TAMPA — JJ Moser said he and his Swiss team teammates will feel at home at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
That’s because they practically are.
The Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman recently recalled how he discovered it while visiting Lake Como, just 30 miles north of Milan.
“I was there on a train and seven minutes later I saw a sign that said: ‘Welcome to Switzerland,’ the 25-year-old recalls with a laugh. “I said: ‘Wait, there’s no chance’.”
Except there was.
“I didn’t know Switzerland was so close to Milan,” he laughed. “But yeah, it’s super tight. It’s great.
“For me, where I grew up, it’s less than four hours from Milan,” he adds, referring to the city of Bienne. “And it’s a lot closer than that, where a lot of the guys grew up. So there’s going to be a lot of families coming. It’s super close. Super excited about it too, that you’ll be able to share it with a lot of your family and friends.
“So it already feels like our games will be a bit like home games.”
Switzerland, in Group A, opens against Team France on Thursday (6:10 a.m. ET; Peacock, CBC Gem, SN), followed by games against Team Canada on Friday and against Team Czech on February 15.
At first glance, it would appear that Switzerland is in the toughest of the three groups in the tournament, which runs from Wednesday to February 22. Specifically, their toughest matchups in the preliminary round will be against Team Canada, who won gold in the last two Olympics featuring NHL players (2010, 2014); and the underrated Czech team, which won gold at the 2024 IIHF World Championship and is led by the always dynamic David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins.
At the same time, it would be a mistake to take Moser and the Swiss team lightly, especially after back-to-back silver medals at the Worlds.
Moser is part of a team that includes nine other NHL players: forwards Nicolas Hischier And Timo Meier (New Jersey Devils), Kevin Fiala (Los Angeles Kings), Nino Niederreiter (Winnipeg Jets), Philip Kurashev (San Jose Sharks), Pie Suter (St. Louis Blues); defenders Romain Josi (Nashville Predators), Jonas Siegenthaler (Devils); and goalkeeper Akira Schmid (Golden Knights of Vegas). This is a group with no shortage of talent, much less confidence.
