Three months after taking office as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Swiss Ice Hockey, Urs Kessler appears before the media for the first time to present his plans for the future of Swiss ice hockey.
03.12.2025, 09:50
03.12.2025, 14:47
SDA
The 63-year-old from the Bernese Oberland, who worked for Jungfrau Railways for 38 years until June, the last 17 years as CEO, has been facing the challenge of bringing calm and structure back to Swiss ice hockey since this fall.
"Tomorrow's greatest danger is today's success," Kessler opened his speech at a media conference of the ice hockey association in Kloten. The recent successes - two World Championship finals, two triumphs in the Champions Hockey League and a booming National League - have greatly raised expectations. At the same time, however, these high standards risk becoming sluggish, said Kessler, who presented his ten-point program for Swiss Ice Hockey at his first public appearance as association president.
He particularly emphasized the importance of the overall interest over self-interest. "We want to strengthen the team spirit in order to promote a sense of unity in Swiss ice hockey. Unfortunately, this is far too little the case today." In the long term, all leagues and the association should work more closely together, with individual interests taking a back seat to the overarching goal of Swiss ice hockey.
A central point on his agenda is the Swiss League. The second-highest league must be put "on a new footing". Kessler is also considering merging the Swiss League and the MyHockey League below it, for example by dividing it into East and West with regional derbies. This could facilitate marketing and make the league more attractive. Realistically, this is not possible for him until the 2027/28 season at the earliest.
"The aim is to develop an economically viable long-term model that allows for compromises and takes into account the interests of all parties," says Kessler. He also suggests reducing the National League from the current 14 teams to ten, for example, and calls for better permeability between the leagues. He is aware that such reforms will meet with little approval from many of those involved, but makes it clear: "Waiting for better times is not a strategy. It's not five to go, it's five past twelve."
