Switzerland: Under-18 Junior Cup Coverage
August 10-15, 2004; Czech Republic/Slovakia
Switzerland
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To no one's surprise, the Swiss brought up the rear at the tournament. Unable to successfully match up against more talented countries, the Swiss came up short despite playing with enthusiasm, but their lack of offensive prowess cost them. The best Swiss showing came in the match against Russia, which was decided on a questionable overtime marker by Vitaly Anikeenko.
Top performers
Reto Berra, G
Finished sixth among goalies with a .908 save percentage, registering a 3.00 goals-against average .. A big goalie who covers the net well .. not exceptionally quick, but plays square to the shooter .. athletic and adequately quick side-to-side .. has a lively glove hand .. struggled with his angles .. sees the ice well.
Fourth among the Swiss with nine shots on goal .. agile and quick off his pivot step .. not very strong on his legs and lacks balance .. has a sneaky, accurate slap shot he can get through traffic .. a key puckmover on the powerplay .. impressed with the timing of his passes .. must add bulk .. does not use his body much, usually relying on his stick .. solid positionally .. shoots right.
Tops among the Swiss in shots on goal with 13 in five games, but mustered no points .. A decent skater, but does not accelerates very well, although agility is fine .. plays a simple game and does not panic with the puck .. an adequate stickhandler .. not much creativity nor vision; does not really know how to create .. at times had trouble keeping his man in front of him .. a good shooter from the point; has a powerful slapper from the point, but must keep it lower to the ice .. not a consistent physical presence.
The Swiss captain .. a good skater who accelerates well and skates with a finely balance stride .. very hard working and plays aggressively in all the three zones .. takes the body and goes down to block shots .. creative with the puck and has sharp playmaking skills .. does not have good enough hands to be a scoring threat .. comes back to help the defense and marks his man effectively .. played for the U-20 team only a week before this tournament and seemed to run out of steam ultimately.
Fadri Lemm, F
Amassed a goal and an assist in five games .. an agile skater, but speed is only average .. skates with a long stride .. has soft hands and smooth puck skills .. crafty and imaginative with the puck .. has a snappy wrister, but an inaccurate slap shot .. needs to show more aggressiveness and use his size more .. was weak on faceoffs.
Other players
Has a good straightaway speed, but is not very quick off the pivot step .. smart and is an astute playmaker .. good stickhandler and sees the ice well .. a no-show in heavy traffic .. should play the body more often.
A one-dimensional forward .. a very good straightaway skater with adequate footspeed .. has soft hands and a nifty wrister .. tends to disappear in his own end of the ice, waiting for the puck to come to him instead of trying to take it away .. got rattled in physical situations.
Diminutive, but moves his feet well and accelerates quickly .. crafty and elusive in fast break situations .. was ineffective in traffic and bounced off opponents .. did not show much inspiration in his own end .. has soft hands and releases a quick, sharp wrist shot .. very smooth puck skills.