The last time we got a chance to speak with Vinzenz Rohrer, the joke was that he would have another title in the cupboard as the Zürich Lions had just taken the regular-season crown. As we speak this time, it’s actually two as Zürich won the playoffs in 2024 and just last week won the Champions Hockey League. Rohrer laughs when he is reminded of the conversation “Two [trophies] are better than one!”
He describes the atmosphere as incredible “I feel that in such a deciding game it’s almost like a coin toss. You could argue that [Färjestad] had a lot of post shots so it could also have gone in the other direction, but I feel like if you only have one game it’s the team that finds a way to win. I think that was us in the semifinals when we played against Geneva. We had to get a point in the last game because we wanted the home advantage. Like we saw in the final, [it] was huge. It was such an amazing crowd, and it gives us players such a [boost] of energy from the fans. That was really nice to have the home advantage.”
Rohrer’s role has increased this season. He is getting a lot of tougher minutes, including power-play time, and he was one of the players coach Marc Crawford trusted in the final minute of the game against Färjestad in the CHL final as the Swedish team tried to push for the equalizer.
“I think if you have more versatility to your game, if you have more assets like the PK and some defensive draws and more responsibility in the defensive zone, it is obviously really important. I think what I appreciate as a young guy is that I get so much responsibility. It means a lot to me and, like you mentioned, it feels good to also take on that part of the defensive zone, the PK, and embrace that part of the game.”
There is no surprise that Crawford trusts Rohrer. When he spoke with Eyes On The Prize in November, 2023 he called Rohrer “one of the smartest young players” he had coached. Rohrer’s own reaction is a humble one. “I appreciate the nice words. Like I said before, it gives you so much confidence if you can step up in those roles that are really important and be on the ice when the whistle blows. Then you get a lot of trust from the whole coaching staff, and obviously feels really, really good, especially as a young guy.”
The top teams in the National League will play close games with the top teams in the SHL, and while the SHL’s bottom teams are a bit better than the National League ones, these are regarded as the top two leagues in Europe by most scouts and experts. This is something that should help Rohrer as preparation begins for a move to North America.
“That’s obviously the big picture. It’s obviously exciting. It’s nice to even be in that conversation of going overseas. I usually give the the same answer: I try to do my job really well, and try to stay in the moment here in Zurich and have a really good season. Then, what happens in the summertime happens in the summertime. I can’t really control it now.
“Obviously it’s a cool thing to have that perspective of going overseas. It’s obviously nice to be mentioned with Montreal, if it is Montreal. I feel like it’s the hockey town, everything is about hockey and if you can step into that market and do well it’s probably a really good feeling as a player.”
Since he left North America to play in the National League, he has become somewhat of a forgotten prospect in the Montreal system, especially considering that David Reinbacher has now left Switzerland for North America, and the focus has shifted toward Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen. Rohrer doesn’t feel forgotten, but he can understand that he is out of the spotlight, “I never really looked at it that way, or it never came to my mind that for some I’m the forgotten one.”
When he isn’t playing the game he isn’t watching much other hockey. “I would say I’m a guy that is pretty off hockey when I’m off hockey. The one I keep track of is especially Ollie [Kapanen] who I met at development camp a couple of years ago and he’s with the same agent that I am and I sometimes keep track of him. Not too much I guess, but he’s for sure a guy it would be pretty nice to see — if I’m going overseas — to say ‘Hi’ again.”
There might be a quicker way to greet Kapanen. The World Championship is in Stockholm this year and Kapanen could play for Finland. But Rohrer has missed a few national team tournaments What has the thought process been in that regard? “It’s mostly due to the heavy schedule. The schedule that we have this season is pretty crazy. Then to have those extra two national breaks that I missed out on, that’s an extra six games, extra practices, and extra stuff where I already played the Olympic qualification and the first national break. Now I’m probably going to play at the World Championship, so the season is long.”
The main thing that has stood out in Rohrer’s game this season is the defensive-zone responsibilities and work, however Rohrer himself points to his offence. “The first thing that comes to my mind is probably goal-scoring. I think I doubled the amount of goals from last season, with games to spare. I think I had a lot of chances last season, but maybe the efficiency wasn’t where it is now, but that’s always a story that can change really quick too, or comes with a lot of luck. The puck goes in sometimes.”
Don't mess with Vinzenz Rohrer on a fast break. The #Habs prospect scored in the second semifinal of the Champions Hockey League. Zürich will face Färjestad in the final.
— Patrik Bexell (@zebhabs.bsky.social) January 22, 2025 at 4:38 PM
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“Adding to that is the versatility. I don’t think there’s like a huge step of something, but a lot of little steps and a couple of things that might have added up. I’m trying to be a two-way player and have a lot of versatility in my game. This is also something that came up when I was talking with Montreal; like how could I make the lineup or how could I go overseas? It is to have a lot of assets.”
When not on the ice, he practises the piano, and we knew he took French lessons in the spring, even if he brushes it aside “Well, the French classes are not going the best right now.” He feels it is good to get away from the game on occasion. “I feel like we in Zurich, being one of the top teams in the league, pressure [is there] every season. It’s no secret that our goal is the Schweizemeister, the cup. I think we deal with all the pressure and the media, we are pretty calm in our team where we just want to play our best and that’s all we can focus on. I know that’s the regular answer, but it is actually that way. We can’t do anything else about it. The regular season is not over yet, we could still potentially be in first place after regular season, but it’s pretty hard. But playoff time is playoff time and then everything can happen.”
Rohrer has already surpassed 70 games on the season, How have the games he’s playing this year, with the CHL, the NL, the playoffs, and then a World Championship on top of it, affect him as a player, with regard to development and preparation for future seasons in North America?
“I feel like it’s hard to practice when there are more games. We did a good job of that this season with all the league and CHL games and then a couple national team games. It adds up to a couple more games than when you go over. When I went over for two years to Ottawa, it was like, this is how it is to play many games. It’s obviously a difference. It’s hard to replicate that here in Europe.”
One thing that caused a bit of an uproar among the young Zürich fans this year was Rohrer’s decision to shave his head prior to the season. “The hair thing was mostly a social experiment. It was me and two of my friends and they said ‘You wont do it, you won’t do it.’ I was like ‘okay, let’s just do it and see how it makes me feel’ — a social challenge. The fans wondered what was going on but shouldn’t worry. I got a lot of questions, ‘What’s going on? We like the long hair.’ It’s coming back again, it’s not that long now, but the goal is to get back to the same length. It was more so a social experiment, to see how people would react and how I could deal with it.”
