u18 WJC: Switzerland

Juraj Simek was really the only Swiss player at the 2005 IIHF World U18 Championship who improved on his impressive Vlado Dzurilla tournament showing from February. As a result, the Swiss team finished ninth in this event. Our exclusive series of reviews and scouting notes rolls on with a look at a variety of players from Switzerland, including promising 2007-eligible defenseman Yannick Weber. The experience of Janick Steinmann was also expected to help his team, but the center chose the worst possible time to have a bad tournament.

TOP PERFORMERS

Leonardo Genoni, G (2005)

Tournament wrap-up: started the tournament opener against the Czech Republic .. looked adequately composed in the first and third period, but broke down in the second .. didn't turn heads in the game against Finland, but with the poor play of the skaters in front of him ended up as the Swiss recipient of the 'Player of the game' honors .. delivered an okay effort against Slovakia, but was hurt by the poor play of the Swiss defense in front of him .. pulled off a solid showing against Germany in the first game of the relegation group, taking home another Swiss 'Player of the game' award .. finished second among tournament goaltenders in save percentage (.9371) .. ranked fourth among tournament goaltenders in GAA (2.75).

Scouting: decent skating skill and movement in the crease, but could still be faster when moving side-to-side .. adequate reflexes and flexibility .. can read the developing plays and then make the proper reaction .. solid when handling the initial shot, but is prone to allowing the odd rebound .. should play the angles better and deflect the pucks into the corners rather than let them bounce off right in front of him .. five-hole still needs further improvement .. decent glove hand, but in general doesn't stand out .. prone to games where he doesn't seem to ooze confidence and makes shaky saves .. occasionally tends to play too deep in the net .. should develop better stick-handling skills and be more willing to go behind the net to handle the puck.

Yannick Weber, D (2007)

Tournament wrap-up: most promising defenseman for the future based on the performance at this tournament fell to the hands of the youngest member of the Swiss defensive corps .. was coming off a solid performance at the February Vlado Dzurilla tournament in Slovakia and even if he didn't look like the same force during the early stages of the tournament, he improved his play late in the round robin and then later in the relegation games .. worked hard in the defensive end, punishing the opposing players despite his lack of size and as the tournament progressed, made use of his strongest offensive asset - a quick hard shot from the point.

Scouting: an average skater .. solid balance, but needs to further develop his acceleration and lateral movement .. adequate agility .. can get beaten by agile opposition .. keeps his play simple .. tries to support the offense occasionally but is more of a stay-at-home defenseman .. average passing accuracy .. adequate puckhandling skills and hand-eye coordination .. works hard down low .. the opposing players can still force him to make a positional mistake .. is frequently releasing his powerful and accurate shot from the point .. above-average snap shot .. good powerplay pointman .. solid toughness along the boards despite smallish frame size .. willing to clear the crease with adequate determination .. a right-shooting defenseman .. a late '88 born player.

Juraj Simek, RW (2006)

Tournament wrap-up: emerged as the only player who built on an impressive showing in the February tournament in Slovakia .. turned out to be the most dangerous Swiss forward in the opening games of the tournament against the Czech Republic and Finland .. made use of his speed and an ability to surprise opponents with quick turns while maintaining possession of the puck .. generated offense even if the likes of Janick Steinmann and Dario Burgler were struggling, but was too often left alone as the quality player on the attack .. the only Swiss player who could score more than one goal at the tournament went through his lows later in the tournament as he wasn't the same force in the relegation group games, but played well enough to become the deserving winner of the unofficial title of the best Swiss forward at the tournament .. best goal scorer of Team Switzerland (2 goals) .. tied with Fadri Lemm and Luca Cunti for leading Team Switzerland in points (2 points) .. ranked first on Team Switzerland in shooting percentage (.2857) .. ranked third on Team Switzerland in shots (14).

