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The cut comes on January 11: Wohlwend has to go to Davos.
Dino KesslerHead of Ice Hockey Department
The cat is out of the bag on Wednesday at 9 a.m.: HC Davos is parting ways with coach Christian Wohlwend (46) with immediate effect. A drastic measure. The tablecloth between him and the team was apparently cut because sporting allegations are in vain: Basically, HCD fulfilled expectations under his thumb. You probably just had enough of Wohlwend himself. But why?
As a player, he had been conditioned by the representatives of the “old school” trainer guard: Management by fear, or leading the staff through harsh words, threats and appropriate penalties, trainers under constant current. That shaped him, says the Montréal-born Engadine in November 2021 in a Sunday view interview. At the time, Wohlwend also says he no longer wants to be the impulsive one and doesn’t believe that players always need a proverbial kick in the butt. “There was this image of me that I didn’t like anymore. Of course, I also constructed this image myself, then it was cultivated because it was also exciting for viewers and the media. »
At this point, Wohlwend had already proved that he had the (sporting) skills to be a coach in the National League. He had stabilized the ailing record champions after the separation from the icon Arno Del Curto at an appropriate level and made them fit for the playoffs.
Bottle throwing and public criticism
But even then, Wohlwend knew that the process of personal change has no expiry date: “This process is never complete.” In April 2022, the impulsive Wohlwend is back with a bang, a brilliant outburst in the playoffs against the champions from Zug: After a penalty that caused the second defeat in a row, his collar bursts, Wohlwend, in a rage, fires three drinking bottles onto the ice. A performance that amuses a few, but irritates the majority of the more conservative hockey community.
HCD coach rages: Wohlwend throws bottles around(00:21)
It’s not the first time he’s had impulse control failures during this phase. After losing a quarter-final game in Rapperswil, he throws his goalkeeper Sandro Aeschlimann under the bus for a goal: “He’s never allowed in, the goalie has to stop him.” Even if he probably hit the bull’s eye with his analysis back then – public criticism of players is a no-go for a coach who has renounced the behavioral patterns of drill masters and whip crackers.
However, the team is undeterred and later wins four games in a row and advances to the semi-finals. The most extreme comeback possible in a playoff series – does such a team come up against the coach? Or are there enough forces within the team to ensure success despite the unloved coach?
Reports of deep discord
In Wohlwend’s last season, Davos repeatedly proved their ability to take things, turned games and ironed out arrears. In the association’s atmosphere, however, more and more voices are being raised, reporting deep quarrels between Wohlwend and individual players and staff members. The pile of broken pieces had apparently reached record-breaking proportions, at the end of December CEO Marc Gianola said to Blick: “It’s helpful for him if the staff and the players are behind him, then the results will follow automatically.”
One thing Wohlwend has achieved in almost four years at HC Davos: the results were right. Ultimately, he failed because of himself: he didn’t manage to convince the players and the staff of himself. In Davos they had had enough of Christian Wohlwend.
National League 22/23
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