"Blick" had reported that the defenseman would move teams in the National League It turns out their Finnish sources were accurate Monika Majer / RvS.Media Lausanne HC has announced the signing of Sami Niku to a deal valid until 2027. He joins them from National League rival EHC Kloten the Finnish defenseman will get to play alongside four of his fellow countrymen which we had already noticed before his excellent first season in Switzerland" capable of bringing dynamism to the attack while ensuring defensive solidity he strengthens Lausanne's rearguard for the next two seasons." Niku brings the experience of 236 games in the Liiga and seven as part of Finland's men's national team Playoff finalist Lausanne has signed Finnish defenseman Sami Niku Niku was drafted by Winnipeg in the seventh round in 2015 and played five seasons in the NHL for the Jets and the Montreal Canadiens The National League team has agreed to terms with Davide Fadani and Ewan Huet The contract of Sandro Zurkichen will not be extended dieBildmanufaktur.ch will have to leave the National League team after this season The goaltender has been with the team since the 2022-23 season and was part of the team that led the club back into the National League The club is bidding farewell to several members One of the departures was already announced last year Players come and players go, and sometimes, departures at the end of a season add up to a dozen. One of them was already previously announced by EHC Kloten - Sandro Zurkirchen The others are defenders Thomas Grégoire, Matthew Kellenberger (who had spent most of the season with HC Sierre anyway), Sami Niku (linked to Lausanne HC), Luca Deussen (played on loan for HC Thurgau) On offense, Niko Ojamäki (Kloten's best scorer after Miro Aaltonen's suspension and departure) will leave, as well as Pontus Åberg (had only joined in January), Joel Marchon (spent most of the season with EHC Olten) and Jayce Hawryluk (also a January-addition) Until a decision from Swiss Sport Integrity comes Miro Aaltonen, currently a player of EHC Kloten but a member of SC Bern next season has been provisionally suspended by the single judge following the opening of an investigation from Swiss Sport Integrity concerning a potential anti-doping rule violation The organization confirms the ongoing process but explains that it cannot reveal any details until the end of the investigation "Blick"'s report from January has been confirmed today: the Swedish defenseman will indeed join Kloten from TPS Turku Max Lindroth, 28, has signed a two-year contract with EHC Kloten It will be his second station outside Sweden in his career after spending the last one and a half year in Turku "Max is a strong skater with a good shot and passing game he will also be able to help us defensively," states team manager Ricardo Schödler Lindroth indeed proved to have strong scoring qualities the most by any defender and eighth overall in the Liiga In light of the Finn's recent doping rule violation player and club have mutually decided to part ways Yesterday, it was revealed that Miro Aaltonen had possibly violated the anti-doping rules and was provisionally suspended. After a conversation between the forward and his club, EHC Kloten it was mutually agreed that it would be best to terminate their contract "I would like to formally apologize to our fans "It was important for me to accept the consequences of my actions." How this matter will affect the Finn's future contract with SC Bern remains to be seen the Swedish forward is switching National League teams As both clubs announced earlier today, Pontus Åberg will leave the SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers and join EHC Kloten for the remainder of the season it helps with the overcrowding of their import pool as they had nine available before this move "Pontus is an outstanding winger who not only brings a lot of quality to Kloten but also a great deal of international experience" Åberg's new team manager Ricardo Schödler notes we will increase the depth in our squad and have more variations in our attacking play." the Swede recorded three goals and 15 assists The 24-year-old Czech forward will already be in the lineup of EHC Kloten tonight against HC Davos To react to several absences, EHC Kloten has acquired the services of Frantisek Rehak. The Czech holds a Swiss player's license. This evening, EHC Kloten is missing Miro Aaltonen and Leandro Profico (both ill) the forward will return to where he developed his hockey skills next summer As EHC Kloten informed they have signed Simon Meier to a two-year deal The forward has been playing for the British Columbia Hockey League's Penticton Vees since 2023 who is already part of the National League team "Simon is highly skilled technically and brings a lot of creativity to the table" he knows the club extremely well and understands which virtues are required to be successful in Kloten." The National League team has signed Keanu Derungs to a one-year contract Cyril Keller and Kimi Körbler will be integrated into the first team Derungs will stay with EHC Kloten until the 2025-26 season ends The 22-year-old forward is a product of Kloten's organization and returned to the team after almost four seasons away in 2023 he recorded three goals and three assists in 47 regular-season games Cyril Keller, for his part, has earned his first professional contract, valid until 2028. The 18-year-old forward made his National League debut this season. Kimi Körbler, for his part, joins EHC Kloten from the Ottawa 67's (OHL) The 18-year-old has agreed to a three-year deal The goaltender had to leave last night's game against EV Zug during the second period after taking a puck to the helmet Taking over for Sandro Zurkirchen in the tenth minute of the first period after EV Zug's second goal Ludovic Waeber had to give way again to Zurkirchen after a strong shot by Grégory Hofmann hit him on the helmet The incident occurred in the fifth minute of the second period Waeber conducted medical examinations at the hospital to clarify the nature of the injury Waeber had just returned to the lineup of EHC Kloten after missing the last two games due to another injury the defenseman might be switching teams once his contract is up Sami Niku signed with EHC Kloten last July. His one-year deal is running out in spring and, according to "Blick"'s Finnish sources, the defenseman has decided to join fellow National League squad Lausanne HC instead for the coming season In his first stint outside of either his home country Finland or Canada He ranks fourth in points (and third without Miro Aaltonen) among Kloten's squad The Finnish forward put his signature on a two-year deal valid from next summer A few days after Austin Czarnik's departure at the end of the season was announced, SC Bern released a press statement informing that they acquired Miro Aaltonen's services for the next two seasons. Thus, SC Bern has six imports under contract next year: goalie Adam Reideborn I see him as a complete player who can make the