Scouting: a solid skater with slick acceleration .. adequate balance .. made solid progress with his agility .. can surprise opponents with quick turns while maintaining possession of the puck .. splits the defense with his speed .. decent puckhandling skills and hand-eye coordination .. maneuvers out of the corners while maintaining possession of the puck .. aware of the position of his linemates on the ice .. solid, accurate passing skills even on the long bombs .. can fire quick snap shots through a screen .. okay wrist shot .. doesn't use his slap shot very often .. decent vision and hockey sense .. solid asset to powerplay units .. sticks his nose into traffic and positions himself in front of the opposing crease .. average defensive awareness .. raw at staying in position in his own zone .. doesn't back down from being physically challenged, but should hit more often .. played with solid character .. needs to bulk up to be more effective in traffic .. a late '87 born forward.

Fadri Lemm, RW (2005)

Tournament wrap-up: played the first international tournament after healing from a thigh injury .. had a handful of solid shifts during the Swiss tournament opener against Czech Republic but looked average for the rest of the game .. was hampered by problems in heavy traffic during the second contest against Finland and wasn't a quality factor .. didn't play a physical style against the USA team and showed that he doesn't like the rough going despite decent size .. became a bigger factor against weaker opponents in the relegation group and distributed the pucks more effectively .. his showing was spoiled because of the lack of quality linemates who could make proper use of his passes .. best Swiss passer (2 assists) .. tied with Juraj Simek and Luca Cunti for leading Team Switzerland in points (2 points).

Scouting: a good skater with solid acceleration and agility .. adequate top-end speed and balance .. boasts a powerful stride which is somewhat effective .. a tricky puckhandler with soft hands .. can dangle the puck, but tends to lose possession of it in heavy traffic .. adequate portion of vision and hockey sense .. crafty, imaginative passer who sees the positions of his linemates well .. more of a playmaking forward .. solid wrist shot with a decent release .. uses primarily his wrist or snap shot .. his slap shot needs to be more accurate .. average defensive awareness .. doesn't spot his man quickly .. needs to limit the options of the opposing forwards better .. needs to show a bigger mean streak to complement his size .. should crash the net with more authority .. tends to play a friendly style along the boards .. needs work in the face-off circle.

Luca Cunti, C (2007)

Tournament wrap-up: emerged as a sign that Switzerland is a country which will still be able to produce solid talent in the future .. still lacked bulk and strength to effectively battle the more physically mature opponents, but displayed flashes of very good vision and puckhandling skills to go along with his all-round style .. picked his game up against Finland after a cold opener against the Czech Republic .. looked average in the early stages of the tournament, but as he got more accustomed to the elite Under-18 competition, his role and effectiveness took an upward path .. this tournament proved that he is a name to remember for the future despite the generally bad play of the Swiss team .. tied with Fadri Lemm and Juraj Simek for leading Team Switzerland in points (2 points) .. ranked third on Team Switzerland in shooting percentage (.200) ..

Scouting: a decent skater with a fluid stride .. solid acceleration and balance .. could use better top-end speed .. deceptive stickhandling skills .. can play the puck in traffic and even go end-to-end when the opening is there .. able to succeed in one-on-one situations .. above-average playmaking skills .. can make crisp, accurate passes .. needs to upgrade his finishing skills and shoot the puck more often .. decent snap shot .. drives the net but still should bulk up in order to be more effective .. solid belligerence along the boards .. battles for the pucks in the corners tenaciously and isn't afraid to hit despite his modest frame .. a good mean streak .. adequate defensive awareness .. returns to his own end quickly, but is still raw in defensive positioning .. has the tools to develop into a very good player once he physically matures and gains experience.

OTHER PLAYERS:

Fernando Heynen, D (2005)

Tournament wrap-up: pulled off a rather average start to the tournament against the Czech Republic, focusing on defense, but not supporting the offense effectively .. not a significant factor in the second match-up against Finland with a lack of prowess on powerplay units .. was willing to throw the occasional hit when the play got more physical .. couldn't make proper use of his skating skills against the fast forwards on the USA team .. played his best game at the tournament against the Slovaks in the last round robin contest .. showed a steady defensive game and controlled the Slovak attacks, which made him a deserving Swiss 'Player of the game' against Slovakia .. tied with Janick Steinmann as the most penalized Swiss player (8 PIMs).

