Kevin Fiala Talks Olympics, Pride in Playing for Switzerland

In a tournament like the Olympics, every edge helps.

For Team Switzerland, their edge could come down to chemistry.

Switzerland has fewer high-end NHL players than say Canada or the United States. Unlike most of the larger countries, however, when it comes to the World Championships, Swiss players show up just about every year they have the opportunity to.

“We’re very tight, that’s why I’ve been at World Championships, when I can go, I go,” Kings forward Kevin Fiala said. “I don’t know how many I had, but I’ve had a few and the majority of the team is the same. There’s some small changes every year, here and there, with injuries, playoffs and roster changes, but we all know each other and we love each other. It’s really like a family, so it’s always exciting to see each other and compete with each other, to go to the main goal.”

Fiala was among the first six players announced to play at the 2026 Winter Olympics next month, with the entire roster formally announced last week.

For Fiala, the tournament in Milan will be his opportunity to represent Switzerland in a best-on-best format. In last year’s 4 Nations Faceoff, Switzerland was not ranked highly enough to compete, though they have since risen into the top four in the world based on their recent performances at the World Championships.

Worlds are an interesting competition. It is not best-on-best, as it occurs during the latter stages of the NHL playoffs. However, for nations like Switzerland, there remains a ton of pride in competing.

“I’m always proud to put that jersey on, it’s an honor to play for the country,” Fiala said. “It’s always very fun. The Olympics, I’ve never been there before, so it’s going to be a special one.”

In 2024, Fiala was a late arrival but he led Switzerland to the gold-medal game, where they fell by a 2-0 final against Czechia. Fiala collected 13 points in eight games played and was selected as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, while also being named to the All-Tournament Team. He finished as the tournament’s second-leading scorer in total. Last spring, Fiala once again helped lead Switzerland to the final game but came up just short once again, this time against the United States, giving Fiala his second consecutive silver medal.

The pair of silver medals matched the best tournament Switzerland has ever had in the World Championships. Since 1953, Switzerland has medaled just four times in total, all coming from second-place finishes. Fiala has been involved on three of those teams, also winning silver in 2018.

At the Olympic level, the country has just two ever medals, none since 1948. They’ve never played for a medal since that time either. And that’s the one that really matters for the players, since it’s a best-on-best setting. Any chance to wear the flag is special, as Fiala made clear. But the Olympics just hits differently.

“I’m very excited, it’s a dream come true,” Fiala said of playing in the Olympics. “I’ve always wanted to participate in the Olympics, so I’m very, very excited.”

While Switzerland has regularly been a quarterfinals participant, Fiala is a part of perhaps the best team the country has ever sent. In 2006, Switzerland defeated Canada and Czechia in the opening round but were eliminated by Sweden, who went on to win the gold medal. They pushed Canada to a shootout in 2010 and again beat Czechia in 2014. Those teams did their country proud. But they weren’t teams like this.

Led by Fiala, Switzerland will be represented by 10 NHL players at this season’s tournament. Also included are New Jersey forwards Nico Hischier and Timo Meier, Winnipeg forward Nino Neiderreiter, Nashville defenseman Roman Josi and Tampa Bay blueliner J.J. Moser. All higher-end players in the league. And, unlike many of the teams playing in this tournament, all of those players have played in at least one of the last two World Championships, as a part of the core of Swiss talent.

“Whenever we can go, we go, it’s a big thing in Switzerland,” Fiala said. “We really enjoy playing with each other, we love each other, it’s a big family and we’ve known each other for a while now, we’ve done it for quite a long time. It’s always fun to go back and to compete with each other and try to win.”

For Fiala and his international teammates, the tournament will include an early matchup against Team Canada. That means Fiala could go up against Drew Doughty and Darcy Kuemper, his teammates in Los Angeles.

It’s one of the rare chances for those players to play against each other, rare in the NHL, when these tournaments come so seldomly. Something Fiala is looking forward to, certainly.

“It will be a lot of fun, obviously their team is very strong, so it will be fun to see where we stand and to play against those two guys, that’s very exciting.”

Beyond just the games, the Olympics are an experience.

Fiala grew up and watched the 2006 team as a kid. It wasn’t just hockey, though. He’s always been a fan of the Olympics, especially the Winter Games, taking in other sports alongside hockey as well.

He has memories of watching the Swiss national hockey team in those tournaments, but enjoys watching other athletes from Switzerland compete and try to find success in other sports. While his primary focus in Italy will be on the ice, he’s also got eyes on curling and skiing, although as he noted, the skiing is in a different area than the hockey. Still, it’ll be an experience for Fiala and his family that he’s keen to take in, in more ways than one.

“Olympics is just something that a lot of people watch and for me, I love watching it, not just hockey, but overall, it’s just a great atmosphere,” he added. “I’ll be excited to see some other sports as well, see our country participate in other sports, that’ll be so great.”

However it shakes out, expect Fiala to enjoy the ride. He’ll play a key part of the quest for a medal, the first in so long for Team Switzerland if they’re able to get it there. If they are, perhaps the chemistry that Switzerland has put together over the last few years is something that can bring the collective greater than the sum of his parts.