National League

NLA - After the successful ending to the SCL Tigers' season with the promotion to the NLA, there is no time to rest for team manager Jörg Reber. The new squad needs to be put together - will it include Reto von Arx?

Photo Swiss Hockey News

For sure leaving the club are goalie Lorenzo Croce (retirement), imports André Lakos and Alexandre Tremblay and the two forwards Remo Schlapbach and Alban Rexha, the latter is being put in connection with HC La Chaux-de-Fonds, reports the Berner Zeitung.

While Julien Bonnet and Marc Rüegg will likely not be part of the Tigers' defensive corps anymore next season, defender Massimo Ronchetti is also only in possession of a NLB contract but Langnau is interested in keeping him.

After the already reported signings of HC Red Ice's Evgeni Chiraev and EHC Biel's Manuel Gossweiler, SCL is also looking for another goalie to form a duo with Damiano Ciaccio and for two import forwards. Those should preferably be players that are not yet household names in Switzerland in order to save some money, chairman Peter Jakob tells the same source.

Jörg Reber also confirms that the SCL Tigers have been in contact with HC Davos' Reto von Arx. Those talks will intensify once the season of von Arx and HCD is over.

As for the expiring contracts of head coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson and his assistant Peter Andersson, it is not yet certain if they will stay in the Emmental. "We don't know what he wants, that's why we will soon sit down together. But he is a candidate", Peter Jakob explains. (lcu)

UPDATE According to watson.ch, HCAP's Michael Flückger, whose future with the Biancoblù is uncertain despite a running contract, is a candidate as the second netminder for the Tigers. The website also suggests HCL's forward Juraj Simek as a possible option for Langnau. - 11 April 2015, 12:32 PM