Ice champion Zag talks Rapperswil-Jonah Lakers' top scorer

Cervenka meets Gretzky

Roman Cervenka opted out of a contract extension in the summer and returned to his home country. This season in Pardubis, he has contributed 18 points after 20 games. For SCRJ, finding a new Cervenka was impossible. The charismatic, dominant center who watched the entire ice, controlled the play, opened up space for his teammates and served them with the delicate hands of a pianist was a worldwide exception. There is no next novel, Cervenka. Just like there is no next Wayne Gretzky.

King of Lake Ober for many years: Roman Cervenka.Image: trapezoid

Looking for similar types of players can be misleading. Because it doesn't have the same design or quality. As a result, sporting director Janick Steinmann was not given a copy to replace his top scorer. Rapperswil's new foreign forward in yellow isn't a dominant centre-forward, but a hard-working, smart wide runner who can fly in the spotlight.

He doesn't conduct, he creates music

Marte Stromwall moves like a fish in water in a fast, unpredictable, up-and-down game, “biting” the opponent's pass, identifying the gap there and advancing with explosive speed, identifying Opponents are less focused and grounded here and its stick skills are only slightly inferior to those of its predecessor. He doesn't direct. He plays music. He is the driving force behind the Lakers' games.

His masterpiece: he circled Langnau's goal in a wide arc, just as Joshua's warriors had circled the walls of Jericho, and when another turn later he was already behind the goal, everyone believed the danger was over Averted, he worked the style around the puck and fired it through the back of Luka Boltsauser and into the goal. It was his 10th goal and he now has 19 points in 19 games. He is more efficient than Roman Cervenka was last season. But in his first four years with the Lakers, he wasn't as efficient as Roman Cervenka.

Strömwohl celebrates with Victor Rask (left) and Valentin Hofer in Emmental.Image: trapezoid

Malte Strömwalls 3:3 Eleven seconds before the second break, Langnau never really recovered and lost 4:5 in overtime. The Lakers performed better than expected, ranking 8th with 28 points, and a higher ranking than last year (11th/24 points). Many fathers, mothers, and siblings have experiences of success and failure. But Janick Steinmann's skill at finding a suitable replacement for the charismatic top scorer (those who are less kind to him might say: his luck) is a central factor.

Newfoundlanders in Langnau?

Langnau's sporting director Pascal Müller may soon face the same challenge. His idea to replace Hari Pesonen with Hannes Bjorninen in an emergency was based on Steinman's approach, only in reverse: the Lakers replaced center Cervenka with wing Strom Wall. In Langnau, center Bjorninen will replace winger Pessonen.

Otherwise, Bjorninen will become the next Pessonen: also Finnish, also world champion, also Olympic champion, also leader, and above all, as an excellent confrontation specialist, he can make up for Langnau's incompetence in shooting. A notorious weakness in hockey.

• 7

  A leader who can decide games and make his team better on and off the ice.

• 6-7

  A talented player who can decide a game on a good night and is a leader.

• 5-6

  A good NL player: usually a rainbow butterfly of talent, sometimes a serious worker who brings out a lot of talent.

• 4-5

  Players on the third or fourth block, veterans or newcomers.

• 3-4

  The future is still ahead of you, or the future is already behind you.

• The rating is based on the North American Hockey Grading Scale, ranging from 1 (lowest) to 7 (highest). There is no level below 3, because those who play in the top leagues are at least about the same.