Scouting: a solid skater with decent bursts of speed and agility .. solid first-step quickness .. adequate stride .. needs to improve on his lower-body strength and balance .. adequate top-end speed .. unleashes an accurate slap shot, which he can get through effectively, but should fire it on a regular basis .. isn't a liability when moving the puck, but should develop more precise and accurate passing skills .. tends to pass without reading the plays properly .. a solid asset to the powerplay units .. uses his mobility well in his own zone, but needs to bulk up in order to handle the bigger opponents more effectively .. throws the occasional hit, but tends to 'push' the players along the boards .. average crease-clearer .. often uses his stick instead of his body .. disappears in some games .. solid positional play .. a right-shooting defenseman.

Alessandro Chiesa, D (2005)

Tournament wrap-up: coped with the heavy burden of responsibility as the Swiss defensive anchor given all of his previous international experience .. was hindered by his lack of acceleration and first-step quickness on transitions in the Swiss tournament opener against the Czech Republic .. looked to be in better shape in the following match-up against Finland, but failed to generate any offense .. the USA squad gave him a very tough test when rotating in the Swiss defensive zone and he showed a tendency to fall back .. didn't use his size to his advantage .. picked up his play in the relegation games, but wasn't a steady factor .. more was expected from the experienced blueliner who underachieved along with other Swiss team leaders .. tied with Adrien Lauper as the best Swiss player in +/- (-1).

Scouting: a decent skater for a player of his size .. slow acceleration and first-step quickness emerges as a major drawback .. adequate agility and lateral movement .. shows trouble with opponents who can make him move quickly .. decent top-end speed .. keeps his play simple and doesn't panic with the puck .. adequate stickhandling skills .. isn't very imaginative with the puck, dishing it off rather than trying to create plays .. average vision and hockey sense .. sometimes has trouble keeping the play in front of him and tends to fall back .. likes to shoot the puck .. unleashes a heavy slap shot, but has to keep it lower on the ice .. should use his size to his advantage more and be a more constant physical presence .. works down low, but isn't very mean .. still needs work on his positional play .. average crease-clearer .. shoots right.

Roger Summermatter, D (2005)

Tournament wrap-up: focused on filling his usual defensive role during the first three games of the tournament .. didn't really impress in the early stages, showing adequate toughness in the contest against Czech Republic but not avoiding positional mistakes when going for a hit and making gaffes when trying to move the puck .. an average factor in the game against Finland, but still one of the better Swiss defensemen .. looked fuzzy and overwhelmed when asked to support the offense and subsequently stopped taking chances with offensive support .. withstood the physical style of the USA team, but lacked elite vision .. served as a dependable physical force in the relegation group games against Germany and Denmark, but didn't show much past this ability in the late stages of the tournament.

Scouting: an average skater with a shorter stride .. can get beaten by quick opposition who get him moving .. could use a better lateral movement .. solid balance .. plays more of a stay-at-home style, but shows his offensive upside when often trying to make an outlet pass .. tends to be too hesitant when having to make a quick decision with the puck .. average passing accuracy .. should handle the puck smoother and upgrade his backhand passing .. works hard down low .. needs to upgrade the timing and accuracy of his passes .. willing to show his mean streak, but should do so more regularly .. tends to lose position when trying to hit .. doesn't back down from physical play, but needs to show his mean streak more often .. doesn't shoot the puck often enough.

