Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Sven Baertschi talks about his season as Team Switzerland meets Canada

May 13, 2017, 11:46 AM ET [432 Comments]
Carol Schram
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
We're now into the final few days of preliminary round action at the IIHF World Championship. Canada kicks off another stretch of three games in four nights with a game against Switzerland tonight at 8:15 p.m. local time—11:15 a.m. PT.

The Swiss currently sit in third place in Group B with nine points, three back of Canada. So far in their tournament, they've beaten Slovenia, Norway and Belarus, and lost to France. The Swiss schedule gets tougher now, as they'll finish up with their games against Canada, Finland and Czech Republic.

Vancouver Canucks winger Sven Baertschi was supposed to be part of Team Switzerland, but had to bow out due to ongoing symptoms from that neck injury he suffered against Arizona back on April 6.

Shortly before Baertschi was injured, Lucas Aykroyd of IIHF.com spoke to him about his season, the Canucks and the World Championships.

"Obviously, having a chance to represent my country is huge. Obviously I want to be healthy for that," said Baertschi—foreshadowing his impending fate. "I had one shot before. I went to Minsk for the (2014) World Championship and got hurt in the first game. But it was still a great experience. I want to go back and represent my country and help the team have some success.

Alas, that is not to be. The Swiss do have one former Canuck on their team—defenseman Raphael Diaz. The roster also includes Denis Malgin of the Florida Panthers as well as a few other ex-NHLers, like goalie Jonas Hiller and forwards Damien Brunner and Cody Almond.

Hiller, now 35, has played in just one game so far. The majority of the goaltending duties for Switzerland have been handled so far by 29-year-old Leonardo Genoni.

Here's more from Baertschi. On his 2016-17 season:

It’s been good. I think the middle part of this season, I played really strong. I put a solid string of games where I was playing well. As of lately, it’s been a little bit of a tough run. But everybody goes through ups and downs during the season. That’s just normal. It’s been tough on us and obviously me as well.


On his regular linemate and impending restricted free agent Bo Horvat:

He’s been unbelievable this year. If you look at how young he is and how big of a leader he already is in our team, it’s huge. He plays in every situation, and most nights, he has the most ice time. He’s really responsible and mature. The way his game has developed the last few years, it’s been fun to watch. He’s going to be a big part of this organization moving forward. Obviously he’s had a great season, going to the All-Star Game and everything. He earned that.


On his love for animals and advocacy for the SPCA:

My fiancee and I love animals. We got a dog four years ago and we love him. We have a great opportunity here to give back to the community and bring awareness about the local dog shelters. That’s a good thing. Going forward, we want to be more and more involved and do some more events. Our whole team, almost every guy has a dog. New guys coming in, they pretty much are under pressure to get a dog because everybody else has one! My fiancee has done a great job with the SPCA and hopefully we have more events and more dogs get adopted.


Speaking of new guys and their dogs, has he introduced his dog, Bear, to Troy Stecher's Bernese puppy, Phoebe?

"I haven’t, no. She’s still tiny right now. She’s not quite ready to meet my dog! But he brought her to the rink once and we had a chance to see her. She’s a really cute dog. Obviously we see those kinds of dogs all over in Switzerland. It’s an awesome dog, a real working dog. He’ll have his hands full for sure!"

👅

A post shared by Troy Stecher (@troystecher) on




Speaking of Bernese mountain dogs, does the geography around Vancouver evoke memories of his home nation of Switzerland?

The mountains here are tiny! No, but you know what? It’s nice when I drive to the rink on a sunny day and get to see the mountains. It’s an unbelievable skyline in the city with the mountains right behind. It kind of reminds me of home, and that’s nice to have. There are so many similarities. During the season when we have a break, it’s nice to get up to Whistler. It’s a home-like feeling for me. Whenever I have the chance to go and do some outdoor stuff, I’m up for it.


And finally, what are Baertschi's thoughts on the development of the Swiss national program?

If you look at Swiss hockey, the development as of late has been getting so much better. It’s been fun watching young players getting a chance to come over here and play here. That’s going to help too. Guys like Fiala are awesome, and Hischier – I watched him in the World Juniors and I was blown away. He’s such a talented guy. He’s going to be a high draft pick and a great player for a long time. When you see those guys, it speaks well for Swiss hockey.
Join the Discussion: » 432 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Carol Schram
» Winning Canucks send down Podkolzin, Rathbone as homestand begins
» Power-play fuels big win in Vegas as Canucks look to sweep 3-game road trip
» The Canucks' position at U.S. Thanksgiving, following a big win in Denver
» Trade winds blow as the Canucks kick off road trip against the Avalanche
» Podkolzin returns as Canucks host Vegas amidst Horvat, Myers trade rumours