We spoke to representatives of our three NL participants from Switzerland following the CHL Draw in Zurich to find out what their goals were for the upcoming season, what they thought about their six Regular Season opponents and who they were most looking forward to playing.
First to speak was Gerd Zenhäusern, Sport Director of reigning Swiss champions Fribourg-Gottéron, who was clear that his side's goal for the upcoming season was to "go as far as we can".
"We've seen other Swiss teams win the CHL and we have the same ambition!"Gerd Zenhäusern, Sport Director Fribourg-Gottéron
Standing in their way will, for the Regular Season at least, be six of Europe's premier teams, as the Swiss side will face teams from Czechia, Germany and Slovakia at home and go on trips to Austria and Denmark to hunt for valuable points.
"We don't know them all, so we have to prepare for these opponents," commented Zenhäusern on the six-team line-up of opponents, "we know Mannheim a bit as we are used to playing German teams in the off-season and we're looking forward to the two games in Austria. The rest? Given all the teams are playing in the Champions Hockey League, they must be good!"
Genève-Servette Sport Director Marc Gautschi knows what it means to succeed on the top European level and therefore, when asked about his side's goals for 2026/27, his answer was as straight as could be.
"We play to win"Marc Gautschi, Sport Director Genève-Servette
"We had a fantastic journey in 2023/24, it was really nice, but we're going to go game by game and enjoy the ride," he added. The past CHL Champions have an interesting mix of teams ready to take them on in the Regular Season, including Swedes Skellefteå AIK, who Geneva famously beat to the European Trophy a few seasons back, are they the stand-out opponent in Gautschi's view?
"I couldn't tell, but we have really good memories from the Final in Geneva so that will be fun," he said smiling, "the upcoming Swedish road trip is going to be really interesting I think, as will facing the German teams coming to Geneva," he ended.
HC Davos return to Europe's biggest club ice hockey competition after three seasons out and in the words of General Manager Jan Alston, it's an "honour and a privilege" to be back: "We take this seriously, we want to put Davos on the map and show everybody what we've got!"
A mix of teams from across the continent await Davos in the Regular Season, what does Alston think of the Draw?
"The competition is going to be fierce"Jan Alston, General Manager HC Davos
"We will face some experienced teams, new teams to us as well," responded the General Manager. When asked about which team he personally is most looking forward to facing, he couldn't pick one.
"I really can't wait to meet them all, they all play a different brand of hockey, so it's going to be exciting to discover all their secrets and see how they play."
Be sure to return to our website for more reactions to the 2026/27 CHL Draw and other news! Also, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and X to keep up to date on all the latest CHL action.