Childhood Friends Josi, Sbisa Reunited in Nashville with Preds

Luca Sbisa has known Roman Josi longer than most people on the planet.
The two grew up in Switzerland - Nashville's captain is from Bern, and Sbisa from Oberaegeri, although he was born in Italy - and they faced off numerous times in youth tournaments before they became teammates for the first time.
Josi and Sbisa skated together on the Swiss National Team, first as teens at the World Junior Championship and then again once they were professionals at the World Championship.
So, when the Predators claimed the 30-year-old blueliner on Waivers from Winnipeg on Jan. 12, the two were reunited once more, and Sbisa was all too eager to poke some fun at his friend when he addressed the move for the first time.

"Jos was a trouble child," Sbisa said Monday with Josi laughing right beside him. "No, I mean you guys know. He hasn't changed at all, which I think speaks loudly of the personality he has and his character. He was always probably the second-best player growing up after me. Times have changed. But it's nice to be back together. We played against each other a lot [growing up], and then got to spend some time with each other at different international tournaments and stuff like that. So, it's nice to be on the same team and compete for the same thing again."

The addition of Sbisa to the Preds roster isn't the first time Josi has been reunited with a childhood friend in Nashville - fellow countryman Yannick Weber, who spent the past four seasons with the Predators, grew up with Josi and his brother, also named Yannick, in Bern.
Now, with Sbisa in town, Josi has another familiar face to welcome to his adopted home city.
"It's pretty cool," Josi said of Sbisa joining the team. "We were five when we played against each other the first time, and I remember…we would always talk about our teams and they always were talking about Luca Sbisa. He was a forward at that time, a big center, and I think I played forward too, so it was always pretty fun playing against each other. We started to get to know each other a lot better just from playing against each other, and we played together on the national team. He went over to North America pretty early, but we always stayed in touch… and it's definitely a deep friendship. It's pretty special to be on the same team now."
The Predators didn't claim Sbisa just because he's Josi's friend either.
He hasn't cracked the lineup yet, and he knows his role as a veteran on a team with a deep blue line already, but Sbisa is happy to be in Nashville with a team that wants him in the room, and so are those in charge.

"We felt as a group, we do continue to believe that depth is going to be important in this season," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. "He's a big, 6-foot-4 defenseman, he's a left-shot D, he's a very good penalty killer, he can play the off side, he can play the right side, and he's also known as a tremendous character guy and a great teammate. Adding that type of player and person into our group makes us deeper…as we continue to talk about the competitiveness of our lineup, and we felt like it was a good fit."
Whether or not Sbisa will dress for a game with the Preds remains to be seen, but he knows what he has to do to be ready in the meantime. And if nothing else, reuniting with one of his best friends isn't a bad deal either.
"It's been good, it's been exciting, little hectic, to say the least, but no complaints," Sbisa said of joining the Preds. "Lots of excitement joining a new team that's, first of all, competitive. I feel like I'm joining a team that has all the right piece pieces in place to compete for a Stanley Cup, so that's obviously exciting, and then me and Jos go way back…so it's nice to be reunited and spend some time together."