difference in decisive moments,” states SCB's team manager Patrik Bärtschi Aaltonen joined EHC Kloten from the KHL in 2022 and ever since he suited up 126 times with them scoring 43 goals and collecting 56 assists he already found the back of the net 15 times and is on pace for setting new best personal marks in goals and total points He has won 45.8% of the faceoffs he has taken so far  The 21-year-old forward has extended his contract which would have expired at the end of the 2024-25 season “We are extremely pleased that Mischa has made such a clear commitment to EHC Kloten even before the start of the season and wants to continue on this path with us in the long term" states EHC Kloten's team manager Ricardo Schödler "Mischa is an outstanding player who has developed into an important asset quickly," concludes Schödler A member of Kloten's organization since 2018 Mischa Ramel debuted with EHCK's main squad during the 2021-22 season and with them he achieved the promotion to the National League that same year Last season he scored seven goals and collected four assists in 25 games with Kloten The 23-year-old forward is at the end of his contract with Tappara Tampere this spring and would thus be free to join the Swiss team According to Ilta-Sanomat, Petteri Puhakka has agreed to terms with EHC Kloten The forward has only ever played in Finland so it would be the first time for Puhkka to play professional hockey in another European country The forward is currently in his fifth season with Tappara He has recorded eight goals and twelve assists in 32 games for the Liiga team this regular season It seems as if the National League team did not take long to replace departing defenseman Sami Niku A Swede is reportedly joining this coming summer Just yesterday, "Blick" wrote that Sami Niku will leave EHC Kloten for Lausanne HC once the season is done The same source now also has a replacement ready: Max Lindorth is set to join from TPS Turku The Swede became a member of the Liiga-team about a year ago he spent all of his career in his home country the defenseman has out up 17 goals and 24 assists in 42 games The National League team have to make do without Keijo Weibel who suffered an undisclosed injury To compensate for his absence in tonight's game against HC Ambrì-Piotta, EHC Kloten has acquired the B-license of HC Thurgau's Devin Stehli Kevin Lindemann will also suit up once more for the National League team In return, Kloten has sent U20 player Cyrill Keller to HC Thurgau. He will play for the team in tonight's game against EHC Olten. Nico Lehmann, who also played for Kloten last night, has returned to EHC Winterthur The two defensemen have agreed to a one-year contract with the National League team and will stay in Kloten until the end of the 2025-26 season Steve Kellenberger has served as EHC Kloten's captain since the 2019-20 season The 37-year-old defenseman has appeared in 22 games for Kloten this season and recorded three assists Leandro Profico joined EHC Kloten in 2023 and is thus currently in his second season with them Pro Hockey Rumors February 19, 2025 at 12:01 pm CDT | by 1 Comment The Canadiens have assigned top defense prospect David Reinbacher to AHL Laval, per a team announcement Reinbacher had spent the first four and a half months of the season on the non-roster list after undergoing left knee surgery on Oct 1 but will now get his campaign underway in the minors was selected fifth overall in the 2023 draft He signed his entry-level contract a week later but was loaned back to Switzerland’s EHC Kloten for most of the 2023-24 regular season This year was set to be his first full-time in North America but a knee injury sustained in a preseason contest against the Maple Leafs trashed most of his campaign 194-lb righty looked good to close out last season in Laval He suited up 11 times down the stretch in the AHL after his Swiss National League season ended scoring two goals and three assists with a plus-six rating he also began the 2024-25 campaign with two assists in three games for Austria at the final Olympic qualification tournament scoring 3-19–22 in 46 games with Kloten and earning a plus-seven rating but a disastrous campaign for the club in 2023-24 saw his totals step back to 1-10–11 in 35 games and a -15 rating The Canadiens and most others were willing to write that off as an outlier especially considering his finish to the season after coming across the Atlantic There’s no roster math involved for the Habs with this move as Reinbacher didn’t count toward their 23-player limit or the salary cap He’ll now get a look at top-four usage in Laval before a potential late-season call-up to Montreal Montreal Canadiens| Transactions Log in Register Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League Register The 21-year-old defenseman has signed a two-year contract with Kloten "Leandro is a big strong defenseman who is very mobile and can help us enormously with the play with the puck [...]," Ricardo Schödlern, team manager of EHC Kloten Leandro Hausheer is a product of EV Zug's organization and made his National League debut in the 2022-23 season. In 2023, he joined HC Lugano and has been playing for the Bianconeri ever since The 47-year-old Finn will remain the National League team's head coach until the end of the 2025-26 season "The preparation and the start of the season have shown that we have absolutely the right man on the ice with Lauri. The positive assessment is based not only on the good results of the last few weeks but also on the way the team performs on and off the ice," Ricardo Schödler, team manager of EHC Kloten Lauri Marjamäki was signed by EHC Kloten in June and last coached Kärpät. Under him, EHC Kloten has won six games in regulation and three in the shootout and lost seven games in regulation and one in the shootout In addition to the suspension, the forward of EHC Kloten will have to pay a fine of CHF 2'500.- The Canadian 28-year-old forward is the third import reinforcement for the Dragons Audette already participated last year at the traditional end-of-year tournament Switzerland will face Sweden in Kloten on May 1 for the first game of the Czech stage of the Euro Hockey Tour Robert Hradil / RvS.Media as part of the preparation for the World Championship Switzerland will participate in the Czech hockey games at the beginning of May the breakout game of the tournament - officially called Betano Hockey Games - will be held in Kloten Already last year Switzerland took up Sweden in Kloten and was defeated 2-1 The 23-year-old goaltender will be at the end of his contract with HC Ambrì-Piotta in spring According to Klaus Zaugg ("Watson"), Ricardo Schödler, team manager of EHC Kloten is looking into adding Davide Fadani to Kloten's roster then as a replacement for Sandro Zurkirchen Fadani, who is Italian, has a Swiss players' license and is a product of HC Lugano's organization. The goaltender has appeared in two games for the Biancoblù (.905 save percentage) and 13 games for the GDT Bellinzona Snakes this season (.926 save percentage) For the next few weeks, HC Thurgau's Mathieu Croce will replace the injured Ludovic Waeber He will serve as the backup of Sandro Zurkirchen Waeber, 28, has been averaging a save percentage of .914 in 15 games with EHC Kloten the eighth-highest among goalies with at least nine games Croce is seventh in the Swiss League with .932 (at least seven games played) Kloten faces a Herculean task to avoid losing a playoff series 4-0 for the third time in a row Now they need solutions against the very good defending ZSC Lions Kloten's goal differential after losing the first three quarterfinal games against the defending champions is 1:11 This shows where the problems lie for the Zurich lowlanders: they are not able to penetrate the dangerous zone enough "They play very well and are very structured which is why we don't get many top-class chances," said Axel Simic who returned to the team after two suspensions "We have to spread the game out and try to score dirty goals." One such goal was the 1:0 by ZSC captain Patrick Geering (48') and he was not the only one with this opinion Because it was not clear whether the puck was behind the line as Kloten's Nolan Diem had previously pushed Zurich's Joel Henry into the goal Kloten head coach Lauri Marjamäki described Diem's action as "our mistake" which is why he did not issue a coaching challenge Kloten demanded everything from the favorites this time which had an effect on some Zurich players "We saw that they were screaming on the bench," said Simic "They want to play fair-weather field hockey I'm sure we'll score more than one goal in the next game (Wednesday in Kloten)." The fact that the seventh-place qualifier has four play-in games under its belt "You can see in the last ten minutes that they're still fresh and in the playoffs you have energy anyway It would help if we could take the lead." the problem lies in the fact that his team has so far been unable to deliver its performance for 60 minutes That was necessary against the best team in Europe They have overcome some problems during the season Now he hopes they can take the necessary step again Marjamäki knows how to turn around a 0:3 He did it in 2012 as coach of the Espoo Blues against the qualifying winners KalPa Kuopio As the "Tages-Anzeiger" reports, the 34-year-old defenseman left the game in the first period of the game against Lausanne HC Leandro Profico took a puck to his face and did not return to the bench after the incident It remains to be seem whether the defenseman will miss some time Profico has appeared in 16 games for EHC Kloten he is on the ice for 17:12 minutes per game Mischa Ramel is one of the reasons why EHC Kloten is one of this season's surprise teams the 21-year-old 1.68 m small forward is part of the national team for the first time Mischa Ramel is used to facing resistance in the field hockey business The Solothurn native often heard that he was too small for a professional career when he was (still) younger the forward made his national team debut on Friday in Herisau in the 5:3 win against Slovakia - with a brilliant assist on Fabian Ritzmann's first international goal to make it 3:2 The call-up for this first phase of the World Cup preparations when the players from the play-off semi-finalists and overseas are still missing was by no means a complete surprise - and not because it is taking place in the airport city Ramel was a key factor in Kloten reaching the playoffs for the first time in nine years Behind the Finns Miro Aaltonen and Niko Ojamäki the 21-year-old center was Kloten's third-best scorer with eleven goals Where others excel with physical attributes Ramel whirls across the ice with great speed and agility He also impressed national team coach Patrick Fischer who explicitly praised the young and new players after the two victories against Slovakia "The team made it really easy for me to get into the game," said Ramel after his debut Being called up for the senior national team was a childhood dream." He hadn't expected the call from Fischer but the other players were very nice and approached him straight away His secret to success: "I try to keep my game fairly simple Then it works out well." Ramel learned early on to assert himself despite his physical disadvantages he is the smallest player in the National League he also depends on the confidence of the coaches The former EHC Olten junior was already well on his way last season (seven goals in 25 games) before he got injured Now he has been able to fulfill his potential and has been rewarded with his first national team call-up "I think when you get the confidence from the coaches it's very easy to get into the game," he says He now wants to force his way into a World Cup squad Preparation continues this weekend with two games in Marseille against France that would be the big dream," he confirms confidence in his own abilities and ambitions are all the greater the National League team has signed another import previously employed in Finland Two months ago, "Ilta-Sanomat" had first reported on the matter, and two days ago, "Watson"'s Klaus Zaugg mentioned it as a done deal - Petteri Puhakka would join EHC Kloten next season They appear to have been correct - the National League club confirmed the addition of the Finnish forward on a two-year contract Puhakka was a member of Tappara Tampere and won three consecutive Liiga-championships with them Tappara was eliminated from this spring's playoffs in the quarterfinal after finishing the regular season in ninth place contributed eleven goals and 15 assists in 53 games this past season The 26-year-old forward might miss EHC Kloten's first playoff game. He is currently under investigation for an incident that occurred in the play-in game against HC Ambrì-Piotta Proceedings have been initiated against Axel Simic for a potential hit to the head/neck area of the Biancoblù's Miles Müller in the game on March 10. It remains thus to be seen whether Simic will be able to play on Thursday against the ZSC Lions Simic has appeared in 26 regular-season games (five goals two assists) and two postseason games (one assist) this season Kloten completes the playoff field in the National League Kloten also won the play-in second leg at home against Ambri-Piotta 5:4 Kloten had already prevailed 5:4 in the first leg This means EHC Kloten can play in the playoffs again for the first time since 2016 the team's finances got out of control it was relegated from the National League in 2018 and was only promoted again in 2022 when the league was increased to 14 teams after Covid Kloten will face the ZSC Lions in the quarter-finals from Thursday Both the city of Zurich and the Zurich Oberland team are looking forward to the derby series Kloten reckon they have a good chance against ZSC - after all they have only lost three of the last eight derbies in the championship The last time there was a Zurich derby in the playoffs was in 2014 Kloten's last win in a playoff game also dates back to that season - in the semi-final against