Marcel Jenni

Jenni was born and raised in Zürich, Switzerland. He started his ice hockey career in 1981, at the age of 7, with EHC Illnau-Effretikon. He made his professional debut in the 1992-1993 season with GC Zürich in the Swiss League. The following season, 1993-1994, Jenni moved up to the Swiss National League A with HC Lugano, with whom he became a champion in the 1999 Swiss National League Championships. During his time in Lugano, he was named as 1997-1998 NLA Forward of the Year.^[1] He enjoyed a great relationship with the fans in Lugano, who wrote a song about Jenni called Fenomeno ("Phenomenon").

Jenni played with HC Lugano until 2000, when he moved to Karlstad, Sweden to play for Färjestad BK in the Swedish Elitserien. During his time in Sweden, he was the Elitserien Playoff Top Scorer in 2001^[2] and became champion for the second time in 2002, in the Swedish Elitserien Championship. In Sweden, too, he was warmly embraced by Färjestad BK fans.

In 2005, Jenni returned to Switzerland to play for the Kloten Flyers. He enjoyed a 10-year run with the Flyers, during which he earned the nickname of "Hockeygott" ("Hockey God").^[3] Jenni ultimately retired in an emotional farewell celebration in October 2015^[4] after a major spinal injury and concussion incurred in an October 2014 game.

His playing career is distinguished both for its longevity (over 1,000 games over the course of 23 years, one of the longest professional ice hockey careers in Swiss history), and for his ability to play multiple positions at the highest level: left wing, center, right wing, and even defense.

After retiring in 2015 from his playing career, Jenni immediately began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the EVZ Academy in Zug, Switzerland, for the team’s inaugural season. In 2017-2018 he was named head coach of the EV Zug U17-Elit team, where he coached three seasons. He coached the team to a silver medal in 2018 and a gold medal in 2019 in the U17-Elit Swiss Championships. The 2020 championship was cancelled due to COVID-19.

Jenni was then selected as head coach for the Switzerland U18 National Team, where he served from 2021 to 2023. The team made the quarter-finals at the IIHF U18 World Championships all three years. In 2023, Jenni moved up as head coach of the Switzerland U20 National Team. He coached the team to the IIHF U20 World Championship quarter finals in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 before retiring from the position. Concurrently in 2023, Jenni began as the assistant coach to Patrick Fischer for the Switzerland Men’s National Ice Hockey Team, which he helped win silver medals in the 2024 and 2025 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championships. Jenni will continue to coach the team in the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan, and in the 2026 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championships, held this year in Switzerland.