Goaltender Swap Between HCL and GSHC

Goaltending swap between Hockey Club Lugano and Genève-Servette

Joren Van Pottelberghe joins the Grenats with immediate effect, while Robert Mayer moves to the Cornèr Arena.

HCL announces that it has reached an agreement with GSHC for the loan of goaltender Robert Mayer until the end of the 2026/27 season. At the same time, Joren Van Pottelberghe moves in the opposite direction under the same contractual terms.

Born on 9 October 1989 in Havířov, Czech Republic, and holding both Swiss and Czech citizenship, Robert Mayer developed through the junior systems of HC Chur and subsequently Kloten. From 2008 to 2014, he spent an extended period in North America, where he played in QMJHL, ECHL and AHL.

Since 2014, except for two seasons spent respectively in Davos and Langnau, Mayer has worn the colors of Genève-Servette throughout his career, making a total of 397 National League appearances.

In the 2022/23 season, the new Bianconeri goaltender was crowned Swiss champion with Genève-Servette. He played 15 playoff games, was named postseason MVP and won the Jacques Plante Trophy awarded to the league’s best goaltender. Another career highlight came in the 2023/24 season, when he helped the Grenats win the Champions Hockey League (CHL).

With the Swiss national team, Mayer represented his country at the U18 and U20 World Championships at junior level and went on to participate in three World Championships with the senior national team (2016, 2019 and 2023).

So far this season, Mayer has made five appearances, two in the National League and three in the CHL, including Tuesday evening’s game in Växjö, Sweden.

The Bianconeri organization would like to take this opportunity to thank Joren Van Pottelberghe and wish him every success in his professional career and personal life. The 29-year-old goaltender from Zug joined Lugano in the summer of 2024 and, just a few months later, suffered a serious injury. In total, Van Pottelberghe made 23 National League appearances for HCL.

Bianconeri General Manager Janick Steinmann had the following to say:

“First of all, I want to thank Joren for his time in Lugano. He came here two years ago and had a tough injury to start his journey with us. He fought his way back and that deserves a lot of credit to him. I wish him only best of luck with his new chapter and challenge in Geneva. We decided to sign Robert Mayer for the rest of the season. He is very determined and excited to wear the HCL uniform. He has a lot of experience in this League and proved many times that he can play on top level in Switzerland”.