The Lions have lost several national team players as well as some depth players in the offseason, but they have also acquired Alina Müller and Swiss-Canadian Jessica Vallotton. Also, the Lions have a new coach, Georg Taferner. As for HC Lugano, three of their veteran players have left the team, but Blake Bolton, former NWHL defender, will reinforce HCL this season. Czech national team player Simona Studentova has been acquired for her scoring touch.
From the four other teams, only two teams will be able to challenge the Lions and Lugano - if everything falls into place. EV Bomo Thun has reinforced their roster with Sarah Forster, Leslie Oles, and Molly Strabley. They will also profit from the fact that they will not have to get used to a new system since they will be coached by Steve Huard once again.
As for SC Reinach, they have good chance to clinch a playoff spot again. They have managed to keep their roster intact and acquired five former or current national team players as well as some U18 players in Rahel Enzler and Noemi Ryhner. However, half of their roster also plays for the junior teams and might not always be available, which might cause problems for Reinach in the long run.
The SC Weinfelden, for their part, also want to reach the playoffs and have acquired two national team goalies in Andrea Brändli and Caroline Lambert. The Neuchâtel Hockey Academy, on the other hand, will - regardless of their new import players - have trouble to gain a playoff spot this season. They were not able to properly compensate the losses they made in the offseason with new acquirements.
An extended version of this article (in German) as well as a transaction overview will be posted on swisshockeyblogs.ch in the upcoming days.Last Update: 12 September 2017, 07:01 PM | dmo/mso/jca