Simon Schnyder, D (2005)

Tournament wrap-up: served as the only Swiss offensive blueliner in the opening game against Czech Republic who supported the offense on a regular basis, but was negatively influenced on the reliability side .. registered an off-game in the match-up against Finland as he made mistakes when moving the puck and looked shaky and overwhelmed by the pace in the defensive end .. virtually a non-factor in the match-up against the USA, where he battled problems with the hard drive to the net style showcased by a number of USA forwards .. didn't even impress in the games of the relegation group .. should develop more prowess in the defensive zone .. didn't do anything to boost his draft stock .. the only Swiss defenseman to score a goal in this tournament.

Scouting: uses a skating style where he is bent over more than other players when making his strides .. decent first-step quickness but doesn't stand out with top-end speed .. adequate agility and lateral movement .. needs further upgrading on his lower-body strength and balance on his skates .. willing to jump into the plays and join the rush .. needs to learn when to support the offense to avoid odd-man rushes of the opponent .. average stickhandling skills .. a sub-par ability to handle difficult passes .. isn't able to effectively make long outlet passes .. is reliable when passing shorter distances .. positions himself in front of the opposing net on powerplay units .. plays a diligent style in his own end .. can be brought out of position by the opposing players with his tendency to be 'everywhere' on the ice .. should become a bigger physical force and bulk up.

Janick Steinmann, C (2005)

Tournament wrap-up: big things were expected from the most experienced Swiss forward .. Steinmann chose the worst possible time for an off-tournament .. played very snake-bitten during the opening two games against Czech Republic and Finland, where he only showed solid defensive awareness, but seriously lacked his usual smoothness and creativity .. picked up his game in the contest against Team USA, generating strong scoring chances for Dario Burgler, but with Burgler's breakdown in the tournament the strong effort was wasted .. refused to show up on a regular basis in both relegation group games against Denmark and Germany .. didn't help his team much in their struggle to stay in the elite group of the World Championships. .. tied with Fernando Heynen for the most penalized Swiss player (8 PIMs).

Scouting: a good skater with solid acceleration and balance .. uses an effective stride and solid top-end speed .. adequate agility .. a character player who gives everything to the team's success .. plays well in all three zones .. solid aggressiveness .. a decent hitter along the boards who doesn't back down from battling bigger opponents .. solid puckhandling skills and creativity with the puck .. an accurate passer .. plays with his head up .. can cycle in the offensive zone, looking for passing opportunities .. needs to upgrade his finishing skills .. average array of shots .. uses primarily his snap shot .. isn't persistent around the goal area .. often returns back to help out the defense .. marks his man effectively and stays in position .. uses his solid position to block opposing passing lanes and limit the options of the opponents .. a determined shot-blocker.

Pascal Zbinden, LW (2005)

Tournament wrap-up: delivered his usual offensive effort, but hardly caught attention during the tournament opener against the Czech Republic .. didn't make use of his strong bursts of speed and floated on the periphery too often .. an average factor in the following match-up against Finland .. didn't show a significant effort in the important test against the USA team and was out-muscled by the bigger defensemen .. never found a way to battle traffic effectively .. was expected to emerge as one of the Swiss offensive leaders in the relegation group games, but didn't manage to pick his play up .. didn't impress in the game against Germany .. the sub-par effort in this tournament mixed with his severe lack of size played him well out of draft consideration.

Scouting: a diminutive forward .. slick skating skills include strong foot speed and acceleration .. above-average agility and speed .. can out-skate the defenders, but could use better balance on his skates as he tends to get knocked off balance by bigger opponents .. good skill set .. crafty puckhandler with solid hand-eye coordination .. succeeds in one-on-one situations thanks to his elusive stick moves .. willing to shoot the puck, using primarily his wrist shot .. his slap shot needs to be fired harder .. isn't very effective in traffic thanks to his size deficiency .. doesn't play soft .. heads to the slot but bounces off bigger opponents .. needs to improve on his defensive play .. doesn't seem overly-inspired in his own end and marks his man slowly.

