The last time Switzerland won a medal at the Olympic men's hockey tournament, the Ed Sullivan Show was debuting, Miracle on 34th Street won three Academy Awards, and Joe DiMaggio led the American League in home runs.
Fast forward 78 years and Switzerland enters the Milan Cortina Olympics ranked 2nd in the world by the IIHF.
The ranking is based on each team's performance in the last five sanctioned tournaments. Thanks to back-to-back silver medals at the IIHF World Championships in 2024 and 2025, Switzerland is favored in the standings — even over Canada.
But the Stanley Cup Playoffs happen at the same time as that tournament every year, meaning a large number of elite players are usually competing for the NHL championship and not skating at worlds. That presents a challenge in Milan as the league's top superstars return to action.
The U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland comprise the "big four" of international hockey and employ Olympic rosters teeming with NHL All-Stars, so competition is stiff in the hunt for the podium.
Nevertheless, the members of Team Switzerland enter the Olympics feeling confident about their chances. Captain Roman Josi went so far as to say this is the best lineup he's been a part of.
"This is a different beast than the world championships, but we've played some really good world championship tournaments and got some momentum," Josi said.
The Swiss team's upward trajectory has intensified over recent years. Switzerland made it through the world championship group stage in 2025 with six wins and one overtime loss before ultimately falling to the U.S. in the gold medal matchup. It took extra minutes for Team USA to defeat Switzerland by a score of 1-0 in overtime. Goalie Leonardo Genoni, the expected Olympic starter, won the title of tournament MVP after posting four shutouts in seven games.
Genoni and Josi are just two of the 19 players who won silver in 2025 that will take Olympic ice.
"Our strength is that we've been playing together for many years now," said forward Nino Niederreiter, who is in the midst of his 17th NHL season. "The core group is largely the same."
Three key members of the roster get a chance to develop their chemistry year-round. Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler are all teammates on the New Jersey Devils and serve as the headliners of the Swiss lineup.
Hischier is expected to be an X-factor in his Olympic debut. The Devils captain leads his team with 19 goals and 42 points, but he's more renowned for his responsible, two-way play that elevates him above the average offensive skater. The 27-year-old was the runner-up for the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 2023 and finished 4th in voting last season — evidence of his status as one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL.
Hischier's projected linemate Meier brings a coveted combination of physicality and a finishing touch. He not only has the second-most goals for New Jersey with 14, but also ranks third on the team with 91 hits. Meier is equally comfortable planted in front of the net looking for rebounds or tip-ins, winning puck battles along the boards, or utilizing his quick shot to generate offense.
On the back end, Siegenthaler will serve as Switzerland's top defenseman alongside Josi. The pairing of shot-blocking machine Siegenthaler and 2020's Norris Trophy winner Josi is poised to be one of the tougher duos to beat at the Olympics.
In a tournament where most countries have a limited time for players to find their groove together — and where NHL rivals become teammates overnight — Switzerland has the unique advantage of familiarity.
Swiss hockey on the rise
Switzerland's lineup features a blend of NHL regulars and homegrown talent. Ten skaters currently play in the NHL and the remaining 15 are members of the National League, the top Swiss division.
In contrast, just three players were members of NHL rosters when Switzerland defeated Czechia and Canada in major preliminary round upsets at Torino 2006.
That's a testament to how the development program has improved over time.
"Hockey in Switzerland has changed a bit for us in recent years," said Hischier. "We have got more and more guys playing in the best league in the world (NHL). Obviously, the quality has raised as well."
Hischier himself is proof of the shift towards generating high-end talent. He was the first Swiss player to be selected first overall at the NHL Entry Draft in 2017.
The progression to that point took quite some time. Decades, in fact. Jacques Soguel was the first player out of Switzerland to be drafted back in 1976, though he never played a game in the big league. Three years later, Mark Hardy became the first Swiss-born player to star in an NHL game, but he was born to Canadian parents and only ever represented Canada internationally.
Between 1979 and 1991, not a single Swiss player was drafted into the NHL. In the following decade, that number increased to ten players in ten years.
The 21st century saw an exponential increase in Swiss players coming to North America, and the nation's exports continued to increase in both quality and quantity. Josi was drafted 38th overall in 2008 and has since become the most influential skater from Switzerland, recording an all-time high of 763 points across more than 1,000 games played. Two years later, Niederreiter would become the highest-drafted Swiss player at 5th overall before Hischier nabbed that title in 2017.
Niederreiter has now also topped 1,000 games in the NHL and sits just one point shy of 500. He helped set the stage for guys like Kevin Fiala, who was the world championship MVP in 2024 and is on a six-year streak of scoring at least 20 goals per season.
Now, armed with high-level talent, Switzerland has begun to insert itself in the conversation of premier hockey nations. There is still a long way to go before reaching elite status of European nations like Sweden or Finland, but the country's hockey scene will only continue to blossom.
"Swiss ice hockey has done a great job to keep developing young players and spread the fun of hockey in Switzerland," Hischier said.
The ultimate fun is still to come as Switzerland sets off on the hunt for a historic piece of Olympic hardware beginning with the game against France on Thursday, Feb. 12.