Before departure on Monday, Patrick Fischer took the time to grant an interview to the Keystone-ATS press agency.
The coach talks about this new campaign, looks back on the silver medal from the last World Championship and the evolution of Swiss hockey
-Last season, you lost 11 of 12 Euro Hockey Tour matches. What gives you confidence that things will happen differently this season?
“Our problem was scoring goals. What makes me confident is that we are growing. The objective of this season is to balance the results because we are on par with the best nations .”
-At 41 years old, Andres Ambühl is part of the selection for the Karjala Cup. Why not give a young player a chance?
“Ambühl once again showed his importance at the World Cup in Prague. Things are not yet going as he would like with Davos this season, but he deserved this call-up, like other participants in the World Championship.”
-A year ago you had to explain a new disappointment. Today, you silenced your detractors by winning another silver medal at the World Cup. How satisfied are you?
“I’m just very happy that it turned out this way. Lately we had been struggling to perform when it mattered, so we tackled that problem. That’s why we brought in Stefan Schwitter, who helped us stay in the moment This theme followed us throughout the season With the defeats in the Euro Hockey Tour, the pressure on the players increased. against Germany made me happy because it proved that we were capable of doing it. Same thing in the semi-final and in the final.
-Honestly, how much pressure did you feel?
“It’s no secret that if we hadn’t had a good campaign, I probably would have had to pack my bags. That said, the pressure didn’t hold me back and it wasn’t like I wouldn’t I couldn’t sleep anymore. I especially thank my partner and my close entourage who helped me enormously. After the victory in the quarterfinals, I felt a great weight lifted from my shoulders.
-Despite this magnificent silver medal, how long did you ruminate on this defeat in the final?
“It was extremely painful and it lasted a long time. I had never had the opportunity to coach a team with such a state of mind. Roman Josi was an incredible captain. Everyone pitched in to help. the team without the slightest jealousy. That’s what made it so special. We felt ready for the title. It was on the flight back that the disappointment was the greatest. in the final of 2013 and 2018. Now it’s about continuing our momentum and continuing to improve, because we always don’t want more.”
-What did the analysis of the season reveal?
“We were able to build on a lot of good things. The next step is to win regularly throughout the season. We want to continue to impose our rhythm in a match, but we need to know how to change the rhythm more quickly when possible.”
-Nino Niederreiter worries about lack of young talent pushing veterans. Switzerland had the second oldest team at the last World Cup. What do you think?
“We have been wondering for a long time how to better train young people to bring them into the league by having significant ice time. We also need to once again produce great players who go directly to the NHL. In recent years, we We have not succeeded. There is only one solution: even better supervision, more professional coaches in the next generation and even better structures.
-Does the main problem come from the fact that clubs do not invest enough money at the bottom of the pyramid and that there is a lack of know-how?
“It’s a big subject. But we must never forget where we come from. In 1997, we were 3rd in Group B. Since then, things have evolved. We slowly invested more money, Ralph Krueger ( coach from 1998 to 2010) was a big driving force Before becoming national coach (end of 2015), I was assistant coach at Lugano, a big club where we had no goalkeeping coach, neither athletic coach, nor coach. video So we don’t even talk about the situation among the juniors Today things have improved, but we are still behind the best nations. To take the example of Sweden, there are five or six. coaches on the ice with young people and they logically produce more good players In Switzerland, the evolution over the last thirty years is good, let’s still keep the positive.