Dario Burgler, RW (2006)

Tournament wrap-up: the largest Swiss disappointment this tournament .. made a good name for himself on the February tournament in Slovakia with a quality offensive effort, but looked like a significantly less impressive player here .. virtually invisible in the tournament opener against the Czech Republic .. played a slightly better game against Finland when he fired the puck a lot, but didn't find a way to battle through heavy traffic effectively .. Janick Steinmann created several quality chances for him in the contest against the U.S., but Burgler failed to show his sniper instincts .. delivered a decent performance against Slovakia before fading for much of the relegation group games .. didn't cope well with the sniper role and underachieved .. most frequent Swiss shooter (16 shots).

Scouting: a solid skater with good lower-body strength and balance .. displays a powerful stride and decent foot speed .. solid agility .. adequate top-end speed .. can sneak into scoring chances .. a competitive warrior who isn't afraid of playing the body, but keeps his mean streak hidden in a number of games .. solid toughness .. hits players along the boards and mucks in the corners .. eager for puck possession .. a decent passer who can make plays from both sides of the stick .. adequate puckhandling skills and vision .. willing to shoot the puck, utilizing his solid variety of shots .. fires a quick, accurate snap and slap shot .. battles traffic effectively, but is inconsistent in that respect .. adequate defensive awareness, but needs to further improve in this asset .. average defensive positioning .. should mark his man faster .. a late '87 born forward .. shoots right.

Jeremy Gailland, C (2006)

Tournament wrap-up: saw a limited function as a Swiss role player .. didn't get much ice time and was hardly noticeable during the round robin games of the tournament .. tried to focus on playing a two-way role in the tournament opener against the Czech Republic and played more of a 'survival style' .. delivered an average showing in the second game against Finland, not making many mistakes but also being virtually invisible in the offensive end .. the USA team neutralized him when the play got more physical .. not a significant factor in the two games of the relegation group .. floated on the periphery and didn't battle traffic effectively .. hardly did anything of notice in this tournament.

Scouting: an okay skater .. shows decent acceleration and foot speed .. adequate agility on his skates, but still should be improved .. adequate puckhandling skills and hand-eye coordination .. registered progress in his stickhandling, but still needs to show more elusive moves .. more of a playmaker than sniper .. solid at finding the open man with an accurate pass .. needs to upgrade his in-close finishing skills .. unleashes a quick, hard snap shot which can surprise goaltenders .. performs on special units .. should work with his stick more when on penalty killing units .. willing to return back to help out the defense, but is raw in his defensive positioning .. isn't a physically intimidating player even if he gets involved in corner battles .. can get out-muscled by bigger defensemen, who can bring him out of scoring lanes .. needs to bulk up .. an '88 born forward.

Diego Schwarzenbach, LW (2005)

Tournament wrap-up: registered his best tournament showing in the Swiss opener against the Czech Republic, where he batted for the puck, showed tenacity and a willingness to shoot .. Swiss 'Player of the game ' against the Czech Republic .. his performances after this game took a downward path .. not a significant factor in the match against Finland, where he didn't seem to find a way to catch up to the game pace .. showed trouble battling the big, physical defensemen in the match-up against the USA .. demoted to a role player for both games of the relegation group .. was average on the defensive side in the game against Germany .. failed to create quality plays .. a very limited factor in the game against Denmark .. the pathetic finish made onlookers forget about the solid beginning to the tournament.

Scouting: a decent skater, but this smallish player could still use better wheels .. adequate agility and balance .. should upgrade the effectiveness of his stride and top-end speed .. average stickhandling skills .. needs to make quicker puck moves in order to maintain possession of the puck in heavy traffic .. sub-par vision and hockey sense .. doesn't show sufficient creativity and tends to overlook possible passing lanes .. an average passer who won't ever become a quality playmaking forward .. willing to shoot the puck once on a scoring chance .. unleashes a quick snap shot .. should show more pep behind the slap shot and work on the release more .. plays bigger than his modest size .. willing to dig for the pucks in the corners and throw decent hits along the boards .. a solid asset to the checking units .. doesn't tend to take many shifts off but his limited skill causes him to float on the periphery for some plays.