Fribourg The Kloten team doesn't like to bother with statistics like that the four play-in games against Langnau (1:3 and 2:1) and Ambri-Piotta (5:4 and 5:4) already felt like play-offs it doesn't really feel like top form in Kloten - despite seven wins from the last nine games Goalie Ludovic Waeber had to make way for Sandro Zurkirchen Axel Simic put Kloten back on course with the 4:3 in the 38th minute Simic scored two goals and an assist in the second leg and scored a total of three goals in the mini-series Because Kloten punched their last playoff ticket The series between the ZSC Lions (2nd) and Kloten (7th) also begins on Thursday The other quarter-final series between Bern (3rd) and Fribourg-Gottéron (6th) and Zug (4th) and Davos (5th) start on Friday There is play-off ice hockey every day in the quarter-finals in the National League For only the third time in history after 2008 and 2011 the canton of Ticino is not represented in the playoffs HC Ambri-Piotta will not fall into a depression because of their failure to reach the quarterfinals Ambri didn't cut a bad figure this season either - despite a few setbacks Ambri finished 2nd in October and second to last in January Ambri made it into the play-in at the last moment the Leventines would have had to win two series only one win from four games was not enough (22:58) Kubalik (DiDomenico/power play goal) 3:3 - Penalties: 2 times 2 minutes against Kloten - PostFinance top scorers: Ojamäki; Kubalik Keller (all ) and Hawryluk (supernumerary foreigner) Ambri-Piotta without Juvonen (supernumerary foreigner) Ambri-Piotta without goalkeeper from 55:29 Switzerland — Walking up to Swiss Life Arena The home of the Swiss National League’s ZSC Lions is an impressive structure that opened less than two years ago tucked away next to a set of train tracks in the Altstetten section of Zurich Even the seats are comfortable enough to put in your living room players’ lounge and just about everything a professional hockey player could want or need The rink itself tells you everything you need to know about what kind of world the Lions operate in The rink is built in the middle of a forest It is not easy to get to. The building has charm but at roughly 50 years old it is clearly operating in another world from the one in Zurich This is the world EHC Kloten operates in, and the world Montreal Canadiens prospect David Reinbacher plays in It is a world that is far from the NHL The National League (NL) in Switzerland features bigger ice surfaces a different style and lower caliber of play The Canadiens’ decision to send Reinbacher — the No 5 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft — back to play here is quite rare eight players have been drafted out of Europe with a top-five pick Reinbacher is the only one who was sent back home for another year The move has its benefits. The Canadiens wanted Reinbacher to continue his development far from the Montreal spotlight, a decision that was influenced by some of the negative reaction to drafting him but they also knew he was going to a league on the rise The quality of the NL has grown in recent years due largely to two main factors: every team is now allowed to dress six imports instead of four and the war in Ukraine drove many players who would otherwise be playing in Russia’s KHL to grab those increased import spots This change has infused the NL with more skill even as it remains an older league in which it is difficult for young players to break through This is what makes Reinbacher’s ability to play an impact role for Kloten so significant — and what makes his development path interesting the financial disparity between Zurich and Kloten becomes evident Zurich is the top team in the league while Kloten is mired near the bottom the long history of both clubs founded in the 1930s Kloten and Zurich will play a home-and-home series These matchups are called Zurich Derby games They also provide a window into who Reinbacher is as a competitor Reinbacher was recovering from two injuries — one to his knee and another to his hand — that derailed the start of his first season as a prized Canadiens prospect and as perhaps the most internationally visible hockey player in the country His first game back from injury would be that day against Zurich He figures he was at about 80 percent health and his conditioning was not up to speed after weeks on the sidelines but he wanted to help Kloten win despite their season having already gone off the rails “I remember a lot of pain,” Reinbacher said last week of that game “Reinbacher was the best player on the ice,” Lions coach Marc Crawford said all of it was so Reinbacher could prove a point to show that a low-budget team can beat the big-budget team “I wanted to win that game and show David can beat Goliath.” this is what Reinbacher is attempting to do as he prepares to make the jump to the NHL He wants to show that a player from Lustenau a small town on the western edge of Austria He wants to show the Canadiens were correct in using the No 5 pick on him despite massive public pressure to take someone else smarts and plays a premium position at right defense But Goliath in this case is overcoming the mental hurdles of that challenge — something he is receiving a crash course in this season Reinbacher is nearly 6,000 kms from the intense scrutiny of Montreal One thing the Canadiens loved about Juraj Slafkovský in his draft year was just how acclimated he was to pressure at a young age He had been seen as Slovakia’s next great player for years and he grew up with that constant pressure at home That the pressure-packed environment in Montreal would not crush him was a major selling point Hockey is not really on the sports radar in his native Austria where he has basically lived since he was 14 his exploits on the ice were not exactly headline news Reinbacher had NHL scouts following him around for most of last season but he went from relative anonymity and practically zero external expectations to he would rather spend this season playing back in Kloten He wanted to finish his education and play one more season before making the jump to North America and even after the Red-White scrimmage at the start of the team’s main training camp “For sure I want to maybe go home if I don’t make it,” he said that day it’s better for your future to stay here,’ then I’ll stay here.” Price knows a thing or two about dealing with oversized expectations about being an inherently private person suddenly thrust into the public eye “He told me that I should enjoy every single moment when I’m there and enjoy my development and don’t think too much,” Reinbacher said The notion of playing for the Canadiens started taking hold so when Reinbacher found out he would be getting his original wish to go back to Kloten for another year being with all the guys and playing with at least some NHL players,” he said When you combine those two things — suddenly dealing with massive expectations and the disappointment of being that close to reaching your dream and having