Several teams were interested in acquiring Sven Bärtschi, but Klaus Zaugg (Watson) already reported at the beginning of April that the other teams had decided to not further pursue him.
"We are treating him almost like an import player. Anytime you sign an import it is gonna be a risk [...]," Andrew Ebbett states. "I think Sven is really excited to come to Bern and he knows that the pressure is gonna be on him. [...] It's a risk but we are confident that it's worth it."
Bärtschi only played a few games in the NLB (now Swiss League) in Switzerland, as he spent the majority of his professional career in North America. Drafted by the Calgary Flames in the first round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, he appeared in 292 NHL games, recording 66 goals and 71 assists.
After he suffered a severe concussion in the 2018-19 season, he never managed to break back into the NHL again. He has mostly been playing in the AHL since then. This season, he recorded 15 goals and 13 assists in 44 regular-season games for the Henderson Silver Knights, the AHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights.
As for the rest of SC Bern's roster, according to Andrew Ebbett, they are done on the Swiss market. They are, however, still on the lookout for import players.
