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). The home arena, the 11,200 seat Hallenstadion, is in the Zürich district of Oerlikon. The team was founded in 1930 and played at the Dolder-Kunsteisbahn from its establishment until 1950.[1]

ZSC Lions
2019–20 NL season
CityZürich, Switzerland
LeagueNational League
Founded1930
Home arenaHallenstadion
Colors     
General managerSven Leuenberger
Head coachRikard Grönborg
CaptainPatrick Geering
AffiliatesGCK Lions
Websitewww.zsclions.ch
Franchise history
1930–1997Zürcher SC
1997–presentZSC Lions

History

Locally nicknamed "Z", the team was 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 who had failed to qualify for promotion from National League B for several years in a row and had a small fan base, but were backed by entrepreneur and billionaire Walter Frey.

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.[2] 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.[3] It was the first time since 1991 that the Blackhawks had lost to a club in Europe.

Honors

Players

Current roster

Updated 20 July, 2019.[4]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
14 Chris Baltisberger (A) RW R 29 2010 Zofingen, Switzerland
24 Phil Baltisberger D L 25 2015 Zofingen, Switzerland
96 Tim Berni D L 20 2018 Männedorf, Switzerland
5 Severin Blindenbacher D R 37 2011 Bülach, Switzerland
26 Simon Bodenmann W L 32 2018 Urnäsch, Switzerland
69 Alexander Braun D L 24 2019 Zürich, Switzerland
6 Yannick Brüschweiler LW L 21 2018 Zürich, Switzerland
89 Dominik Diem C L 24 2019 Zürich, Switzerland
30 Lukas Flüeler G L 32 2008 Kloten, Switzerland
4 Patrick Geering (C) D L 30 2006 Zürich, Switzerland
35 Daniel Guntern G R 25 2013 Zürich, Switzerland
91 Denis Hollenstein (A) W L 31 2018 Mosnang, Switzerland
16 Marcus Krüger C L 30 2019 Stockholm, Sweden
54 Christian Marti D L 27 2016 Bülach, Switzerland
76 Noah Meier D L 18 2019 Zurich, Switzerland
9 Robert Nilsson W L 36 2013 Calgary, Canada
56 Maxim Noreau D R 33 2018 Montreal, Canada
87 Marco Pedretti RW L 29 2019 Ajoie, Switzerland
71 Fredrik Pettersson RW R 33 2017 Gothenburg, Sweden
18 Raphael Prassl C/RW L 23 2017 Zürich, Switzerland
11 Garrett Roe C L 32 2019 Vienna, United States
19 Reto Schäppi (A) RW L 30 2007 Horgen, Switzerland
13 Justin Sigrist C L 21 2018 Hombrechtikon, Switzerland
28 Axel Simic C R 22 2019 Gumefens, Switzerland
44 Pius Suter C L 24 2015 Wallisellen, Switzerland
86 Dario Trutmann D R 28 2019 Zug, Switzerland
27 Roman Wick RW L 35 2012 Zuzwil, Switzerland

References
  1. "1930 bis heute | ZSC Lions". www.zsclions.ch. Retrieved 2016-05-29.
  2. "Game Summary" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  3. "Blackhawks suffer first loss to European club since '91". ESPN.com. 2009-09-29. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
  4. "ZSC Lions: Kader" (in German). www.zsclions.ch. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
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