Roman Josi, Nino Niederreiter, Timo Meier, Nico Hischier or Kevin Fiala - they all need no introduction to the hockey fans all around the globe. Others, however, will have to confirm their performances of the past season to establish themselves in the world's best league: Pius Suter with his new team in Detroit, for example, or Philipp Kurashev in Chicago.
The teams to watch from a Swiss perspective are clearly the New Jersey Devils and the Columbus Blue Jackets with three Swiss players each. In New Jersey, Jonas Siegenthaler and Akira Schmid besides Nico Hischier. In Columbus, Grégory Hofmann tries to showcase himself alongside Dean Kukan and Tim Berni. Schmid and Berni, however, will have to start the season in the AHL.
Also battling for their place in the NHL are defenders Janis Moser (Arizona) and Tobias Geisser (Washington), as well as forward Sven Bärtschi (Las Vegas). All three were also sent to the AHL, though.
