Arno del Curto

"The six competitors at the Spengler Cup this year are very much on the same level. And the new schedule will make the fight for the tournament win even more exciting than in previous years," says Arno Del Curto, the HC Davos head coach and Switzerland’s coach of the year.

Winning the Spengler Cup is no easy task – something Arno Del Curto is aware of. One single game can decide the tournament: "The most determined and tenacious team will win it. And of course, luck is also an important factor in play-off style competitions. Any of the six participants can win the Spengler Cup, which makes this year’s tournament extremely interesting and exciting." Below, the host team’s head coach evaluates each of this year’s participants:

Dinamo Riga: There are many great players on Pekka Rautakallio’s team, and I think the Latvians are among the favorites for the Spengler Cup win. But a smooth journey to Davos and a good performance with a positive result in their first game against the Kloten Flyers will be crucial for them.

Vitkovice Steel: Czech hockey is always of world class quality as the players are very skilled technically and tactically. The first game between the two favorites Vitkovice Steel and Team Canada will be crucial for how far Vitkovice can make it in Davos.

Team Canada: As we all know, the team is very strong, and it has an uncompromising will to win. Team Canada will be the team to beat also at this year’s Spengler Cup.

EHC Wolfsburg: The German participant will make the Spengler Cup an even more exciting and interesting tournament. They want to take the trophy back to Germany for the first time in twelve years. But it remains to be seen if the team has enough strength to keep up their game until the end of the tournament.

Kloten Flyers: The team from the canton of Zurich is also a very serious contender for the Spengler Cup win – they absolutely want to win it. We’ve recently played some very close and highly competitive games against them.

HC Davos: If we don’t have too many injured players, we’ll also be a favorite for the tournament win. It would be great for us to celebrate the first Spengler Cup win since 2006 with our supporters. There’ll again be some novice players on the ice for HC Davos: Lukas Sieber will be on the squad and very likely also two further young players from our junior team (Raphael Kuonen, Fadri Holinger, Lukas Willi or Anton Ranov).