it pulled away — Reinbacher’s frame of mind as he began his season in Kloten was not optimal Throw in a team in disarray — Kloten lost six of their first nine games before he was sent back — and Reinbacher faced a mental challenge he’d never faced before “It’s been a bit of a roller coaster for him,” said Kloten coach and general manager Larry Mitchell who fired his original coach about six weeks into Reinbacher’s return after the team won only seven of its first 23 games as it’s tough for anybody that gets sent from an NHL team to wherever but we noticed some disappointment in that he wanted to play for the Montreal Canadiens Reinbacher’s game early on showed signs he was feeling he needed to do more to be someone who was worthy of being the No One of his biggest strengths in his draft year was how quickly he moved the puck to his forwards — no hesitation in his decisions trying to beat a forechecker or two himself and failing more often than he succeeded Mitchell and his staff spent a lot of time with him in the video room “We explained to him that he’s a good player everybody knows it and you got all these accolades you got last year just by being David Reinbacher and not trying to be something you’re not,” Mitchell said “But I do think he struggled with that a little bit.” Canadiens director of player development Rob Ramage showed up He also hit the video room with Reinbacher but it was not to show him video of himself To prove to Reinbacher that he didn’t need to change a whole lot, Ramage played video of Shea Weber “That’s what I need to have success — defend “He showed me that playing a simple game can lead to success.” That is what Reinbacher has been doing more of lately but his game is creeping back to what made him successful back to what it was when he was attracting the attention of NHL scouts last season but Reinbacher is not taking needless risks and is playing with efficiency There was a valuable lesson he learned along the way one that will serve him well when he does make the jump to Montreal or the team’s AHL affiliate in Laval — something that could happen as soon as early March “The reason why they drafted you is because of who you are When the Canadiens were doing their research on Reinbacher during his draft year, they tapped into their network of contacts. Their special advisor to hockey operations, Vincent Lecavalier, had played two seasons with Mark Streit with the Philadelphia Flyers and now Streit was part owner of SC Bern in the Swiss NL Streit had seen Reinbacher play and he had spoken to many people who knew him If there is one person who knows how difficult it is to do what Reinbacher is attempting but Streit played in the top league in Switzerland and successfully made the transition to the Canadiens but what Reinbacher is doing now hits home for Streit harder than it does for others partly because he knows how much the NL has improved since he made the jump in 2005 the difference between this league here and the NHL was way bigger,” Streit said in an interview in Bern.” It was way faster Now I think the NHL got a little bit more skilled and the European leagues got a little bit better And with his capability of getting around the rink with his skating and his intuition and his skill … I thought it was the right call to bring him back here to settle everything down after the craziness and just take a step back I think he will be fine to make that transition because he’s an NHL player Streit’s general manager with SC Bern is Andrew Ebbett, who played 224 NHL games and another 335 in the AHL before finishing his playing career in Switzerland. Ebbett played with a young Nico Hischier in Bern and against a young Auston Matthews in his draft year Both stars came up when he talked about Reinbacher I almost didn’t believe he was 17,” Ebbett said It reminded me a bit of Nico (Hischier) when I was playing here and he was a 17-year-old kid and they said we’re going to play him in a game.’ I was like what do you mean we’re going to play him in a game?’ Then you see him on the ice “The thing with (Reinbacher) is, he doesn’t seem to get rattled. He’s very even keel, especially for a defenseman. That part reminded me of when Auston Matthews was here as an 18-year-old for Zurich and was … (Reinbacher’s) poise was the biggest thing the way he could handle the puck and hold on to the puck and then he scored a couple of goals against us Reinbacher piqued his interest enough last season that he went to watch him in the playoffs “He was really good in a really competitive playoff series I remember watching him and saying this kid so he’s challenged every game … and there are some really good players in this league that have similar skill sets to the really good players in the NHL.” “and the four is for my brother; he wears 44.” Reinbacher’s father, Harald, drove him to Kloten and back from Lustenau just about every day for a year often working in the rink as his son practiced Reinbacher’s older brother Tobias is the biggest reason he plays hockey When Harald came to Montreal during training camp he was wearing a winter coat that fit him before he lost a significant amount of weight “You can’t walk around Montreal in that,” Harald remembers his son telling him “It’s a comfortable coat,” Harald said with a proud smile as his son played in Kloten Harald never misses one of David’s home games who plays professionally for the Vorarlberg Pioneers in the Austrian pro league the same league Harald played in for Lustenau 25 years ago The night before the game Harald attended in Kloten you were right,” Harald remembers David telling him “I always told them that championships are built in the summer As Harald prepared to take the winning shot doing anything he could to distract his opponent Whether it’s a Zurich Derby or a casual game of darts That is why the Canadiens drafted him in hopes he will be a cornerstone of their ascension to contender status Reinbacher still has a ways to go to get there The two games we watched him play in Switzerland were not bad Following a 4-1 loss at Ambrì-Piotta that came after a 5-2 loss at home to Langnau a night prior we asked Reinbacher how he felt things were going we’re still in a bit of a negative spiral,” he said a stark contrast to our conversation in a Kloten café a few days earlier but I think we can step out of this game with a lot of good things I’m coming back to my best form and I’m pretty happy with it I’m going to try to stick to it and think of every day as a new day and a new challenge and be positive.” When he was asked at that café in Kloten whether he was looking forward to perhaps joining the Canadiens or the Laval Rocket after his season in Switzerland was finished Reinbacher had said he wasn’t thinking of that preferring to live in the present and focus on his season with Kloten we noted that maybe we would see each other very soon — perhaps as soon as March “Yeah,” he responded as he walked away wearing Canadiens-branded shorts Reinbacher was sent back to Kloten to get far away from the madness