Interview with Patrick Fischer: “Switzerland is on the right track”

The Swiss national team starts the new season today at the Karjala Cup in Helsinki. Before leaving on Monday, head coach Patrick Fisher spoke with the Keystone-SDA news agency, where he reflected on the World Cup and talked about the development of Swiss ice hockey and the current team.

Patrick Fisher, you had to explain another disappointment a year ago. And then you showed that to the critics with a World Cup silver medal. How satisfied is it?
I'm really glad it came out this way. Lately, we have struggled to deliver our results at critical times. We solved the problem. That’s why we hired performance coach Stefan Schwitter, who helps us stay focused on the present. We've been thinking about this all season. We put pressure on the players and with a series of defeats the pressure increased further. I'm even more grateful that we showed in the quarter-finals against Germany that we can do it. We also showed our potential in the semi-finals and finals. It feels good.

Hand on heart. How much pressure do you feel yourself?
It's no secret that if we don't run a successful campaign, I'm probably screwed. Still, the stress didn’t slow me down and I no longer had trouble sleeping. Huge kudos to my partner and the people around me who have been a huge help. After winning in the quarter-finals, I was relieved and relieved that a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

A World Cup silver medal is of course a huge success. However, little is left out of the title. How long has this bothered you?
It was extremely painful and resonated for a long time. I've never had the opportunity to coach a team with such spirit. Roman (Josie) is an unbelievable captain. Everyone is dedicated to the team without any jealousy. That's what makes it so special. We feel ready to win a championship. Many people may never have such an opportunity, or may not do so again for a long time. On the flight home, people were very disappointed. There is no comparison to the final losses in 2013 and 2018. The important thing now is to keep the momentum and keep improving because we still need more.

At the World Championships, he almost won the gold medal.Image: trapezoid

Speaking of which, more is needed. What does playoff analysis reveal?
The positive side is that we were able to achieve a lot of good results leading up to last season. We don't have to change the structure, we know we can be successful at the World Cup. Now we also successfully focus on the present moment. That's all that matters and that's the ultimate goal, the next step is winning regularly, even during the season. We want to continue to control the tempo of the game, but we have to change the tempo quicker if possible.

Another point is regeneration. Statistics show that the team that plays in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon has an 80% chance of winning the final. So we have to think about what else we can optimize so that we can be successful in the evening games.

In terms of scoring, teams in the World Cup rely heavily on NHL players.
So do other teams. This year the Czech team includes almost all the top players, and Sweden, Canada and the United States also have strong teams. Then you need this extra quality.

Despite the success, Nino Niederreiter warned that he feared a lack of talent would put pressure on established companies. Switzerland were the second-oldest team at the last World Cup. Niederreiter said in an interview that, among other things, he had a feeling they were not as good as they thought. What do you think?
It’s always been a question of how to better develop young players, how to get them into the league, how to get them significant ice time there. We have to work hard again to develop the absolute top players, players that will go straight to the NHL. In recent years, we have failed to achieve this goal. Our association, together with the clubs, has used this lever. There is only one way: better support, more professional coaching among young talents, better structure. This increases the chances of developing good players.

The main problem is that at the bottom, in the so-called golden age of learning, there is too little knowledge and clubs are unwilling to invest money there?
This is a big topic. However, we must never forget where we come from. In 1997, we finished third in Group B. A lot has happened since then. Slowly, more money was invested, with Ralph Krueger (National Team Coach 1998-2010 – Editor) being a major driving force.

Before I took over as coach of the national team (at the end of 2015), I worked as an assistant coach in Lugano, which was already a top team at the time. Still, we have no goalies, no track athletes, and no video coaches. We don’t even want to talk about the situation with future generations. That was about twelve years ago.

Patrick Fisher has been the head coach of the Swiss team since 2015.Image: KEYSTONE

What now?
Not only does the situation in Lugano look completely different now, but there are also various professional coaches in the youth ranks, from U15 to U20 level. So we've made positive progress, but we're still lagging behind the top countries in this regard. The quality and quantity of trainers at the grassroots level are not satisfactory.

For example, in Sweden, there are five or six coaches on the ice, which means they can develop more good players. Switzerland is heading in the right direction, that's what you have to see. The positive changes that have happened to hockey in this country over the last 25 or 30 years is actually incredible.

Return to the national team. You've mentioned that you lost 11 of 12 games on the European Hockey Tour last season. What makes you believe things will be different this time?Our problem last season was scoring goals. What gives me confidence is that we are growing. The goal this season is to achieve a balanced result as we are on the same level as the top countries.

41-year-old Andres Ambühl has been named in the squad for the Karjala Cup. Why not give young players more opportunities to gain experience at this level?
Performance principles apply. Amber once again proved his importance at this year's World Cup. Although things are not going his way in Davos at the moment, he, like the other World Cup participants, has won another team.

You consider two newcomers: Nicolas Baechler and Giancarlo Chanton. What can you say to them?
I love the development of both. Shandon is strong, has excellent running ability and is very calm on the ball. We need players who can protect themselves at this level. The same goes for “Bächi”. He is strong, athletic and a great team player. I already liked him in prospect camp. Now it's time to reward them.

Nicholas Bechler was selected for the national team for the first time.Image: trapezoid

The World Cup will be held in Switzerland in 2026. How much of a role does that play into this season?
We already have a phase to rejuvenate the team after the 2022 Olympics, namely the right-back position, which was then occupied by Yannick Weber, Rafael Diaz and Ramon Wintersund. We are benefiting from it now. But of course we don't nominate players just because they are young, they have to have the necessary level. But if both are equally good, then it obviously makes more sense to focus on the future and bet on young players. Our goal is to gradually introduce A-Nati to the next generation and provide them with ample international ice time as part of the EHT Championship. (Ritz/SDA)

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