In two weeks the National League will start into the new season 2022/23. Here is a summary of the most important changes and news regarding the upcoming season.
Video Reviews: New also for major penalties
From now on the referees in the National League have the possibility to review 5-minute as well as 2+2-minute penalties for high stick by means of video review. If the referees decide on the ice for a “major penalty”, they can go and review the scene on the video images. Following the video review, either the major penalty will be confirmed or a reduction to a 2-minute penalty will be made (for 2+2 penalty minutes for high stick, a confirmation of the penalty or a cancellation of the penalty will be made). This rule is part of the new rule book introduced last season.
Playoffs: quarter and semifinals newly split
The quarterfinals and semifinals of the NL playoffs will be split for the first time in the spring of 2023. That means: Two quarterfinal series will be played alternately on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, whereas the other two quarterfinal series will be played on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Swiss ice hockey fans will therefore be able to enjoy pure ice hockey – all games will be broadcast by MySports as usual, and one of the games per “round” will always be shown on free TV.
League qualification: 4 foreigners allowed
With regard to a possible league qualification, the loser of the playout final in the National League and the champion of the Swiss League will face each other in spring 2023 with four foreign players. This is subject to the proviso that the contender from the Swiss League meets the economic, sporting and infrastructural requirements for promotion. The representatives of the two leagues were able to agree on this compromise.
Player Behavior: Possible game suspension also for diving
During the summer months, the league management, the refereeing department, the sporting directors of the clubs as well as the player purification SIHPU have intensively discussed the topic of “player behavior” and the problem in the area of “diving/embellishment” (faking fouls and/or injuries). All parties agree that offenses in this area should be punished even more strictly. Therefore, a player can now also be punished directly with a game suspension in the case of an obvious offense.
Personnel: Support for the PSO
Dale McTavish has been elected to the position of Deputy Player Safety Officer. He will support PSO Ryan Gardner in the area of Player Safety. McTavish was formerly active as a player for ten seasons in the former NLA (SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers, ZSC Lions, EV Zug) and is very familiar with Swiss ice hockey. He starts work immediately and will have access to all National League games and camera perspectives from his home in the Ottawa region.
The brand new National League app is here!
With the new homepage at www.nationalleague.ch, which can also be downloaded as a mobile app from the Apple and Google stores, the National League now appears online in a new look. In addition to all important information about the NL games, the app offers comprehensive statistics and many other contents from the current championship. With the weekly “NL-Weekly”, which is limited to a maximum of 3,000 characters, the National League now highlights special facets of the top Swiss ice hockey league. Thanks to push messages, users are informed in real time about any match suspensions and news from the NL legal system. Downloading the app from the Apple and Google stores is free.
Manager game “Topscorers”: Put together your new team from now on
In parallel with the new online presence, the second season of the manager game “Topscorers” is also launched. The basic version of the game can be downloaded for free from the Apple and Google app stores. The squads of the NL teams are now up to date and the transfer market is open. In addition to an expansion of the players to up to 14 people per league, the game has been further developed compared to the first season: Among other things, members (Fr. 5.- per year) can now see whether their players are in the line-up of the respective teams or not, in addition to access to live stats before the start of the game. Furthermore, the points account will be reset to zero after the regular season for the playoffs in order to crown the champion with only one playing block.
QoQa and pressrelations new partners of the NL
With the Onlineshop QoQa, a new partner will join PostFinance at the side of the National League in the future and thus also supports the Manager Game. QoQa offers in the regular season in the “Topscorer” game with a league of 4 or more people to the winners numerous prizes and raffles also in the playoffs exclusive surprises. In addition to QoQa, the National League is also pleased to announce a new partnership with pressrelations Schweiz AG for the coming season. pressrelations will evaluate the media presence of the National League and its clubs in the future.
