Host HCD sought a Spengler Cup victory year after year. But following their title in 2011, they made merely one trip to the finals in 2012 – until the team from Grisons crowned the 100th anniversary of their tournament last year. Will they now double up?

It was a happy ending to a wild Boxing Week in 2023, when HCD won the final match 5-3 over Dynamo Pardubice – celebrating its first Spengler Cup title since 2011 and 16th overall to pull even with record title holder Team Canada. And it was the perfect start for the new head coach Josh Holden, who had already hoisted the trophy in 2012 as a player for Team Canada.

‘This is like a dream’, said HCD captain Andres Ambuhl that December 31, 2023, after he had received the trophy. ‘We had a dry spell in the past years. That is why it feels extremely nice to win the Spengler Cup again.’ It was the third Spengler Cup triumph after 2004 and 2006 for the long-time Davos player and six-time Swiss champion. It was a premiere for another veteran, 35-year-old forward Marc Wieser, who starred with five assists in four games. ‘I finally did it, this is what I was missing’, declared the beaming Wieser, who had a hand in three of the goals in the final game.

This year, the hosts will no longer be the hunters but the hunted. But they can take on this challenge with confidence. HCD may have had to endure a heavy loss in the departure of defenseman Dominik Egli, yet the team remains deep and well-staffed. Starting with goaltender Sandro Aeschlimann, a safe backstop who is now backed up by Zug’s Luca Hollenstein. The defense will have to prove that it can compensate the loss of Dominik Egli but is bolstered by the promising arrival of Nico Gross from Zug. In addition, the Finn Julius Honka, who played at the 2023 Spengler Cup with HC Ambri-Piotta, and and the Swedish defender Calle Andersson has added depth to the defense.

On offense, the Swedes Dennis Rasmussen and Leon Bristedt returned to their homeland. Newly on board is the Canadian Adam Tambellini, who won the Spengler Cup with Team Canada in 2019 and whose father, Steve, and brother, Jeff, once played for the ZSC Lions. The Swede Symon Ryfors came together with Tambellini from Rogle, were the two had harmonized perfectly for the Swedish runner-up. Lastly, the Czech Filip Zadina, who at the age of 24 already has 262 NHL games (41 goals and 50 assists) under his belt, was also signed. But an important factor will also be that the prior team pillars and point contributors get back on course, starting with top scorer Matej Stransky to Valentin Nussbaumer, whose shooting percentage was an almost unbelievable 32.31% last season, to Enzo Corvi, who had a mere four goals and 20 assists in 50 games during the 2023-24 season.

For HC Davos the Spengler Cup in December 2024 will again be the big stage, on which it wants to present itself. Coach Josh Holden will look to add the second consecutive victory after the tournament title in his debut year. A quick look into the past shows just how exceptional another cup win would be; the host last celebrated back-to-back titles in 2000 and 2001.

Text: SLAPSHOT, Das Hockey-Magazin der Schweiz     Foto: KEYSTONE/Melanie Duchene

HC Davos will be presented by Presenting Partner UBS