The hard way to Beijing – 48 candidates for a maximum of 15 tickets

Patrick Fischer nominates two teams of nearly equal strength and does not offer a player for both tournaments. This means: a total of 48 players have been called for Krefeld and Wisp. But maximum 15 will fly to Beijing. Never in history has the selection of internationally competitive players been so large. The national coach is spoiled for choice.

Patrick Fischer won’t form a definitive Olympic line-up until January. He will fly to the U20 World Cup in Edmonton (December 26 to January 5) and there will calmly take an overview with sporting director Lars Weibel and his assistant Tommy Albelin. The national coach then visits all NHL professionals scheduled for Beijing. Only then will he decide who to take with him to Beijing. The best possible players should be called in with the maximum possible flexibility. He adds: “We will not take players who are out of shape.” Merit from the past does not guarantee a place on the Olympic team. What matters is size. And it can change.

That is, after the tournament in Germany Cup and Wisp, no player of our league has definitely got an Olympic ticket in his sack. Only in January will Patrick Fischer call each individual candidate and tell him or her why he is there or not.

The Olympic tournament in Beijing will begin with a game for the Swiss on Wednesday, February 9 against Russia. NHL Pros are expected to arrive in Beijing on a charter flight directly from North America on Friday, February 4th. It is expected that only those Swiss players who have been officially nominated will travel to Beijing. Patrick Fischer says it is still unclear whether two or three players will stay in Switzerland on call or fly with them and return home ahead of the tournament.

After the tournament in Wisp, the national team will play only one Test match in Beijing. Patrick Fischer says a game before departure in Switzerland doesn’t make sense because NHL professionals aren’t there yet.

Starting position for the Deutschland Cup: We can assume that one in three goalscorers has a chance to fly to Beijing as No. Usually, Leonardo Genoni and Reto Bera are kept. generally. Two to three defenders and two to three strikers have an Olympic chance. That is, there will be no big names in the Olympic tournament. But who is called and who is not, it will be known only in January. Until then, speculation is permitted. And by then there is still a lot of hockey left to play.