland’s offensive play and goal scoring was dominated by five players: the aforementioned McShotty, wingers Nick Connolly, Lallo Selman, and Elijah Jones, and defenseman Mathias Seger. Connolly, Selman, and Jones, in particular, were electric this tournament. I have already talked a little bit about Slap McShotty, so let me talk about the other four a little bit.
Nick Connolly had a superb tournament, tallying 11 points on five goals and 6 assists. A gifted playmaker that has the knack to make others around him better, Connolly had the second highest shooting percentage on the team and was solid on both ends of the ice. Coming off a championship with his Chicago Syndicate team, Connolly is one of the more gifted forwards in the tournament and will likely play a larger offensive role in future tournaments. Given his proclivity for balanced performance, as evidenced by his 30 goals and 35 assists last season for Chicago, Connolly is a cornerstone for the Swiss team.

Similarly, Lallo Selman had an exceptional tournament, chipping in 6 goals and 7 assists for 13 points. Another Chicago Syndicate player, Selman paired with Connolly to form a formidable forward lineup. After scoring 28 goals and tallying 44 assists last season with Chicago, it was unsurprising to see the Swiss stalwart bounce back from a poor showing in the Season 56 IIHF tournament. Indeed, Selman continued his fine form for most of the tournament and cemented himself as one of Switzerland’s best.

The final forward in our list is Elijah Jones, the gifted young winger who plays his SHL hockey with the Atlanta Inferno. Jones was the second leading scorer on the Swiss team, behind McShotty, notching 6 goals and 8 assists and shooting a very respectable 17.14%. Jones is one of the more exciting young Swiss players who still has room to grow, which is a bit scary for any competitors. Tallying 32 goals and 37 assists for Atlanta last season, it is clear that Jones has the potential to grow into a larger leadership role for the Swiss franchise moving forward.

Finally, the Swiss captain, Mathias Seger deserves some plaudit for a fine performance. The aging Seger is certainly one of the older members of the team but his performance has still been at a high level and he has absolutely anchored the Swiss team for the last few seasons. He will likely go down as one of the Minnesota Chiefs’ best players in the history of that franchise and likely will be inducted into the Swiss Hockey Federation’s hall of fame as well. While his offensive prowess has waned from a few seasons ago, Seger still knows how to get the puck from tape to tape as he tallied 1 goal and 11 assists during this tournament. Contributing to his fine performance was his leadership of the Swiss squad and his willingness to make the tough plays, as evidenced by his 31 blocked shots, good for best on the team. If it is not abundantly clear by now, I absolutely love Mathias Seger and what he has brought to the Swiss squad. He is quite simply, one of the very best to ever put on the Swiss sweaters.

Moving on to the third and final takeaway from this tournament, the tradition of solid Swiss goalkeeping is alive and well. Splitting time in the nets for the Swiss were Markus Tegernako and Nicolae Anonescu, two gifted goalies, one a veteran and one a newcomer. Tegernako, the starting goalie for the Minnesota Chiefs, came into the tournament hoping to rebound from a solid but ultimately disappointing season as the Chiefs netminder. A talented veteran player, Tegernako suffered last season playing on one of the worst teams in the league. Even so, his performance for the Chiefs was solid. Unfortunately for Tegernako, he didn’t get a very fair shake from the defense in the 7 games he played in the tournament, accruing a 2-4-1 record. It is clear from past performances, however, of the quality Tegernako has. His S56 tournament was one of the best in recent history and he clearly can play at a high level. This tournament just didn’t come together for him the way he had hoped.

If there was a bright spot in the Swiss goaltending this tournament it was in the heir apparent for the Swiss goalies: Nicolae Antonescu. The young netminder who was making his first IIHF appearance for the Swiss, Antonescu was nothing short of divine in his 5 starts, amassing a 4-1 record in that time. If anyone on the Swiss team was worried about the youngster making the jump from WJC and SMJHL action to the “big time” they didn’t show it. As Antonescu’s confidence rose throughout the tournament it became clear that he was one of the best goalies playing, let alone the best newcomer. Giving up on 2.00 goals against average and earning 2 shutouts, good for first in both categories, Antonescu was playing on another level this tournament, which is amazing for such a young player that has yet to even see SHL action. Adding to his praise, Antonescu had the tournaments best save percentage at 93.5% and was graded out as the 4th best goalie in the tournament. If Antonescu can continue his performance in the SHL regular season, it would not be surprising to see him supplant Tegernako as the regular Swiss goalie and become the goalie of the future in the present.

While it was not the tournament the Swiss team had hoped for, it was still a successful one and will likely be a building block performance for future Swiss teams. As Switzerland continues to develop and build for the future, it is essential that we take stock in the exceptional play that Switzerland has been able to get out of its limited talent pool thus far. With continued growth and persistent play, Switzerland has the makings for a solid, respectable international team for years to come. And that, along with chocolate, is something that all Swiss hockey fans can look forward to and expect in future IIHF tournaments.