of the Montreal hockey market But he has kept that market front of mind all along The changing nature of a once-premier position (Top photos: Reto Turotti / szenemagazin.ch and David Kirouac / USA Today) Arpon Basu has been the editor-in-chief of The Athletic Montréal since 2017. Previously, he worked for the NHL for six years as managing editor of LNH.com and a contributing writer on NHL.com. Follow Arpon on Twitter @ArponBasu The 27-year-old Finn has agreed to a one-year contract with EHC Kloten EHC Kloten team manager Ricardo Schödler describes Sami Niku as a mobile and offensive defender: "Sami is a great skater and offensive defenseman He will be able to help us especially to improve our power play He also brings a lot of international experience to Kloten." Niku is the fifth import under contract with Kloten in the upcoming season Niku started last season with JYP and then joined league rivals Ilves Tampere in January collecting 50 points (13 goals) in 58 games Niku tried his luck overseas in the organizations of the Winnipeg Jets and later of the Montreal Canadiens putting up 16 points in 67 NHL games and 107 points in 174 AHL games The ZSC Lions are the second team to reach the playoff semi-finals The defending champions sealed the deal with a 5-2 home win in their fifth quarter-final game against Kloten - and not without some effort Sven Andrighetto saved the ZSC Lions from an unpleasant extra round next Sunday in Kloten The international forward had scored early to make it 1:0 and equalized for the visitors at 2:2 after a double strike by Axel Simic just six minutes before the end Juho Lammikko scored the winning goal to make it 3:2 - with his skate The Finn then also scored into the empty net to make it 4:2 there had been little doubt that the ZSC Lions would advance to the semi-finals with their third home win against Kloten and that Wednesday's defeat at Schluefweg would remain a mere side note Then Simic equalized out of the blue with a shot on which ZSC goalie Simon Hrubec who had returned after a short break due to illness did not look good - and everything changed in one fell swoop Kloten now fought back energetically and the Zurich team was no longer able to develop its offensive game as desired Kloten goalie Ludovic Waeber clearly outshone his renowned counterpart and made several strong saves ZSC maintained its flawless playoff record in Zurich-Altstetten and celebrated its eleventh home win in a row They now have a few days' break until the semi-finals on March 29 will go on vacation with their heads held high after an outstanding season Frödén) 4:2 (into the empty net) 60 (59:42) Malgin 5:2 (into the empty net) - Penalties: 2 times 2 plus 5 minutes (Blaser) plus playing time (Blaser) against ZSC Lions - PostFinance top scorers: Frödén; Ojamäki Schwendeler (both ) and Balcers (supernumerary foreigner) After one of the most thrilling qualifying spurts in history the National League will continue to be high stakes from Tuesday The play-in provides a foretaste of the play-offs ten still have a chance of becoming champions after the 52 rounds of qualifying Six places in the play-off quarter-finals have been allocated the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers and Ambri-Piotta battling it out for the remaining two The fact that Kloten were still flirting with a direct place in the play-offs right up to the last day of qualifying can be described as the biggest surprise of the season the world looked very different for the traditional club The five-time Swiss champions finished the qualifying campaign in 13th place without a sports director and without a coach hardly anyone believed that Kloten would even make it into the top 10 this season Kloten have exceeded all their goals for the season Because Fribourg-Gottéron did their duty on Saturday with a home win against Ambri-Piotta (4:1) and thus defended 6th place even a win in the cantonal derby at the ZSC Lions would not have been enough for the Zurich lowlanders to make the big sensation perfect But Kloten will not be resting on their laurels especially not with further clashes with cantonal rivals and defending champions ZSC Lions awaiting them in the play-off quarter-finals Kloten must get one opponent out of the way in the play-in Kloten will face the SCL Tigers in a duel between seventh and eighth place While the winner of this duel qualifies for the playoffs the loser gets a second chance to do so in a duel with the winner of the play-in pairing between ninth and tenth the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers will face Ambri-Piotta Kloten go into the race with the SCL Tigers as clear favorites The team from Langnau has lost all four head-to-head duels this season after 60 minutes there is great euphoria in Emmental with a view to a possible first play-off appearance since 2019 The Tigers also pulled off a surprise by finishing in 8th place which has won four of its last five games after a small slump The Tigers have only won one game in the same period Saturday's home game against Ajoie (5:1) The clash between the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers and Ambri-Piotta looks more balanced at first glance Both finished the regular season with 73 points Three of the four head-to-head meetings also went into overtime Only Rapperswil-Jona managed to win once in regulation time who have only lost three of their last ten games still have something to make up for from last year The Leventines failed to win any of their four play-in games against Lugano and Biel Ambri's dream team of Dominik Kubalik the league's top scorer in qualifying and the two Canadians Chris DiDomenico and Philippe Maillet will give them confidence that they can do it this time The points from the first and second legs are no longer added together instead the added goal difference decides who progresses If the score is equal after two 60-minute matches This is played with five outfield players and lasts until a goal is scored Due to a hand injury making playing impossible for the remainder of the season player and club have agreed to terminate their contract Having joined EHC Kloten only just in November Nathan Beaulieu is already on the departure again A complex hand injury suffered in January is causing the defenseman to likely miss the rest of the season That has brought club and player to the decision to mutually terminate their contract Over the course of the two months he was healthy and available to them Beaulieu made 13 games for Kloten and recorded two assists.  