The Swiss have published the roster, Niederreiter is also included | Hokej.cz

Experienced striker Nino Niederreiter from Winnipeg will strengthen the Swiss national team before the start of the World Cup on Friday. At the same time, the nomination will be expanded by the finalists of the domestic league, led by Sven Andrighett.

Niederreiter is the fifth signing from the NHL for the Swiss, in addition to Patrick Fischer, goalkeeper Akira Schmid, defender Jonas Siegenthaler and forwards Nico Hischier and Philippe Kurashev are also selected.

The 31-year-old Niederreiter will start at his eighth world championship: last year in Riga he was the captain, contributing to productivity with four goals in seven duels.

He showed solid form in the NHL this year as well, his Winnipeg shined in the regular season and Niederreiter contributed to this with 34 points (18+16) in 77 games. He added two more assists in the playoffs, but did not prevent the Jets from being eliminated early against Colorado.

The Swiss have not yet confirmed whether defender Roman Josi will also arrive in Prague. However, they are keeping one free spot for him on the roster, apparently he is just waiting for an exit medical examination. On the other hand, the start of Kevin Fiala, who is expecting the birth of a child soon, has already been ruled out. Forward Damien Riat excused himself from the World Cup for the same reason.

After the Czech Hockey Games, as many as ten players dropped out of the nomination: specifically defensemen David Aebischer, Iñaki Baragano, Dominik Egli, Tobias Geisser and Samuel Kreis, as well as forwards Tino Kessler, Mike Künzle, Marco Lehmann, Tyler Moy and Tanner Richard.

Just before the start of the championship, on the other hand, five finalists from the Swiss league will join the squad: the champions with Zurich