Junior World Championships 2022 Switzerland preview
The 2022 Junior World Championship (WJC) is just around the corner and hockey fans couldn’t be happier. The Christmas tradition is back where the world’s best U20 youth players gather for a two-week tournament highlighted by selections from the last two drafts and the upcoming one in Montreal.
Related: Guide to the 2022 Junior World Championship
Switzerland isn’t usually one of the teams people look forward to, but it shouldn’t be overlooked. Just ask Team Canada when the Swiss beat them in the 2018 World Cup and the 2006 Wayne Gretzky-built team that lost to Martin Gerber and his amazing 49-round shutout. Basically, I say, never count Switzerland out of anything.
Last year’s tournament was nothing special as Switzerland was dispatched before the start of the quarter-finals. They were beaten 20-5 in four games and no one on their team scored more than one goal. 2022 is more likely to be like that, because this time they have no one like Nino Niederreiter, Roman Josi or Nico Hischier to lead them into battle. They also don’t have a goalkeeper like Gerber or David Aebischer.
Goalkeeper: Could Pasche get a place on the grid?
As a starter for this tournament, the Swiss will most likely rely on Kevin Pasche, Lucas Rötheli or Noah Patenaude. Thibault Fatton, who started in three of the four games last year, will not return as he is now 20 years old.
From a statistical point of view, Pasche has the best chance of getting the starting position this year. In his first season in the United States Hockey League (USHL) he scored a very solid 2.18 goal-against-average (GAA) and 0.917 save percent (SV%) in 11 games. He has started the majority of the games for the Omaha Lancers and is currently just behind Tri-City Storm’s Arseni Sergeyev in GAA and SV%. He also played well at the U18 World Cup in 2021, where he was named one of the top three players at the end of the tournament. Could he be this year’s Aebischer or Gerber?
Defense: watch out for Bichsel
All eyes will be on 6-foot-5 defender Lian Bichsel, who is qualified for the upcoming 2022 draft. Already an NHL size, he should be considered for the second round in June. He Ice skates very good for a tall man and has underrated two-way capabilities. Ranked up to 28th place by FCHockey and Recruit Scouting, it could even sneak into the first round if the teams think they need to increase their pool of prospects a little. He plays for Leksands IF J20 in the J20 Nationell and Leksands IF in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and has scored three goals and eight points in 20 games.
He could become a representative of any of the Canadian hockey leagues in Vincent Despont (QMJHL), Maximillian Streule (WHL) and Brian Zanetti (OHL). Zanetti was voted 110th by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2021 draft, while Despont and Streule will try to impress Scouts enough to earn either a selection or an entry-level contract (ELC) from an NHL team this year.
Giancarlo Chanton and Noah Delemont return from last year. Both play in the Swiss League and are currently in their final year of participation. Delemont has gone through two drafts without being selected, so Despont and Streule are hoping an NHL team will see enough of him to offer him an ELC.
Striker: Canonica is leading
Similar to the defense, all eyes will be on one player this year as well. His name is Lorenzo Canonica. He currently plays with the Shawinigan Cataractes in the QMJHL and will have a chip on his shoulder because he was not drafted in the 2021 draft last summer. With five goals and 18 points in 23 games, he has already exceeded his score from last season. It’s a sleek two-way pivot that can go around anyone if given the chance. Expected by many to participate in the later rounds of the draft last year, he was surprisingly excluded from the celebrations. With his skills and overall play, I don’t expect that to happen again this year, especially if he shows a strong performance in the WJC.
In addition to Canonica, keep an eye on Fabian Ritzmann. Divided into the U20 elite, the National League and the Swiss League, he scored eight goals and 13 points in 24 games. The Swiss don’t have a lot of offensive firepower so keep an eye on anyone who has confidence in their ability to score goals.
It will continue to be difficult against Switzerland
Team Switzerland will again be an underdog at the WJC this year. Canonica and Bichsel will no doubt have their moments, but the team itself is simply too weak to compete with Canada, Russia, Finland, Slovakia, Sweden and the US. If one of their goalkeepers isn’t upside down in almost every game, they’ll find their way out of the playoff round.
However, the great powers should not go into games assuming it will be a breeze. They play their hearts out on every shift and that alone can give teams a headache. They seem to have a pretty good power play too, as they scored three out of five goals with a male advantage last year.
THW Projected Team Switzerland Roster
Goalkeepers – Kevin Pasche, Noah Patenaude, Lucas Rötheli
Defenders – Lian Bichsel, Giancarlo Chanton, Noah Delemont, Vincent Despont, Dario Sidler, Maximilian Streule, Brian Zanetti
Strikers – Nicolas Baechler, Attilio Biasca, Jeremie Bartschi, Lorenzo Canonica, Christophe Cavalleri, Keanu Derungs, Joshua Fahrni, Raymond Fust, Lilian Garessus, Marlon Graf, Joel Henry, Valentin Hofer, Simon Knak, Fabian Ritzmann, Louis Robin
All team information for the Junior World Championship 2022:
Team Canada | preview | Roster |
Team USA | preview | Roster |
Team Austria | preview | Roster |
Team Czech Republic | preview | Roster |
Team Finland | preview | Roster |
Team Germany | preview | Roster |
Team Russia | preview | Roster |
Team Slovakia | preview | Roster |
Team Sweden | preview | Roster |
Team Switzerland | preview | Roster |
Matthew Zator is a freelance THW writer, media editor, and scout who lives and breathes Vancouver Canucks Hockey, the NHL Draft, and prospects in general. He loves to talk about young players and their potential. Matthew is a must have for Canucks fans and fans of the NHL Draft and its prospect. For interview requests or content information, you can follow Matthew on his social media accounts listed under his photo at the bottom of articles like this one about Tyler Motte.