2025–26 National League (ice hockey) season

Last updated
2025–26 National League season
League National League
Sport Ice hockey
DurationSeptember 09, 2025 – March 09, 2026
Number of games52
Number of teams14
Regular season
Playoffs
National League seasons
2026–27 

The 2025-26 National League season is the 88th season of Swiss professional ice hockey and the eighth season as the National League (NL). The ZSC Lions are the defending champion.

Contents

4 teams from the NL are qualified for 2025-26 Champions Hockey League (CHL), those teams being the ZSC Lions, Lausanne HC, SC Bern, and EV Zug. [1]

The teams did not change from the 2024-25 season as HC Ajoie won the relegation match against EHC Visp, the winner of the Swiss League. [2]

Teams

TeamCityArenaCapacity
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 SWISS 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 Zürich Swiss Life Arena 12,000
EV Zug Zug Bossard Arena 7,200

Standings

During the regular season, teams gain 3 points for a win in regulation time, 2 for a win in overtime, 1 for a loss in overtime, and none for a loss in regulation. The regular season is still in progress, meaning that Playoff / Play-In / Playout qualifications are not final.

PosTeamPldWOTWOTLLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 Lausanne HC 1190024620+2627Advance to Playoffs, Regular season winners and 2026-27 Champions Hockey League qualification
2 HC Davos 1072103918+2126Advance to Playoffs and 2026-27 Champions Hockey League qualification
3 HC Fribourg-Gottéron 1053023622+1421Advance to Playoffs
4 Genève-Servette HC 1060223136520
5 SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers 1061033425+920
6 EV Zug 1041322625+117
7 ZSC Lions 1050232822+617Advance to Play-in
8 EHC Kloten 1131162329612
9 EHC Biel 914042328511
10 SCL Tigers 1022152534911
11 HC Lugano 102026172698
12 SC Bern 921061323108
13 HC Ambrì-Piotta 1020171631157Advance to Playouts
14 HC Ajoie 1010271735185
Updated to match(es) played on October 2, 2025. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points per game 2) greater number of games played 3) greater number of away games played 4) head-to-head points

Postseason

At the end of the regular season, the 6 teams with the most points advance to the playoffs, the next 4 advance to the play-ins for a chance to qualify to the playoffs. The 2 teams with the least point go to the playouts. The loser of the series has to face the winner of the Swiss League and are relegated to the Swiss League if they lose (the winning team being promoted).

Play-in stage

Each round of the play-ins is played in 2 matches, one at each team's home arena, using aggregate scoring (the winner is defined by the total score of the 2 matches). The games are only played on regulation time (no overtime). If the total score at the end of regulation of the second match is even, endless overtime is played. The first game is played at the home arena of the team with the lowest regular season ranking.

In the first round, the 7th seed faces the 8th and the 9th faces the 10th. The winner of the match between the 7th and 8th qualifies for the playoffs. The loser faces the winner of the match between 9th and 10th in the second round. The winner of the second round qualifies for the playoffs. Of the 2 teams qualified, the one with the better regular season ranking faces the second seed in the first round of playoffs. The other team faces the first seed. [3]

Round 1Round 2Final Seeds
7No. 7 Seed
8No. 8 Seed
9
10

Playoffs

The playoffs are played in a single elimination bracket, each round being a best of seven. The seeding is decided based on the regular season ranking. The teams play every other game at their home arena, the team with the higher regular season ranking getting the advantage for the first game.

Quarterfinals (best-of-7) Semifinals (best-of-7) Finals (best-of-7)
         
1  
8  
 
 
2  
7  
 
(Pairings are reseeded after the first round)
 
3  
6  
 
 
4  
5  

Playouts

The 2 teams in the NL with the least regular season point go to the Playouts. They play a 7 game series, the loser of which has to play against the winner of the Swiss League. The loser of this series goes to the Swiss League and the winner to the National League.

Semifinal Final
 
13   
14  

References

  1. "Teams". championshockeyleague.com. 27 August 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  2. "Playouts 2024/25". nationalleague.com. 10 April 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  3. "Tournament rulebook" (in French). Retrieved 3 December 2024.