Few players can say they’ve hoisted the Champions Hockey League Cup more than once, and one of those players is Swedish defender, Henrik Tömmernes. As the Karlstad native gears up for his fourth season with Genève-Servette, the defender opens up about his experiences leaving Sweden to play abroad, his goals and the teams’ aspirations for the upcoming season. For Genève-Servette, this will be their first CHL participation since 2015.
Prior to joining Genève-Servette, Tömmernes was a staple player on Frölunda’s roster. In fact, during their 2015/16 campaign, the 6’1” defender would accrue 10 points in 13 CHL games making him the top-scoring defenceman. That year would also be a landmark season for Frölunda, who would narrowly beat Finnish rivals Kärpät Oulu to win the championship. The following season was just as successful for the Indians, who would win nine of their 13 games to lift the trophy for the second time.
Suiting up for 11 out of their 13 games Tömmernes was an integral part of the teams’ success and its leadership group as an “A”. That year he posted three goals and eight assists in 11 games, upping his performance compared to the last season. Ranked sixth for overall points, he was the CHL’s second-highest scoring defencemen, surpassed only by Yannick Rathgeb, who that year posted one more goal while playing for Fribourg-Gottéron.
So, what was the motivation to leave a Championship winning team and head to Genève-Servettte? “I wanted to push myself,” he started, “At the time I knew a lot of teammates playing in other parts of Europe and Russia, and I wanted to try a different league."
"I had heard a lot of good things about Switzerland, so mentally I set up a plan, and a goal to move from Sweden.”Henrik Tömmernes on his move from the Frölunda Indians to Genève-Servette
It wouldn’t be the first major move for Tömmernes who knows all about going outside of his comfort zones. The Swede left Europe as a 23-year-old to join the AHL’s Utica Comets for the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons, before coming back to Europe. How did that experience shape Tömmernes into the player he is today? “You learn a lot about yourself when you move to a new country, with a new language. You have to be strong mentally,” he explained. “Hockey-wise, all the experience you can get is good, and even though I didn’t get any NHL games it was a great experience.”
Closer to home, Tömmernes has acclimatised to his alpine surroundings and talks highly of the quality of Swiss hockey. “Swiss teams are a little different, and I feel their game has changed more, for example, their game can be more open and the tactics are different. At times, the good players can get a little more space, in Sweden there is a lot of tempo and forechecking."
"Overall it's a high tempo in both leagues, and everyone is a good skater.”Henrik Tömmernes on the SHL vs the National League
While Tömmernes is complimentary of the National League, the fans in Geneva reciprocated sentiments of their own, and were abuzz when it became official he would be an eagle until at least the 2022/23 season. Despite the disruption of the pandemic, and the disappointment of not being able to conclude the playoffs, there has been some upside for the 29-year-old, who was able to return to Sweden with his family for the summer and have the honour of becoming a dad for the second time. With daughter number two in tow, the Tömmernes family are happily settled, and it’s clear that the Swede has a soft spot for the Swiss club. “My wife and I made the decision to together to move and they [Genève-Sevette] really take care of us, they treat us really well," he said. "It has been a really good time here and Switzerland is a beautiful country, the culture is similar to Sweden”.
It's not just the club culture that has impressed Tömmernes. “The mix of younger players and older ones makes our team exciting,” he explained. “The team made some changes last year, including some new coaching staff in the youth system. I can see this club is trying to develop their own players, seeing these young guys arrive every day excited, and to enjoy playing, I feel really comfortable seeing the talent developing here.
"When last season ended we were in good shape, we had a good team, we had young guys playing really well, so there was confidence in every game that we played."
“We had a good chance of winning and we are going to work hard to get back to that situation. A big part of the reason why I signed here is that we have the chance to win”.Henrik Tömmernes on Genève-Servette being cup contenders.
Preparation aside, the 29-year-old is just days away from a milestone of his own - his 30th birthday, but he's playing down the occasion. “Turning 30 is big, and I’ll definitely do something, but I haven’t planned much because we don’t know the schedule here, but it's also just a number…as long as I feel good.”
With the new CHL season starting in October, Genève-Servette were drawn against German and CHL first-timers Straubing - a club Tömmernes has no experience against, but will not be underestimating. "I don’t know much about the team, but I know that the German teams are very quick. I will learn more as we get closer to the game,” he said. “As the season approaches, we’ll talk about tactics, focus on getting into skating shape and try to be as prepared as possible. The pre-season games are fun, but it always takes a few games to feel good.”