Just a year ago, Kloten exceeded all expectations as promoted teams. Today there is not much left of this exuberance. Larry Mitchell’s transfer policy and statements cause irritation.
There is a lot missing in the Kloten team this season, not just quality.
Salvatore Di Nolfi / Keystone
A year ago, the EHC Kloten, as a newcomer, looked like a prosperous biotope in which all kinds of things thrived. The story of coach Jeff Tomlinson, who was in poor health, was touching and inspiring; young defenseman David Reinbacher had a season for the ages and was selected fifth overall by Montreal in the NHL draft. In terms of sport, the Kloten collective exceeded all expectations by making it to the pre-play-offs.
Today there is not much left of this exuberance. Kloten is second to last and often loses. Sports director Larry Mitchell had to dismiss head coach Gerry Fleming, who he had presented as a dream solution in the summer, in November; Since then, Mitchell has also carried out the coaching job in a dual mandate.
Isn’t it Kloten’s plan to sign promising players who haven’t been happy elsewhere?
The success is, well, manageable. Mitchell recently stood out for two things: that in his hour of need he preferred to be Team Canada’s assistant coach at the Spengler Cup instead of leading the training in Kloten. And with the astonishing statement in a “Blick” interview that, in his view, it would be “negligent” to endanger the “good relationship” between him and the team by hiring a new man. It is a remarkable perception given Kloten’s often desolate performances in recent weeks.
⚡️After 23 games and only 7 wins, EHC Kloten and Gerry Fleming are going their separate ways.
⚡️Sports director Larry Mitchell will lead the team with the previous assistants and remain sports director.@EHC_Kloten_1934 | #News pic.twitter.com/y7gyccb3zA
— MySports (@MySports_CH) November 19, 2023
The question is whether Mitchell, 56 years old, has a future in Kloten. As a coach, obviously not – the search for a successor is in full swing. It may also be that he will only be hired for the next season. Mitchell was hired as sports director in October 2022 as the successor to Patrik Bärtschi without too much prior knowledge of Swiss ice hockey on a permanent contract.
In the meantime, Mitchell has also lost support in this role in the colorful Kloten environment. Defender Nathan Beaulieu, who was signed shortly after the start of the season, has been a bitter disappointment to date. The EHC still does not have a number 1 goalie under contract for the 2024/25 season; there has been a hail of cancellations in the last few months. In return, Tyler Morley, a Canadian who produced 14 points in 25 games, received an early contract extension of two years. And the signing of center Nolan Diem, a 30-year-old follower of the SCL Tigers, caused astonishment.
Isn’t it Kloten’s plan to sign promising players who haven’t been happy elsewhere? Like the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers, Ambri-Piotta and Langnau do?
“Larry Mitchell enjoys our complete trust,” says the man whose opinion counts: entrepreneur Jan Schibli, who has been associated with the club for three decades and has held a wide variety of positions. Since the fall he has led the EHC in co-presidency with Jan Sommerhalder.
This week the backwardness became apparent – master trainer Suhonen got in touch
On Thursday afternoon, Schibli sits in his Zurich office and tries to put things into perspective. He says: “The relegation battle is a disappointment for us, but not a surprise. We must not forget where we come from and what our financial possibilities are. In most predictions before the season we were in 13th place. And that’s where we are now.” He adds: “We are no longer Felix Hollenstein’s Kloten, which is competing for the title. Our reality is now different, it is happening in the bottom half of the table.”
It has been ten years since Kloten won a play-off series in the National League. But there are many who mourn the glory of yesteryear, even if that time will hardly ever come back. Unless you can find a solvent financier who is happy to squander several million francs every winter.
This week the backwardness in the environment was exemplary: The “Tages-Anzeiger” published a critical article about Mitchell, to which Alpo Suhonen commented on Facebook that “Canadian hockey does not fit in Kloten”. Suhonen, 75, was Kloten’s last master coach in 1996 and is now retired in Finland.
His thesis is of course nonsense – Tomlinson has convincingly refuted it over the past two years – but the episode illustrates how difficult it is for some people to let go of the past.
The prospects do not remain rosy. The EHC needs to grow, says Schibli. And that takes time, it would take three to five years to create the foundation that he envisions. There are plans for additional boxes and the expansion of stadium catering. In 2024/25, a new video cube is expected to open up further marketing opportunities.
The additional income was needed because EHC Kloten is a highly loss-making company despite an attractive audience of almost 5,500 visitors per game. The eight main owners, which include Schibli and his predecessor Mike Schälchli, have to cap a structural deficit of almost two million francs annually.
EHC Kloten has introduced Larry Mitchell as its new sports director. For the last five years, the 55-year-old German-Canadian worked as sports director in the DEL at ERC Ingolstadt.@NLch_official | @EHC_Kloten_1934 pic.twitter.com/TzQQiTHGn4
— MySports (@MySports_CH) October 19, 2022
The crisis of promotion candidates in the Swiss League alleviates Kloten’s worries
Every franc counts in Kloten, Schibli pursues a policy of reason. If only because he experienced the most difficult hours in the club’s history intensively: he was one of the people who saved the club after it almost sank into bankruptcy in 2012 after years of mismanagement.
Schibli therefore pleads for prudence even in the hour of sporting depth. Which doesn’t mean he’s happy with the situation. After the 4-0 home defeat against Biel a week ago, he addressed the team clearly in the dressing room. The commitment of a mental trainer is being finalized these days.
There is a lot missing in the Kloten team this season, not just quality. The foreigners have fallen far short of expectations almost across the board. The former pioneer and team leader Marc Marchon has been a nuisance for weeks – and is moving to Bern after the end of the season. Reinbacher is hardly recognizable, the lightness from last year is far away.
Regardless of who will soon be responsible for this team: the task is very demanding. Kloten’s luck is that there is hardly any threat of trouble from the Swiss League. Only Visp and Olten have received licenses to climb. Despite a generous budget and with Heinz Ehlers as the most expensive coach in the club’s history, Visp is incredibly only in ninth place and is in danger of missing the play-offs. Olten is under pressure to save and is in an existential crisis, which culminated in the dismissal of coach Lars Leuenberger on Thursday. So there is still good news for the Kloten cosmos.