Andres Ambühl and the farewell through the big door

Preseason games for the national ice hockey team are events that are difficult to sell to the public. Often, only a handful of fans are lost in the stands of the respective stadium. The national championship is a hit. Last season ended with another attendance record. 2,680,899 spectators watched the games of the season, which culminated a week ago with the ZSC Lions winning the title. An average of 7,365 people watched each individual match. That was 235 more than the previous season.

The national team can only dream of such numbers. On Thursday, the Kloten Swiss Arena was exceptionally better filled than usual for international matches. 6,576 spectators provided an impressive crowd for the final warm-up match before the start of the World Cup in Switzerland. The reason: Andres Ambühl was on Swiss ice for the last time. The Davos native will retire after this season. Whether he will play a few more games in the national team jersey in the next two weeks will be decided in the coming days leading up to the start of the tournament.

National coach Patrick Fischer is keeping his cards close to his chest. The day before the match in Kloten, he said at a press conference: "We all know Ambühl's abilities. He's an incredibly versatile player and also a phenomenon. Whenever he's on the ice, he's fully committed."

In the friendly against Sweden, the Davos native played his 341st match for the national team. This has long been a record. Former ZSC captain Mathias Seger (305) and Ivo Rüthemann (270) follow in second and third place, respectively. But Andres Ambühl's career remains unique. He made his national team debut in November 2003 under German-Canadian Ralph Krueger. Patrick Fischer wasn't his coach at the time, but one of his teammates.

Should Ambühl survive the national coach's final cut and head off with the team to Denmark, where the tournament begins next Friday with a match against the world champions, the Czech Republic, it would be the 20th World Cup for the now 41-year-old Graubünden native. This has long since made him an international phenomenon. No other player in the world has participated in more World Cups, nor has he worn his national team's jersey more often.

Ambühl is taking it all with the composure that has characterized him throughout his career. Since announcing his retirement in February, he has been on a months-long farewell tour. Wherever he performs, he's been met with sympathy from the audience.

It's no different in Kloten. Before the national anthem, and under the watchful eye of his wife and two daughters, the spectators celebrate the energetic striker with a standing ovation that lasts for minutes. Before the match, Ambühl said: "It's simply about putting on a good performance. And yes, maybe a few people will come because of me."

Like Mathias Seger, Andres Ambühl is one of those players who enjoys the acceptance and respect of all ice hockey fans. Hardly anyone has a bad word to say about him. Nevertheless, Ambühl shouldn't count on a bonus. He once said that as long as the national coach calls him up, he'll make himself available.

Patrick Fischer says: "The focus must always be on the team. We don't just bring someone along who we feel is useless." The coach said he initially doubted whether Ambühl would make it back into the team. But over the course of the season, he steadily improved and became more consistent, rediscovering his former strengths. In the playoffs, the Davos native was one of the standout players on the record champions' team.

Ambühl said it would mean a lot to him to be able to compete in another World Cup. "It's never a given, and it's the coolest thing you can experience with your club after winning a championship."

Ambühl's chances of participating in Herning and Stockholm for the final time are good. This is also due to the gaps in the roster this spring. While virtually all players were available last year, this time around, prominent players from overseas are missing. Roman Josi (concussion) and Philipp Kurashev (wrist) are out due to injuries. Pius Suter is opting out because he is without a contract in the NHL and doesn't want to risk injury.

On Thursday night, the New Jersey Devils and their three Swiss players, Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, and Jonas Siegenthaler, were eliminated from the Stanley Cup. However, Fischer hinted on Thursday that he wants to give Hischier a break in anticipation of the upcoming season, which features two major events: the Olympic tournament in Milan and the World Cup at home in Zurich and Freiburg. But the Valais native apparently wants nothing to do with that. He reported from overseas and said on the Devils' club website: "Discussions are still ongoing, but it looks like I'll be playing for Switzerland at the World Cup."

In the 1-2 loss against the Swedish team, which boasted eleven NHL players, in Kloten, most of the playoff finalists were also missing. Patrick Fischer's team should take shape in the coming days before the start of the World Cup. The team will now fly to the Czech Republic, where the final pre-World Cup test matches will take place on Saturday and Sunday in Brno against Finland and the Czech Republic. Andres Ambühl will lace up his skates again for at least these two games.