From Emmental to NHL
An explosive start, great shooting technique and an outstanding ability to read the game – Finn Naber is one of the most promising fresh talents in Swiss ice hockey. We visited the up-and-coming player in the Emmental.
It’s lunchtime Friday lunchtime and we’re at the Ilfishalle ice rink in Langnau. 15-year-old Finn Naber has just come back from school in Bern. Time for lunch at the stadium restaurant. Meat and pasta. The protein and carbohydrates will provide the energy for the game against his former club in the evening. Find out if the SCL Young Tigers win the match in the video above.
From Basel to Langnau
It must have been the winter of 2017. I was skating at the old Margarethen ice rink in Basel on a Saturday evening. My daughter and I were sipping hot chocolate and warming up in the tiny restaurant when we bumped into her primary school teacher Andrea Naber. Your standard small talk ensued. «Hello, how are you and what brings you here?» She told us she was watching her son play ice hockey. In response to my remark that there wasn’t a game on at the ice rink, Andrea pointed to the TV on the wall. «My son’s playing in Canada today. It’s an invitational tournament for young European talent.»
At the time, Finn Naber was a junior player for the ice hockey club EHC Basel and one of the best of his year in Switzerland. And his talent did not go unnoticed. In the summer of 2019, he moved to Langnau to join SCL Young Tigers with a five-year contract. Other clubs were also interested in the 15-year-old, but Finn chose to move to Emmental.
All-round care
Emmental is hockey central. The fast team sport is the region’s religion. Everyone lives, breathes and works hockey. And the teenager from Basel seems to be in good hands. He lives a puck’s throw from the stadium in a players’ flat share. The SCL Tigers office is just down the stairs. The host mum is in charge of the laundry and other things. The club manages everything else. Finn attends business school in Bern on a half-day basis, the rest of his day is dedicated to hockey.
«We believe in Finn’s skills,» says Jürg Aeschbach, Managing Director of the Young Tigers. Samuel Balmer, coach of the under 17s elite, is also full of praise for Finn. And the long-standing national player should know. After all, his career included a stint at Fribourg Gottéron – in the same block as the legendary players Bykow and Chomutow. «Finn has some outstanding qualities. His acceleration, his shooting technique and above all his eye for the game are above average.»
The next Josi?
Explosive starts, precise shooting technique and key player qualities? Sounds like the ingredients for a bright future. Could this be the next Roman Josi? The Nashville Predators defender just signed an eight-year deal in Tennessee. But managing director Aeschbach and coach Balmer play down my vision. It’s too early to make predictions, they say. So much can go wrong on the path to becoming a pro. They stress that Finn is only 15 years old. A bad injury would be all it takes to ruin his career before it even takes off.
What about Finn? Where does he see himself in five years' time? «I’d love to be in the National Hockey League. But I guess that's what all the boys here want.» And what club? «The Toronto Maple Leafs,» he says without hesitation. «My favourite player is Auston Matthews.» Unlike Finn, the Canadian club’s number 34 is a striker, but that doesn’t matter. After all, Finn manages to score a goal and an assist against his former club that same evening. The game ends 7–0. And young Finn played a major part in the victory. A few days later, Finn is selected for the U16 national team and got to represent Switzerland at the Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne in January.
Not bad for a 15-year-old on his long journey from the Emmental to the NHL.
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Patrick Bardelli
Senior Editor
Patrick.Bardelli@digitecgalaxus.chFrom radio journalist to product tester and storyteller, jogger to gravel bike novice and fitness enthusiast with barbells and dumbbells. I'm excited to see where the journey'll take me next.
