ZSC Lions

The Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions (ZSC Lions) are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League (NL). Their home arena is the 12,000-seat Swiss Life Arena. The team was founded in 1930 and played at the Dolder-Kunsteisbahn from its establishment until 1950.[1]

ZSC Lions
CityZürich, Switzerland
LeagueNational League
Founded1930
Home arenaSwiss Life Arena
Colors     
General managerSven Leuenberger
Head coachMarc Crawford
CaptainPatrick Geering
AffiliateGCK Lions
Websitewww.zsclions.ch
Franchise history
1930–1997Zürcher SC
1997–presentZSC Lions
Current season

History

ZSC Lions were 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 of the National League B, backed by entrepreneur and billionaire Walter Frey.[2]

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, 2014 and 2018, and moreover won the IIHF Continental Cup in 2001 and 2002.

Champions Hockey League and Victoria Cup
The first overall NHL draft pick (2016) Auston Matthews with the ZSC Lions during the 2015–16 regular season

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.[3] 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 upset the Blackhawks with a 2–1 victory, winning the trophy.[4] It was the first time since 1991 that the Blackhawks had lost to a club in Europe.

Honors

Players

Current roster

Updated 8 February, 2023.[5]

No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
10 Switzerland Sven Andrighetto RW L 30 2019 Zürich, Switzerland
51 Canada Justin Azevedo C R 35 2021 West Lorne, Ontario, Canada
77 Switzerland Jérôme Bachofner LW L 27 2022 Dübendorf, Switzerland
14 Switzerland Chris Baltisberger RW R 31 2010 Zofingen, Switzerland
24 Switzerland Phil Baltisberger D L 27 2015 Zofingen, Switzerland
26 Switzerland Simon Bodenmann W L 35 2018 Urnäsch, Switzerland
89 Switzerland Dominik Diem C L 26 2019 Zürich, Switzerland
4 Switzerland Patrick Geering (C) D L 33 2006 Zürich, Switzerland
71 Switzerland Marlon Graf F R 20 2022 Wettingen, Switzerland
– Canada Scott Harrington D L 30 2023 Kingston, Ontario
91 Switzerland Denis Hollenstein W L 34 2018 Mosnang, Switzerland
11 Czech Republic Simon Hrubec G L 32 2022 Vimperk, Czechoslovakia
65 Finland Jarno Kärki C L 29 2022 Pori, Finland
46 Switzerland Dean Kukan D L 30 2022 Volketswil, Switzerland
83 Finland Juho Lammikko LW L 27 2022 Noormarkku, Finland
25 Switzerland Silvan Landolt D R 22 2022 Zürich, Switzerland
44 Finland Mikko Lehtonen D L 29 2022 Turku, Finland
61 Switzerland Robin Leone RW R 30 2022 Winterthur, Switzerland
54 Switzerland Christian Marti D L 30 2016 Bülach, Switzerland
76 Switzerland Noah Meier D L 21 2019 Zürich, Switzerland
66 Latvia Rihards Melnalksnis C L 24 2022 Riga, Latvia
8 Switzerland Willy Riedi F L 25 2019 Zürich, Switzerland
19 Switzerland Reto Schäppi RW L 32 2007 Horgen, Switzerland
13 Switzerland Justin Sigrist C L 24 2018 Hombrechtikon, Switzerland
78 Switzerland Kyen Sopa RW R 23 2021 Flawil, Switzerland
42 France Alexandre Texier C L 24 2022 Grenoble, France
22 Switzerland Livio Curdin Truog LW L 19 2022 Zollikon, Switzerland
86 Switzerland Dario Trutmann D R 31 2019 Zug, Switzerland
35 Switzerland Ludovic Waeber G L 27 2020 Fribourg, Switzerland
32 Sweden Lucas Wallmark C L 28 2022 Umeå, Sweden
6 Switzerland Yannick Weber (A) D R 35 2021 Morges, Switzerland

References
  1. "1930 bis heute | ZSC Lions". www.zsclions.ch. Retrieved 2016-05-29.
  2. "ZSC-Lions Brochure" (PDF) (in German). zsclions.ch. 2021-07-13. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  3. "Game Summary" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  4. "Blackhawks suffer first loss to European club since '91". ESPN.com. 2009-09-29. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
  5. "ZSC Lions: Kader" (in German). www.zsclions.ch. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
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