SDA
2.2.2026 – 04:30
Roman Josi should lead Switzerland as captain at the Olympic Games.
Image: Keystone
Nico Hischier is ready for the Olympics.
Image: Keystone
Kevin Fiala also wants to shine with his power at the Olympic Games.
Image: Keystone
National coach Patrick Fischer sees Switzerland as a dangerous underdog at the Olympic Games.
Image: Keystone
Roman Josi should lead Switzerland as captain at the Olympic Games.
Image: Keystone
Nico Hischier is ready for the Olympics.
Image: Keystone
Kevin Fiala also wants to shine with his power at the Olympic Games.
Image: Keystone
National coach Patrick Fischer sees Switzerland as a dangerous underdog at the Olympic Games.
Image: Keystone
The Swiss NHL players agree: national coach Patrick Fischer has taken the team to a new level. Now the crowning glory is to follow at the Olympic Games in Milan.
Keystone-SDA
02.02.2026, 04:30
02.02.2026, 07:32
SDA
"Compete, Commit, Connect" is written in the New Jersey Devils' dressing room. "If you put that into practice, then you give yourself a good chance of winning a game, if you're just missing a bit of it, then it becomes difficult," explains captain Nico Hischier in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency.
Commitment is also a key word in the Swiss national team, and the NHL stars in particular have taken it to heart. Whenever possible, they took part in world championships, Kevin Fiala even shortly after the birth of his first child and shortly after his wife had a miscarriage. This is no coincidence, as the Los Angeles Kings forward describes the national team as a family.
He attributes a large part of this to coach Patrick Fischer, who is leaving at the end of the season after ten and a half years. "We really enjoy playing for him, the team is very, very close. Everyone fights for each other on the ice, and next to it, which you can't see, we have a players' lounge in the hotel and everyone is actually playing, talking or whatever after training or after a game. When I started in the national team (in May 2014), it was never like it is now."
Jonas Siegenthaler, a defender for the Devils, echoes this sentiment: He praises Fischer's human nature as well as the coaching. It was correspondingly emotional when Fischer informed the NHL players of his decision to retire at the end of the season in a Zoom call at the end of November last year. Siegenthaler emphasizes another quality that particularly distinguishes Fischer: "He dreamed big from the start, saw our potential. It's now that window of opportunity in the Swiss national team when success has to come."
And that has been the case, with three silver medals at the World Championships since 2018, but the crowning glory in the form of gold has yet to come. There are now two more opportunities ahead with the Winter Olympics in Cortina and the home World Championships in Zurich and Freiburg in May. Will Fischer's imminent departure provide an additional boost? Fiala: "The Olympics and the home World Championships alone provide an extra boost. I don't think you can think too much about things like that, we always have to stay in the moment, which is of course very, very difficult."
If all goes according to plan, the Swiss will line up in Milan with ten NHL players – the injured Pius Suter (ankle) and Philipp Kurashev (broken hand) made their comeback at the weekend. Roman Josi and Nino Niederreiter recently played their 1000th game in the regular season of the best league in the world, Hischier is currently the Devils' top scorer, Fiala is the Kings' second-best, Lightning defenseman Janis Moser has taken the next step and ranks second in plus-minus. This illustrates the enormous potential of the Swiss.
Nevertheless, it will be a big challenge to win a medal in Milan. Canada, the USA and Sweden are rated higher on paper. Behind this trio, Patrick Fischer sees Finland, the Czech Republic and his team as "dangerous outsiders. Germany certainly has a good team too." However, a medal is definitely realistic.
Josi is likely to captain the Swiss team. Fischer says of the 35-year-old defenceman, who received the Norris Trophy for the best NHL defenceman of the 2019/20 season in September 2020: "He's an extremely approachable and sociable leader who makes everyone feel good and also exudes confidence."
Josi has also regained his old strength after a difficult period. The tournament has come at a great time for Switzerland, he told Keystone-SDA. "We have a lot of momentum from the World Championships and have a lot of players who play big roles in their teams. We also know each other very well, whereas other teams never play together like this. That can certainly help. In any case, we don't have to hide."
At the previous two Olympic Games under Fischer, the Swiss lost to Germany in the round of 16 in 2018 (1:2 n.V.) and to Finland in the quarter-finals in 2022 (1:5). Both times, however, the NHL cracks were missing. Now the saying "all good things come in threes" is set to come true.
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