The Zurich derby in the ice hockey playoffs promises to be a spectacle ZSC coach Marco Bayer is preparing for "a tough series" against cantonal rival Kloten Playoffs have their special appeal - derbies anyway There's no grudging each other anything The rivalry is characterized by mutual dislike The fans whip their team forward as if it were about more than just advancing to the next round - it's about pride Nobody wants to go on vacation prematurely If you take the four Zurich derbies of the past qualifiers as a yardstick fans of both camps can prepare themselves for a lot offered plenty of spectacle - and the home team always won This shows that although Kloten are the underdogs they have nothing to hide in a duel with their mighty neighbor the Zurich Unterlanders have even come away victorious five times tough series for us," predicts ZSC coach Marco Bayer When Marc Crawford resigned for health reasons the Dübendorf native was promoted from head coach of the GCK Lions farm team to head coach of the big ZSC after Christmas in a kind of cloak-and-dagger operation a wave of flu and injuries repeatedly presented him and his coaching staff with new challenges So the eleven days off before the playoffs came at just the right time for ZSC We weren't as fresh mentally and physically That's never been possible since I've been here," said Bayer in a meeting with journalists on Tuesday afternoon Bayer does not believe that the team lacks the necessary bite after winning the Champions Hockey League in February I've noticed in the last two or three days how fresh and focused they are again We still have a goal that we want to achieve the play-off is also about his personal future a two-time champion with Kloten as an active player will remain with the ZSC organization for two more seasons A corresponding contract was signed in January it is still unclear whether he will remain in his current role as head coach of the ZSC Lions or return as head coach of the GCK Lions at least to the outside world: "This is not about me We can discuss my situation after the season." The Zurich derby is particularly special for Reto Schäppi who has played almost his entire career with ZSC and has won four Swiss championships with them the 34-year-old center was no longer given a contract by the Lions for this season Following his move to cantonal rivals EHC Kloten he will now face his former club of all teams "I'm really looking forward to playing a playoff series against my old teammates It will certainly be special," said Schäppi late Monday night when the playoff qualification was confirmed after the spectacular 5:4 home win against Ambri-Piotta He describes the starting position in the duel between the second and seventh-placed teams in the qualifiers as follows: "We know that we are the underdogs which we have built up over the course of the season The veteran does not believe that the team lacks the necessary freshness due to the additional four play-in games "Of course it would have been nice if we had qualified right away against Langnau But we want to take the momentum with us and look on the bright side." In order to get the big rival out of the way EHC Kloten will have to achieve something that nobody managed a year ago: on their way to their tenth championship title the Lions have won all eight of their playoff home games ZSC coach Bayer believes: "We're fresh over a longer series that can be an advantage." Kloten will be without Axel Simic for Thursday's first playoff quarter-final game against the ZSC Lions Proceedings have been opened against the 26-year-old forward for a check to the head and neck of Ambri's Miles Müller he received a provisional one-game suspension Simic contributed significantly to Kloten's first playoff appearance since 2016 with three goals and two assists in the play-in against Ambri-Piotta TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com Stay up-to-date on important news from TribLIVE 1-800-909-8742 © 2025 Trib Total Media | All Rights Reserved About Us Advertise Career Opportunities Contact Advertising Contact Circulation Contact Newsroom Contact Us Feedback Request Correction Resource Center Scholarship Opportunities Send Letter to the Editor Send News Tip Subscribe Subscriber Services Blog eFeatures Email Newsletters eTrib Facebook Home Delivery Instagram LinkedIn Marketing Minute Store Locations TribLIVE App - App Store TribLIVE App - Google Play X (formerly Twitter) Arts & Entertainment Best of the Best Business Directory Circulars Contests Coronavirus Lifestyles Local News YaJagOff Obituaries Opinion Our Publications Photos Real Estate Sports Video Weather Cookie Settings Privacy Policy Terms of Service With the signing of Lauri Marjamäki, EHC Kloten's quest to find a new head coach after the short stint of Stefan Mair has come to an end The new man behind the bench brings from Finland a vast baggage of experience at the highest levels Team manager Ricardo Schödler: "Lauri convinced us with his clear values and playing principles Having started his coaching career as a junior coach he is someone who can develop young players and make them better which will be a big part of his job here in Kloten Marjamäki started coaching at the junior level in 1999 first with Ilves' and then with the Blues' junior squads From 2007 to 2011 he was an assistant coach for the Blues he coached Kärpät (2013-16 and again 2022-24) Jokerit (2018-22) and the Finnish national team (2016-18) In 2014 and 2015 he won the championship and was also named Coach of the Year in 2015 The SCL Tigers reach the playoffs for the third time in the club's history after 2011 and 2019 The Langnau team relegated EHC Kloten to the hopeful round with a 4-3 aggregate score but that was not enough after Tuesday's 3-1 loss in Langnau Vili Saarijärvi scored the "golden goal" for the SCL Tigers in the 48th minute to make it 1-2 Kloten should have had a much bigger lead at that point the Kloten team failed due to their own inability and Langnau goalie Luca Boltshauser Boltshauser is only playing in this most important phase of the championship because Stéphane Charlin is still convalescing after his injury was constantly at the center of attention in Kloten At 0:2 he let himself be caught below value But he also saved 40 shots (!) and achieved a save percentage of 95.24 percent These are figures that Stéphane Charlin has also regularly delivered this season Langnau rewarded itself immensely for a very mixed performance in the final period The Tigers wanted to grind out the 3:1 from the home game Dario Allenspach and Sean Malone took stupid two-minute penalties in the offensive zone Kloten took advantage of Allenspach's exclusion to make it 2:0 through Niko Ojamäki The penalty against Malone was Kloten's last chance to turn the series in a different direction The SCL Tigers are in the playoff quarter-finals for the third time after 2011 (under John Fust) and 2019 (under Heinz Ehlers) But Thierry Paterlini has now also created a small monument to himself as coach with the quarter-finals in Emmental - PostFinance top scorers: Ojamäki; Pesonen Kloten brings some excitement back into the quarter-final duel against the ZSC Lions Kloten cut the deficit in the Zurich playoff derby to 1:3 Dario Meyer's winning goal three minutes before the end was historic For the first time since the 2014 semi-final and eleven playoff defeats in a row before that EHC Kloten won again in the best ice hockey time of the year While Kloten once again threw everything they had into the game the ZSC Lions couldn't