Photo: Lausanne Hockey Club

In North America, November 11 is associated with Veterans’ Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in Canada. But for European hockey players, it is a time typically associated with the first international hockey tournaments of the season.

Often these international tournaments are regarded as a tune-up for, and a means of evaluating players, who could eventually be selected by their national teams for the IIHF World Junior Championships in December, the IIHF World Championships in the spring, and, in the Olympic years, the Olympics.

Nearly all European hockey leagues suspend their normal league competition so that the selected players can participate in those tournaments, which includes several Capitals prospects currently playing in Europe – forward Damien Riat and defenseman Tobias Geisser for Switzerland and Ludwig Persson for Sweden.

2022 Karjala Cup

Damien Riat and Tobias Geisser both represented Switzerland at the 2022 Karjala Cup which took place from November 10 through November 13 in Turku, Finland. The Karjala Cup is one of several tournaments that are part of the Euro Hockey Tour. This year, the participating teams in the Karjala Cup included Finland, Sweden, Czechia, and Switzerland.

Riat and Geisser were the only Capitals prospects participating in the 2022 Karjala Cup which Sweden and Switzerland each earned five standings points and Czechia and Finland each earned four standings points. Sweden had won one game, lost one game, and finished their other game in a tie. Due to tiebreakers, Sweden was designated as the winner of the tournament while Switzerland was ranked in second place. Here is a link to the final tournament standings and game results.

Switzerland went to overtime in all three of their contests. They won 3-2 in a shootout on November 10 against Finland, with Riat scoring in the shootout.

🚨 Die entscheidenden Penalties von Tyler Moy + Damien Riat und der Winning Save von @LeonardoGenoni im Spiel von gestern noch einmal zum Geniessen! 😍

👉 Les tirs décisifs et l’arrêt pour la victoire hier. I rigori decisivi e il salvataggio per la vittoria contro la 🇫🇮. 💪 pic.twitter.com/2YgZM1WoIx

— Swiss Ice Hockey (@SwissIceHockey) November 11, 2022

Game Report from srf.ch
Game Report from tdg.ch

Switzerland lost 3-2 in Overtime to Sweden on November 11. Riat scored the first goal for Switzerland at 14:34 in the second period on the power play. At the time, this goal had tied the game at 1-1.

Game Report from tdg.ch

Switzerland won 3-2 in overtime against Czechia on November 12. Riat did not have any goals or assists in that game and took one minor penalty

Game Report from tdg.ch

Throughout the tournament, Riat generally played on either the third or fourth line for Switzerland, while Geisser played on the second defense pairing.

5 Team Tournament in Czechia

Ludwig Persson, who the Capitals drafted in the third round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft at 85th overall, was part of the Swedish junior team in a five-team tournament in Czechia that took place in Poruba, Czechia from November 9 through November 13.

The tournament was a tune-up for the IIHF World Junior Championships taking place in December 2022-January 2023. The other teams participating besides Sweden were: Finland Under 20 team, Finland Under 19 team, Czech Under 20 team, and Czech Under 19 team. The winner of that tournament was the Finland Under 20 team.

Persson was in the lineup for three out of the four games in which Sweden played. He scored a goal during a 5-1 victory over the Czech Under 19 team on November 9.

Ludwig Persson #AllCaps with the equalizer. 1-1 (assist by Oscar Asplund) pic.twitter.com/SkNdMCx2Kt

— Patrik Bexell (@Zeb_Habs) November 9, 2022

The next big dates on the prospect calendar are the National selection camps for the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championship. The 47th edition of the tournament is scheduled to be held from December 26, 2022 through January 5, 2023 in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

By Diane Doyle