- Jan Cadieux takes over the Swiss ice hockey team.
- He succeeds the fired coach Patrick Fischer.
- Cadieux was surprised. But he is positive about the home World Cup.
- He doesn’t see Roman Josi’s letter as a problem for the team.
The Patrick Fischer affair has been keeping Switzerland busy for almost a week after the dismissal of the national hockey team’s long-time successful coach. On Wednesday, the first official media event took place in Biel in the run-up to the Hockey World Cup.
After The players commented on the affair for the first time after trainingthe new head coach Jan Cadieux also answered Fischer’s questions at a press conference for the first time since Fischer’s dismissal. There was correspondingly great interest from the media.
Cadieux: “Everyone was very surprised”
The events of the last few days were unforeseeable even for him, who was actually only supposed to take over as national team coach after the home World Cup. Fischer was actually scheduled to be the coach for the tournament starting in mid-May. “It was very special for me and for the entire team. It’s difficult – I wasn’t ready for it. We were all very surprised by what happened.”
Despite the fact that he is now thrown into the deep end out of nowhere, Cadieux looks ahead positively: “In the end, you can be afraid of a situation like this or say that you want to make the best of it – and that’s exactly how I see it. I’m concentrating on the boys and giving everything for this team, they deserve it.”
No problems with Josi
After the whole situation surrounding the national team seemed to calm down a bit at the beginning of the week, something that became public caused concern Letter from Roman Josi again caused an uproar. In this he tried to change the minds of the association bosses in the Fischer case.
But Cadieux doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it and also shows understanding for the players’ point of view: “I spoke to Roman by phone last Friday and we had an open and honest conversation. I wasn’t surprised that this letter became public. After ten years with a head coach, you can and even have to have emotions. For me that’s not a problem.”
Cadieux is not afraid that Josi’s letter will drive a wedge into the team: “The boys are proud that they can play the World Cup in their own country. They want to give it their all. But everyone can and must say what they think in the dressing room. We did that and had various team meetings. I am convinced that the players want the best for Swiss ice hockey.”
Difficult start for Cadieux
Shortly after Fischer’s dismissal, the first test match against Slovakia was scheduled, which was lost 3-1. The 46-year-old doesn’t deny that his debut wasn’t easy: “24 hours after the news we were already on the ice for a game. It was a difficult game because the head wasn’t 100 percent there. But the will of the players was there. I’m very happy with the boys.”
Cadieux doesn’t want to make many adjustments in such a short time: “We will stay true to ourselves and show our ice hockey. We certainly have to see who will ultimately be in the final squad. But it’s clear: There’s not much need for changes when you see how successful we’ve been in recent years.”
That’s what Lars Weibel, Director of Sports, says
As part of the PK, Lars Weibel, Director of Sport, also briefly commented on Fischer’s exit: “I would of course have imagined a different ending for him. It’s not up to me to judge again now. The verdict has been passed and there has been a lot of discussion about it. The situation is difficult.”
There have recently been discussions about the personality of Fischer’s long-time companion and to what extent Weibel knew about the situation in advance. The ice hockey association commented on this as follows: “Lars Weibel had no knowledge of this fake certificate and he rejects the allegations. This will be shown by the administrative investigation that has been launched, which will clarify the relevant facts.”
On the occasion of the PK, the association did not want to comment on the topic of who knew what and when and instead referred to the ongoing external investigation.
Bichsel is still not an issue
Regarding the squad, there will be one or two changes before the start of the World Cup in three weeks. One person who will not be there despite the new coach is NHL defenseman Lian Bichsel. “There is a ban and it applies until after the World Cup. We don’t need to talk about it. The decision was made by several people and that still applies.”
The participation of various NHL players is also still open. “We are currently working hard to obtain the approvals. We have already received some confirmations, but not all of them yet. But we are on the right track.”
There is also positive news from Kevin Fiala: “There is no final statement from him. But what we do know is that his progress is very positive. He’s already on the ice.” Weibel leaves it open what this means for possible participation in the World Cup: “Everything else is simply not possible to judge.”
