Mattias Ekholm speaks warmly about Switzerland's team captain Roman Josi ahead of tonight's quarterfinal match in the Ice Hockey World Championship at the Swiss Life Arena in Zurich.
"It will be special, of course. I played for almost twelve years with him and we have grown up together in many ways in Nashville. He is a very good friend of mine and I respect him as a player, of course," says Ekholm, who was traded to Edmonton in early spring 2023.
“Best of all time”
Star defenseman Josi has played over 1,000 regular season games for Nashville, he has been the club's team captain for nine years and was awarded the Norris Trophy, the award for the NHL's best defenseman, in the 2019–2020 season.
"He's probably the best Swiss player of all time," says the Tre Kronor defender.
Josi has accounted for four goals and four assists as Switzerland has won seven out of seven possible games in its group in Zurich.
"He's almost like an extra forward out there and carries a lot of the puck and has a lot of finesse with it too. He's a complete defenseman," says the Swede.
Of the most famous Swiss NHL stars, all – six in total – are in place for the home tournament except for injured Los Angeles forward Kevin Fiala, who also has a history with Josi and Ekholm in Nashville.
"They have a lot of good players over there that we meet every day. It's no surprise that they gather like this at a home World Cup."
“Ruin the mood”
Switzerland has never won World Cup gold. In the last 13 years, the Alpine country has played in four finals - including the last two. Roman Josi has lost three finals - in 2013, 2018 and 2024. The first two losses came against Tre Kronor, and in 2018 Mattias Ekholm was with Sweden when it won its last World Cup gold.
"They've been there and sniffed this gold for a very long time, so I understand that they're craving it, but it can also mean a bit of pressure now that you're on home soil."
The stands in the Swiss Life Arena will be bathed in red tonight - the lion's share will cheer for Switzerland when the puck drops at 8:20 PM.
"Even if you are on the less popular side of these two teams, it is always fun to play with a hell of a lot of pressure. It will only motivate us even more to try to destroy that atmosphere as much as possible," says Mattias Ekholm.
Tonight, host nation Switzerland and Sweden meet in the World Cup quarter-finals in Zurich. The teams' paths to the playoffs have been completely different.
Switzerland has progressed like a steamroller in Group A in Zurich - they recorded seven straight victories and secured first place after a 4-2 win against Finland in the group stage on Tuesday.
That same evening, Tre Kronor played against the odds, but the victory in regular time in the final group match against Slovakia (4-2) secured fourth place and the last quarter-final spot in Group B in Fribourg.
Today's quarterfinals: Finland - Czech Republic (4:20 PM in Zurich), Canada - USA (4:20 PM in Fribourg), Norway - Latvia (8:20 PM in Fribourg), Switzerland - Sweden (8:20 PM in Zurich).