find the energy to completely overcome their inner bastard in view of their comfortable lead in the series Kloten had already found it incredibly difficult to score goals throughout the quarter-finals The 1:0 by Tyler Morley after exactly seven minutes was only the second goal after a 1:5 The Canadian scored for the first time this calendar year Lions substitute keeper Robin Zumbühl (playing for the sick Simon Hrubec) was only beaten again shortly before the end although Morley and Niko Ojamäki again had good chances to make it 2-0 in the middle third it was Santtu Kinnunen who equalized almost exactly at half-time In view of the home strength in the Altstetten stadium the decision in the series should only be a matter of time - PostFinance top scorers: Ojamäki; Frödén Keller (all overtime) and Hawryluk (extra foreigner) Segafredo (all overtime) and Hrubec (sick) Long-time tenants are leaving their neighborhood in Kloten ZH: the owner is replacing their apartment buildings with new ones - and doubling the rents Too much for some of the elderly residents They have lived in a housing estate on the edge of the forest in Kloten ZH for almost half a century But the neighborhood where the Widmer family has lived for 47 years is changing The old houses are being demolished and replaced by taller new buildings Many tenants can no longer afford the rent in the new apartment blocks: it would be at least twice as high as before Previously, Köbi Widmer and his wife paid CHF 1,400 a month for their 4-room apartment, they tell the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper A comparably sized 3.5-room apartment in one of the new buildings would cost between 2,800 and 3,150 francs: "We simply can't afford that anymore," says Köbi Widmer The site is owned by the Schaffhausen Pension Fund It is having the existing residential buildings replaced with modern apartment blocks The price shock is forcing many of the existing residents to move away Köbi Widmer had long hoped to be able to stay in his familiar neighborhood He had already received notice of termination at the end of June 2025 due to the new building three years ago The pension fund gave the existing tenants a head start when allocating the new apartments "Of course we were prepared to have to pay a little more rent," says Widmer the new administration only communicated the specific amount at the end of January this year the city council spoke of apartments in the "medium price segment" - which A quarter of the 211 residents of the affected buildings have lived there for 30 years Some of his neighbors had accepted the higher rents but had been turned away: "Too little income" The managing director of the Schaffhausen pension fund defends the new rents as "in line with the market" "necessary returns" are required when dealing with pension assets The Widmers have looked for a new apartment - and are moving out of Kloten They would have liked to stay in the city: "But we no longer had time to find something suitable here." They are moving to Winterthur where they have found a 3.5-room apartment for 1,900 francs the senior national team will begin its preparations for the World Championships in Herning and Stockholm Coach Patrick Fischer has called up 26 players for the first of four weeks of preparation Under the motto “Join our journey to Herning,” the men’s national team faces its World Championship 2025 mission parallel to the decisive phase of the National League playoffs Kloten will be the training base from which Switzerland will depart for scheduled test matches at home and abroad.To kick off World Championship preparation Patrick Fischer and his coaching staff have named three goalkeepers nine defenders and 14 forwards from playoff and playout teams already eliminated.With Leonardo Genoni the lineup includes five players who were part of last year’s silver medal-winning team in Prague and Ostrava Loeffel (156) and Genoni (132) are the two players with the most international experience and the most caps.Rookies on the roster include Rodwin Dionicio drafted by the Anaheim Ducks last June and recently playing in the AHL for the San Diego Gulls and Biel since late January 2025 Head Coach Patrick Fischer is looking forward to the highlight of the season and the upcoming World Championship preparations: “We have nominated an exciting mix of experienced players and promising prospects for the first week of preparations it’s all about developing our game with hard work and full energy and anchoring our system in a targeted manner Every player has the chance to recommend themselves for the next phases with commitment the new head coach of the U20 national team as well as Marcel Jenni and Rikard Franzén – assistant coaches at Genève-Servette HC and most recently on the coaching staff at the U20 World Championship in Ottawa – will support Patrick Fischer as assistant coaches at the 2025 World Championship in Herning and Stockholm Tommy Albelin is not part of the staff this time due to his commitment in the NHL with the New York Islanders former Swiss national player and Stanley Cup winner with the Montréal Canadiens will be on the ice as a skills coach in the first few weeks His focus will be in particular on the development of finishing strength and goal-scoring efficiency Preparation match schedule and ticketsIn the first week of preparation Switzerland will play two home games against Slovakia on Thursday This will be followed by two matches with France in Marseille in the second week before two clashes with Latvia in Riga in the third week of preparations.A special highlight awaits on Thursday when the breakout game of the Czech Betano Hockey Games against Sweden will be played in the SWISS Arena in Kloten.Switzerland’s preparation schedule is as follows: Herisau: Switzerland – SlovakiaFriday Marseille (France): France – SwitzerlandSaturday Marseille (France): France – SwitzerlandThursday Riga (Latvia): Latvia – SwitzerlandFriday Kloten: Switzerland – Sweden (breakout game)Saturday Brno (Czech Republic): Switzerland – FinlandSunday Brno (Czech Republic): Czech Republic – Switzerland Goalies (3): Stéphane Charlin (SCL Tigers), Leonardo Genoni (EVZ), Ludovic Waeber (EHC Kloten)  Defense (9): Iñaki Baragano (SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers), Tim Berni (Genève-Servette HC), Giancarlo Chanton (Genève-Servette HC), Rodwin Dionicio (EHC Biel-Bienne), Tobias Geisser (EVZ), Ludvig Johnson (EVZ), Roger Karrer (Genève-Servette HC), Romain Loeffel (SC Bern), Dario Wüthrich (HC Ambri-Piotta)  Forwards (14): Thierry Bader (SC Bern), Attilio Biasca (EVZ), Luca Fazzini (HC Lugano), Grégory Hofmann (EVZ), Marco Lehmann (SC Bern), Marco Miranda (Genève-Servette HC), Tyler Moy (SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers), Mischa Ramel (EHC Kloten), Fabian Ritzmann (SC Bern), Dario Rohrbach (SCL Tigers), Sven Senteler (EVZ), Axel Simic (EHC Kloten), Dario Simion (EVZ), Jonas Taibel (SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers) Ein Beitrag geteilt von EVZ (@official_evz)