EHC Chur is back in the second-highest Swiss league with the prominent coaching duo Reto and Jan von Arx. The Graubünden club has big visions. Their first opponent is Winterthur on Friday.
Training has just finished. The first Chur players arrive for lunch. There are Älplermagronen with apple sauce, salad and fruit. Eating together not only strengthens team spirit, it also helps with recovery. Because despite promotion to the Swiss League, almost all the players have a job on the side.
When Chur was still in the third-highest league, training took place in the evening after work. Reto and Jan von Arx were deeply impressed by the players' commitment after a hard day. The prominent brothers, who have won six championship titles together with HC Davos, are tackling their third year as coaches of the Chur team. In the season before the Von Arx duo joined the team, the team from the Grisons capital was relegated to the MSL.
What attracted the pair to the task? "We realized early on in our talks that Chur has great potential. Ice hockey means something here. That was an important point," says Reto von Arx in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency. "We also get to work with young players who come here every day with extreme passion."
This passion led to the return to Switzerland's second-highest division, from which the team from Graubünden had voluntarily withdrawn in 2008. In 2009, the club, which had been in the NLA for several years, most recently in 2002, was even relegated to the 2nd division.
"Not the product it could be"
In the Swiss League, the challenge is not only great on the ice; the league is not called a problem child for nothing. "It's not the product it could be," says Jan von Arx. "The balance is no longer right between the National League and the Swiss League." As a result, the National League is primarily looking out for itself, which makes promotion to the top division a Herculean task. For Reto van Arx, however, complaining about this is the wrong approach. Instead, he demands: "Teams that want to move up must do their work to get closer."
Jan von Arx takes the same line: "First and foremost, we have to look after ourselves and make sure we function as an organization." After all, the team from Chur wants to be an added value for the Swiss League. In any case, the direction is right. The shareholders of the newly founded AG include prominent names such as Steffi Buchli, Enzo Corvi, Raeto Raffainer, Leonardo Genoni and Nino Niederreiter. The latter two are also members of the Board of Directors. Jan and Reto von Arx have also subscribed shares.
A lot of know-how available
Reto van Arx speaks of a project close to his heart. "Outstanding people have come into the club who have given the whole club a big boost. The know-how is huge. We are building something that will take time and, above all, a lot of hard work."
A lot of expertise has also been brought in for the athletics area; Michael Bont, Nino Niederreiter's long-time personal trainer, and Olympic ski champion Carlo Janka are responsible for this. Jan von Arx raves about the two of them: "I played ice hockey for a long time. But I've never seen training at this level before." Bont and Janka are not only responsible for the first team, but are also in charge of the junior team, which is being restructured.
Without foreign reinforcements
Chur's sporting vision is to become a hotspot for Swiss talent. This is reflected in the fact that no foreign reinforcements are being brought in. "We want Swiss players who can take on important ice time," says Reto von Arx. Because being on the ice when it counts is essential for the optimal development of a player.
For Nino Niederreiter, the Swiss League is currently not the springboard for the National League that it should be. After winning silver at the World Championships, he warned that there was a lack of talent that would put pressure on the established players. With his commitment in Chur, he now wants to help change this.
For now, however, EHC Chur's aim is to "establish itself in the Swiss League and get better every year", as Jan von Arx puts it, also thanks to the collaboration with the SCL Tigers. The fact that the team from Graubünden has not been relegated is an advantage. Reto von Arx: "We want to push ourselves to our limits in every game. Then we'll see where that takes us."