Arnaud Jacquemet, LW (2006)

Tournament wrap-up: wasn't provided with a lot of playing time .. slotted to perform in a limited role as a Swiss role player .. virtually invisible during the Swiss tournament opener against the Czech Republic .. played a game which involved a low number of risks, but he was also hesitant to fire the puck in the offensive zone .. delivered an average showing in the second game against Finland, but tried to create plays .. not a significant factor in the two games of the relegation group thanks to a reduced role .. was able to impress with the odd good shift in the contest against Denmark, but should play a more intense style for the whole game .. in general stood out more than fellow underager Jeremy Gailland, but overall an average performance.

Scouting: an average skater .. doesn't show an overly effective stride .. could use faster acceleration and more speed in order to out-skate the opposition more effortlessly .. decent balance on his skates .. adequate stickhandling skills, but gets into trouble when having to coral a bad pass .. should find a way to set himself into scoring positions regularly and not get blocked .. willing to fire the pucks, but his shots get blocked thanks to a slower release .. an intense forechecker .. doesn't use his size fully to his advantage .. should be more physically assertive and crash the net more frequently .. returns to his own zone, but needs to pick up on his defensive positional play .. a right-shooting forward .. an '88 born player.

Adrien Lauper, RW (2005)

Tournament wrap-up: emerged as one of the very few Swiss forwards who didn't fade during the Swiss tournament opener against the Czech Republic .. won a number of puck battles and displayed solid skating skills during the first game .. took a step back in the next contest against Finland where he wasn't willing to battle heavy traffic on a regular basis .. looked decent in the match-up against Team USA, but didn't turn heads with his showing .. had some off-shifts during both games of the relegation group and didn't make good use of his size .. should fire the puck more often to be more useful in the offensive end .. ranked second on Team Switzerland in shooting percentage (.2500) .. tied with Alessandro Chiesa for the best Swiss player in +/- (-1).

Scouting: a solid skater who can reach top speed quickly thanks to his acceleration .. a fluid stride .. shows above-average agility .. possesses average balance and should strengthen his lower-body .. boasts a solid pair of hands but could be more effective with the puck in traffic .. a decent ability to find the open man, but doesn't seem to be using it all the time .. should show up in front of the opposing net more often and look for rebounds .. unleashes a quick wrist shot .. snap shot lacks accuracy .. average slap shot needs more pep .. doesn't show much commitment to defensive play .. tends to skate circles in the defensive zone and is too slow at marking his man .. can be caught out of position in the defensive end .. willing to muck for the puck, but only occasionally .. can throw a solid hit, but lacks a regular mean streak.

Reto Berra, G (2005)

Tournament wrap-up: saw his first action of the tournament against the powerhouse USA team and didn't look out of place despite allowing seven goals .. deserving Swiss 'Player of the game' against the U.S. .. started the final Swiss game of the relegation group against Denmark when it was already decided about the Swiss relegation and pulled off a solid effort .. voted Swiss 'Player of the game' against Denmark .. finished fifth among tournament goaltenders with 120 or less minutes played in save percentage (.8846) .. ranked fifth among tournament goaltenders with 120 or less minutes played in GAA (4.50).

Scouting: big goalie who covers lots of net with his size .. stays square to the shooter and doesn't leave many holes for the shooter to aim at .. blessed with adequate skating skills .. won't jump at you with ultra-fast legs, but moves relatively well in the crease .. solid side-to-side movement .. gets back up in a relatively short time when dropping to a butterfly .. good athleticism and dexterity for a big goaltender .. above-average reflexes .. solid glove hand .. tough to beat down low when dropping down .. still active in the play, even if lying on his back .. decent anticipation of developing plays .. could use better stickhandling skills and move the puck with better poise .. average at playing the angles.