Christian Wohlwend will not be able to face Ajoie in the near future. Image: KEYSTONE
To hire Christian Wohlwend, still an employee of the Jura club, Olten had to make a huge and unusual concession.
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Christian Wohlwend was dismissed from his position at Ajoie and replaced by Greg Ireland. The Jura club, however, had to pay him his salary until the end of his contract at the end of the season. But in the meantime, Wohlwend was hired by Olten.
Ajoie then released his former coach on one condition: Olten had to, in return, withdraw his request for promotion.
“Otherwise, Ajoie would not have freed me,” says Christian Wohlwend. And this even if promotion to the National League is not sportingly realistic for Olten. Consequence: the Solothurns will not play a possible promotion/relegation play-off against Ajoie (which is shaping up to be the dunce of the National League) at the end of the season. And Christian Wohlwend will not have to face his former team.
Bring back some emotions
But Olten president Marc Thommen probably did not withdraw this request for permission to play in the elite with a heavy heart. Firstly, his team is not in a condition, sportingly and even less economically, to return to the first division. It will not be either under Christian Wohlwend at first. Secondly, Olten recovers the 20,000 francs deposited when applying for promotion.
Despite his qualities, Christian Wohlwend could not prevent Ajoie’s difficult start to the season. Image: KEYSTONE
The Oltenois have hired Christian Wohlwend until next spring, plus an option for two additional seasons until 2027. In other words: they want to stay in the Swiss League in any case and have just brushed aside the rumors of a voluntary return to the amateur hockey, as Langenthal did.
Marc Thommen explains that the change of coach (and therefore the dismissal of Gary Sheehan) had become necessary. It is now a matter of stabilizing the situation and bringing emotions back into the team. “But the development of a longer-term strategy also depends on the way in which the Swiss League will position itself,” warns Marc Thommen.
Marc Thommen, president of EHC Olten. image: ch media
He considers the commitment of a “Mister Swiss League” as a first step in the right direction. The federation (of which the Swiss League is a part) is currently looking for an office general who will exclusively look after the interests of the second division. Like Denis Vaucher for the National League.
A special clause in the CONTRACT de Wohlwend
Olten’s efficient president has implemented the new direction well and has hired Thomas Roost, one of the most interesting personalities in Swiss hockey, as sports director. As a long-time contributor to the NHL’s European scouting office, Thomas Roost not only has excellent connections in the hockey world; he also has extensive experience in personnel management and recruitment.
If clubs are looking for players, it is above all human beings who arrive. And personality can be as important as talent.
But the hockey gods always have surprises in store for Oltenois. Christian Wohlwend has certainly signed until 2027, but he also benefits from an interesting clause in his contract. Olten and its president do not want to reveal it, but watson knows her:
the coach can terminate his contract at the end of each season in the event of an offer from a National League club.
Christian Wohlwend will not be reunited with his ex-Ajoulot players anytime soon. Image: KEYSTONE
It would be quite ironic to imagine Christian Wohlwend returning to the elite, but not Olten…
No candidates serious at the dam
Olten therefore, in accordance with Ajoie’s request, withdrew his request for promotion. Basel has not submitted any, that of Sierre will be refused and La Chaux-de-Fonds will have to play all its play-off home matches in Neuchâtel. In other words: not at his place. This would also be the case next season in the National League.
This means that the only serious promotion candidate remaining is Visp.
The case of La Chaux-de-Fonds in detail????
For the Valaisans, the opportunity to return to the elite has never been so favorable in the last 52 years, since relegation. So will they invest accordingly? General manager Sébastien Pico does not exude promotion euphoria:
“Our motto is humility”
He can certainly talk about humility, but work extra hard behind the scenes for the promotion operation… But the CEO doesn’t want to hear about this “operation” either. He cannot even confirm that Visp will hire the two additional foreigners for a possible play-off.
And then, what Sébastien Pico is careful not to say, is that the board of directors wishes – in the spirit of “operation humility” – cut the budget by at least half a million for next season. It is difficult, in these conditions, to imagine a promotion.
In Ajoie, Wohlwend was impeccable????
In summary: Olten gives up on the climb, Basel doesn’t want it, Sierre can’t, Visp is lukewarm and La Chaux-de-Fonds has no homeland. Under these conditions, Ajoie’s new coach, Greg Ireland, can coach his team in a bathrobe from his living room. There is no risk of relegation for the Jura. And if there were to be a dam, it would only be an operetta spectacle.
Translation and adaptation into French: Yoann Graber
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