Josi ready for Switzerland homecoming with Predators against SC Bern

The first time Roman Josi touched the ice as a pro hockey player, he was a 16-year-old defenseman practicing with SC Bern in 2006-07. He had grown up within walking distance of the arena, dreaming of playing for his hometown team in Switzerland's top league, and here he was.

The coach put him on the point on the power play right away.
Raeto Raffainer was on the penalty kill that day, and he was impressed. Josi's shot wasn't that efficient or hard then -- he was a kid competing against men -- but he was calm as he passed the puck through seams to his teammates.
"Normally when young kids are coming up, the puck is fumbling," said Raffainer, who is now the CEO of SC Bern after playing 14 seasons as a forward in Switzerland's top league and holding many executive roles, including general manager of the Swiss national team.
"They're struggling, because they're nervous the first time with the big boys. You need to relax them. 'Everything is fine. Just behave normal. You're fine.'
"And Roman was fine and relaxed right from the start."
Raffainer laughed.
"We saw, 'Oh, this kid is good,'" Raffainer said.
Now the fans in Bern will get a glimpse of just how good Josi has become.
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The Nashville Predators will play SC Bern in an exhibition at PostFinance Arena on Monday (2 p.m. ET; NHLN, BSSO) as part of the 2022 NHL Global Series Challenge, before playing the San Jose Sharks in back-to-back regular-season games in Prague on Friday and Saturday as part of the 2022 NHL Global Series.
Josi won the Norris Trophy voted as the NHL's best defenseman in 2019-20. The Predators captain was runner-up to Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche last season, when he had 96 points (23 goals, 73 assists), the most by an NHL defenseman since Phil Housley had 97 points (18 goals, 79 assists) for the Winnipeg Jets in 1992-93.

The 32-year-old has more assists (402) and points (542) in the NHL than any other player born in Switzerland.
"It feels like our kid is coming home," Raffainer said. "Everybody comes home in the summer, but we don't see them playing, and now Roman comes home and plays for the people. It's fantastic. People are super excited."
Josi is too.
"I do feel I have a special bond with the fans there," Josi said, "because even in Switzerland, it doesn't happen that often that somebody starts playing in Bern at 4 years old and then goes all the way up to make it to the pros in Bern and then [the NHL]. It's really cool to see where it all started and go back there at 32 and play a game."
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Bern, the capital of Switzerland, sits on a bend in the Aare, a river that flows from a glacier in the Alps. Founded in 1191, the city is now the fourth largest in the country with a population of about 144,000.
It is famous for fountains, sandstone facades, covered arcades and narrow streets -- and bears who live in a park on display to the public. Bern means bear. The city flag is a black bear with a long red tongue. SC Bern's logo is a nod to the flag, with the bear's tongue in the shape of a hockey stick.
Among the museums is The Einstein House. You can see the third-floor apartment on Kramgasse in the heart of Old Town, where Albert Einstein lived when he developed the theory of relativity in 1905.
"The Old Town is beautiful," Josi said. "You can walk through the city in 45 minutes, so it's not massive. You can walk everywhere. It's awesome."
Bern is also a hockey town. Schlittschuh Club Bern -- Ice Skating Club Bern, in English -- was founded in 1931, seven years before what is known as the National League today. The team has won 16 National League championships, second to HC Davos (31).
Defenseman Mark Streit grew up in Bern and played 786 NHL games -- the most by a player born in Switzerland -- for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins from 2005-18. He played 32 games for SC Bern during the 2012-13 lockout.
New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier played three seasons in Bern, including 15 games for the top club in 2015-16, before becoming the first Switzerland-born No. 1 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. He and the Devils defeated SC Bern 3-2 in overtime in an exhibition before 17,031 fans at PostFinance Arena on Oct. 1, 2018, in the 2018 NHL Global Series Challenge.
Over the past 20 years, SC Bern has averaged more than 16,000 fans, more than any other team in Europe, Raffainer said. About 9,000 fans chant, sing and wave flags in a standing-room-only section called "The Wall."
"It's like a big wall of people," Josi said. "It's one of the best rinks to play in."
Josi grew up less than 3 kilometers from the arena in a three-bedroom, ground-floor apartment on Forelstrasse in Ostermundigen, a town on the northeast edge of Bern.
His father, Peter, was a soccer player; his mother, Doris, a swimmer; his big brother, Yannick, a hockey player. They'd play soccer, tennis, hockey. They'd drive, bike or walk to the arena area, which has outdoor and indoor ice sheets in addition to the main rink. Doris would be the only mom playing shinny with the boys.

