ZSC Lions

ZSC Lions
City Zurich, Switzerland
League National League A
Founded 1930
Home arena Hallenstadion
Colors Blue, Red, White
              
General manager Peter Zahner
Head coach Hans Wallson
Captain Mathias Seger
Affiliates GCK Lions
Website www.zsclions.ch
Franchise history
1930–present ZSC Lions

The Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions (ZSC Lions) are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League A. The home arena, the 11,200 seat Hallenstadion, is in the Zürich district of Oerlikon. The team was founded in 1930 and played at the Dolder-Kunsteisbahn from its establishment until 1950.[1]

History

Locally nicknamed "Z", the team was formed in 1997 as a result of the merger of the two local teams: the highly popular Zürcher Schlittschuh Club (German for "Zürich Skating Club"), who were struggling financially in National League A, and the ice hockey section of Grasshopper Club Zürich who had failed to qualify for promotion from National League B for several years in a row and had a small fan base, but were backed by entrepreneur and millionaire Walter Frey.

ZSC was the first Swiss team to play in an indoor arena (Hallenstadion). They won the Swiss championship in the years 1936, 1949 and 1961 and the prestigious Spengler Cup in 1944 and 1945. After the merger, the ZSC Lions won the Swiss Championship in 2000, 2001, 2008, 2012 and 2014, and moreover won the IIHF Continental Cup in 2001 and 2002.

Champions Hockey League and Victoria Cup

During the 2008-09 Season, the ZSC Lions participated in the first ever Champions Hockey League. For the group stage, they were placed in group D with HC Slavia Praha and Linköpings HC. The Lions qualified for the semi-finals with a 3-1 record, first place in the group. With their defeats of the Finnish Espoo Blues, 6-3 and 4-1 respectively, they qualified for the tournament final. The first leg of the final was held on January 21, 2009 in the Magnitogorsk Arena where the Lions came back from a 0-2 deficit to Metallurg Magnitogorsk to end with a 2-2 tie.[2] The second leg was played a week later, on January 28, 2009, in the Diners Club Arena in Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland. ZSC Lions won the game and the Silver Stone Trophy with a 5-0 victory.

With their victory in the Champions Hockey League, the ZSC Lions qualified to play the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League for the 2009 edition of the Victoria Cup challenge. Playing at their home arena, the Lions shocked the Blackhawks with a 2-1 victory, winning the trophy.[3] It was the first time since 1991 that the Blackhawks had lost to a club in Europe.

Honors

Champions

Players

Current roster

Updated November 6, 2016.[4]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
96 Switzerland Bachofner, JérômeJérôme Bachofner LW L 20 2014 Dübendorf, Switzerland
14 Switzerland Baltisberger, ChrisChris Baltisberger RW R 25 2010 Zofingen, Switzerland
24 Switzerland Baltisberger, PhilPhil Baltisberger D L 21 2015 Zofingen, Switzerland
71 Switzerland Bärtschi, PatrikPatrik Bärtschi LW R 32 2009 Bülach, Switzerland
5 Switzerland Blindenbacher, SeverinSeverin Blindenbacher (A) D R 33 2011 Bülach, Switzerland
12 Switzerland Cunti, LucaLuca Cunti C L 27 2010 Zürich, Switzerland
89 Switzerland Diem, DominikDominik Diem C/LW L 19 2014 Zürich, Switzerland
30 Switzerland Flüeler, LukasLukas Flüeler G L 28 2008 Kloten, Switzerland
4 Switzerland Geering, PatrickPatrick Geering (A) D L 26 2006 Zürich, Switzerland
72 Switzerland Guerra, SamuelSamuel Guerra D L 23 2016 Isone, Switzerland
61 Switzerland Herzog, FabriceFabrice Herzog RW L 22 2015 Frauenfeld, Switzerland
81 Latvia Kenins, RonaldsRonalds Kenins W L 25 2016 Riga, Latvia
73 Switzerland Künzle, MikeMike Künzle RW R 22 2013 Zürich, Switzerland
54 Switzerland Marti, ChristianChristian Marti D L 23 2016 Bülach, Switzerland
9 Sweden Nilsson, RobertRobert Nilsson W L 31 2013 Calgary, Alberta, Canada
91 Switzerland Pestoni, IntiInti Pestoni RW L 25 2016 Faido, Switzerland
7 Sweden Rundblad, DavidDavid Rundblad D R 26 2016 Lycksele, Sweden
19 Switzerland Schäppi, RetoReto Schäppi RW L 25 2007 Horgen, Switzerland
1 Switzerland Schlegel, NiklasNiklas Schlegel G L 22 2014 Zürich, Switzerland
15 Switzerland Seger, MathiasMathias Seger (C) D L 39 1999 Ermatingen, Switzerland
17 United States Shannon, RyanRyan Shannon C/RW R 33 2012 Darien, Connecticut, USA
97 Switzerland Siegenthaler, JonasJonas Siegenthaler D L 19 2013 Zürich, Switzerland
11 Sweden Sjögren, MattiasMattias Sjögren C L 29 2016 Landskrona, Sweden
44 Switzerland Suter, PiusPius Suter C L 20 2015 Wallisellen, Switzerland
41 Norway Thoresen, PatrickPatrick Thoresen LW L 33 2016 Oslo, Norway
53 Switzerland Trachsler, MorrisMorris Trachsler (A) C L 32 2012 Zürich, Switzerland
27 Switzerland Wick, RomanRoman Wick RW L 30 2012 Zuzwil, Switzerland

References

  1. ↑ "1930 bis heute | ZSC Lions". www.zsclions.ch. Retrieved 2016-05-29.
  2. ↑ "Game Summary" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  3. ↑ "Blackhawks suffer first loss to European club since '91". ESPN.com. 2009-09-29. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
  4. ↑ "ZSC Lions: Kader" (in German). www.zsclions.ch. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
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