The Swiss League is shrinking: Because of the withdrawal of the EVZ Academy, the fact that there is no National League relegation this and next season and a potential withdrawal from the Ticino Rockets, there might be only eight teams left in a couple of years, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung writes.
Thus, according to the same source, three clubs from the MySports League applied for a promotion in the Swiss League, not on the ice but through bureaucracy: EHC Arosa, HC Valais Chablais and EHC Basel. While the former two apparently just checked out options, only Basel is determined and seriously working on a promotion.
The SIHF, however, rejected these requests. CEO Patrick Bloch tells the NZZ: "We didn't want to make a precedent case. We are bound to our rules and statutes."
EHC Basel's sports director Olivier Schäublin on the other hand is disappointed but still ready for a promotion: "We can still react until June. We have a budget and only need two imports to play in the Swiss League", he tells the newspaper.