"My mom always said I wanted to play soccer, and the coach was like, 'Why don't you come play hockey? Come play hockey!'" Josi said. "And I said, 'OK, fine. I'll come to practice.' And then I fell in love with the game."
As Josi rose through the youth and junior ranks in Bern, he often went to SC Bern games. Sometimes, he'd go with his mom and dad. Other times, he'd sell Ricola candy before the game to get a free ticket. In junior, he got to practice with SC Bern players and walk into a game next to one.
"That was always a big dream, to be playing for them at some point," Josi said.
* * * * *
Josi's dream came true in 2006-07, when he played three games for SC Bern.
The following summer, he trained with SC Bern to prepare for his first full pro season. On Wednesdays, the conditioning coach would give the players a half-day off to play badminton or tennis. Raffainer, then 25, invited Josi, then 17, to play tennis.
Big mistake.
"I wanted to be a nice guy and play with the young kid, and he just gave me no chance," Raffainer said, laughing. "You saw right away, even that game, how he reads it, what kind of hands, what kind of technique he has. You saw how talented in everything he was already back then."

After Josi had eight points (two goals, six assists) in 35 games for SC Bern in 2007-08, the Predators selected him in the second round (No. 38) of the 2008 NHL Draft.
Josi played against an NHL team for the first time at PostFinance Arena on Sept. 30, 2008, when the New York Rangers visited Bern for an exhibition.
"It was really cool, just seeing an NHL team," Josi said. "It was the first time I saw an NHL practice, and then playing against them was awesome. We lost 8-1, but it was still fun."
Josi had 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists) in 42 games in 2008-09, then 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 26 games in 2009-10. SC Bern won the National League championship.
When Josi turned 20, it was time to come to North America.
He had 40 points (six goals, 34 assists) in 69 games for Milwaukee of the American Hockey League in 2010-11. He made it to the NHL in 2011-12, playing most of the season with Nashville and producing 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 52 games.
In 2012-13, Josi went back to SC Bern during the NHL lockout. He had 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 26 games before the lockout ended and he returned to Nashville.
That was the last time some of his family, friends and fans saw him play in person, including his paternal grandmother, Lydia. They have had to follow him from afar over the past 11 seasons, celebrating his accomplishments: the Stanley Cup Final in 2017, the Predators captaincy a few months later, the Norris, the 96-point season.
"We have Nashville jerseys at our home games, so this is like the second jersey," Raffainer said. "There are a lot of Roman Josi jerseys."
The fans appreciate Josi's loyalty and humility.
Josi has played for Switzerland in one Olympics (2014) and seven IIHF World Championships (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018). He and Streit bought equity stakes in SC Bern in 2020. Streit sits on the board of directors; Josi's father sits on the board in Josi's place while he plays in the NHL.
Together with Predators forward Nino Niederreiter, whose 181 NHL goals are the most by a player born in Switzerland, Josi is scheduled to speak to the media before practice in Bern on Sunday. All Nashville players are expected to participate in an on-ice clinic for local youth players after practice that day. Josi has invited his junior coaches to the game Monday.
"People and fans, [Josi] just treats everybody the same," Raffainer said. "I just like the way when he moves around Bern, how friendly he is and how he takes time for the kids and the people.
"This is him. This is Nino. This is Hischier, Streit. They are superstars in the NHL, and when they come back to Switzerland, they're just kids from us, and this makes them very special."