You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.
2026-27 NLA Preview
We head into the 89th season of the Swiss League, which is the tenth as the National League (NLA).
The HC Fribourg-Gottéron head in as defending champions; they won their maiden title last season after previously finishing runner-up five times.
The question is, can they successfully defend that title? In the history of this league, eight first-time winners also went on to win the title the following season.
The most successful team, HC Davos, will be desperate to put an end to their wait. With 31 league titles, they have not won one since 2015; they made their first final since then in 2026.
The teams for the 2026-27 season will remain as they were for the previous season because HC Sierre, who won the lower league, did not apply for promotion, so HC Ajoie, who should have been relegated, stay in the league.
Best Ice Hockey Betting Sites UK
How often do Favourites win in NLA?
How do the Favourites Compare?
The Swiss league is at the mid-point for winning favourites in the leagues we have focused on, with 62.40% of favourites successful, which means only roughly 4 in every 10 underdogs are successful.
- French Ligue Magnus: 69.45%
- British Elite League: 66.26%
- Danish Metal Ligaen: 65.16%
- Austrian EHL: 64.03%
- Russian KHL: 63.55%
- Swiss NLA: 62.40%
- Czech Extraliga: 62.05%
- USA NHL: 61.93%
- Slovakian Extraliga: 61.83%
- German DEL: 61.33%
- Finnish SM Liiga: 61.29%
- Swedish SHL: 58.51%
Which teams are the most and least reliable?
The most reliable team when it comes to favourites in the National League over the past five seasons is Zurich. They have a win rate of 66.67% when priced up by the bookmakers as favourites with 288 wins from a total of 432 games.
At the other end of the scale is Jona with a win rate of 39.39%. That has come from 33 games producing 13 wins; they are maybe the team in this league to avoid when they are priced up as favourites.
National League Favourite Statistics by Season
| 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Favs | 68.50% | 59.74% | 62.76% | 66.25% | 63.01% |
| Away Favs | 67.16% | 54.31% | 57.35% | 48.47% | 63.16% |
| Overall Favs | 68.13% | 58.23% | 61.42% | 62.10% | 63.04% |
*Favourite statistics only include regular-season games
Past NLA Regular Season Winners
Of late, the regular season winners have a great record in the playoffs. Excluding the 2019-20 season, when the playoffs did not take place, five of the last seven regular-season winners have gone on to be crowned NLA Champions!
Here are the last ten regular-season champions and how they went on to perform in the playoffs.
| Season | Team (Points) | Playoff Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | HC Davos (117) | Lost in Final |
| 2024-25 | Lausanne HC (97) | Lost in Final |
| 2023–24 | ZSC Lions (109) | NLA Champions |
| 2022–23 | Genève-Servette HC (101) | NLA Champions |
| 2021–22 | EV Zug (100) | NLA Champions |
| 2020–21 | EV Zug (119) | NLA Champions |
| 2019–20 | ZSC Lions (91) | Playoffs not completed |
| 2018–19 | SC Bern (101) | NLA Champions |
| 2017–18 | SC Bern (102) | Lost in Semi-Finals |
| 2016–17 | SC Bern (109) | NLA Champions |
Past NLA Champions
HC Davos are by some distance the most successful team in the Swiss NLA with a total of 31 titles to their name, although they have not won one since 2015.
The closest team to them is SC Bern, who have won 16 titles, some 15 behind HC Davos, and only one other team is in the double-digits, with ZSC Lions picking up 11 titles.
Here are the last ten NLA Champions
| Year | Champions | Series | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | HC Fribourg-Gottéron | 4-3 | HC Davos |
| 2024-25 | ZSC Lions | 4-1 | Lausanne HC |
| 2023-24 | ZSC Lions | 4-3 | Lausanne HC |
| 2022-23 | Genève-Servette HC | 4-3 | EHC Biel |
| 2021-22 | EV Zug | 4-3 | ZSC Lions |
| 2020-21 | EV Zug | 3-0 | Genève-Servette HC |
| 2019-20 | No competition | ||
| 2018-19 | SC Bern | 4-1 | EV Zug |
| 2017-18 | ZSC Lions | 4-3 | HC Lugano |
| 2016-17 | SC Bern | 4-2 | EV Zug |
2025-26 Playoff Bracket
Swiss National League Teams
2026-27 Teams in the NLA
| Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| HC Ajoie | Porrentruy | Raiffeisen Arena | 5,078 |
| HC Ambrì-Piotta | Ambrì | Gottardo Arena | 6,775 |
| SC Bern | Bern | PostFinance Arena | 17,031 |
| EHC Biel | Biel/Bienne | Tissot Arena | 6,562 |
| HC Davos | Davos | Eisstadion Davos | 6,547 |
| Fribourg-Gottéron | Fribourg | BCF Arena | 9,075 |
| Genève-Servette HC | Geneva | Patinoire des Vernets | 7,135 |
| EHC Kloten | Kloten | Stimo Arena | 7,624 |
| Lausanne HC | Lausanne | Vaudoise Aréna | 9,600 |
| HC Lugano | Lugano | Cornèr Arena | 7,800 |
| SCL Tigers | Langnau im Emmental | Ilfis Stadium | 6,000 |
| SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers | Rapperswil | St. Galler Kantonalbank Arena | 6,100 |
| ZSC Lions | ZĂĽrich | Swiss Life Arena | 12,000 |
| EV Zug | Zug | Bossard Arena | 7,200 |
Author Information
Andy Powell manages this Swiss National League (NLA) Preview & Betting Guide and other hockey content in this section of the site, as well as the Ice Hockey Tipsters in the OLBG tipster competition, in his role in the OLBG Expert Team. Andy meticulously updates the date and results for these pieces and is an erstwhile Penguins fan in the NHL. He provides Ice Hockey betting advice in our bookmaker reviews, as well as providing a huge contribution to the Best Ice Hockey Betting Sites Guide.
Andy Powell
Expert Guide
Other Ice Hockey Blogs
Here are the other ice hockey tournaments that we have looked at in blogs:
