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Ice hockey season is fast approaching! With the start of the ICE Hockey League on September 25 (on the LIVE ticker), the domestic league is entering a new era after the Corona crisis prevented the end of the final EBEL season and thus the prevent a master freestyle.
Due to adverse circumstances, some of the clubs involved in the target hunt have also come forward with a new face.
Bernd Freimüller, LAOLA1 Expert takes all teams under the microscope in their traditional seasonal preview. Both of them Black wings 1992 – recently without the addition of “Linz” to the name – there was a wild offseason with a split from a competing club. The behind-the-scenes fight is over, now the fight must be fought on ice. With a not uninteresting troop, but they cannot necessarily be considered aspiring to the top positions.
That should work
After the small discrepancies of the summer, hardly worth mentioning, the disposition of the team emerged late. In any case, it doesn’t come down: seven defenders and thirteen forwards should definitely be a fit for the league. “Eclectic” is the word I would use for the list, but quantitatively it should work.
Brian Lebler, Dragan Umicevic (they should have trained well, which should calm you down) and returnees Andrew Kozek should remain above average offensive forces for our league, Andreas Kristler and Stefan Gaffal local forces recovering from injuries (Kristler) o They have increased over the years (Gaffal). That already results in a useful core that newcomers should join. In any case, depth players will not be lacking.
Despite his 39 years, Juha-Pekka Hytönen has the reputation of being a model athlete as well as an absolute leader. He’s considered a top penalty killer, but the Black Wings hope that with the proper power play time (which he’ll also get as a top-6 snap) he can call up the corresponding scorer numbers as well. Of his 16 preseason goals at JYP, none came from a power game. Will Pelletier could be a good addition as a second center for the top lines, once he’s gotten over his concussions – Small and agile, these players are usually well received in our league. So yin and yang maybe in the top two central positions – two different types of players (a workhorse and a vole with good hands) for different demands. Hytönen should initially center Lebler and Umicevic, but that could change for speed reasons.
That could work
A return to the good old days or a desperate attempt to heat up the stale? Neo-manager Gregor Baumgartner brought in Sebastien Piche, Marc-Andre Dorion and Andrew Kozek at once. Kozek was also a goalkeeper in Klagenfurt (but does he have a squad in Linz?), That should work. But Piche lost all his offense on the road between Linz and the Czech Republic, will he be able to find it again? Without him, almost any power play influence is missing from the blue line. Without Linz’s offer, Dorion would have had to hire in France or Norway, the last two years have been very weak. There is a lot of hope in these payback campaigns …
Charles-David Beaudoin and Niklas Tikkinen should be solid defenders with few ups and downs. Andrew Nielsen is an interesting case, whose commitment could go both ways: coming from the juniors a man for the power play, but in the end a pure defensive defender, whose lack of footwork resulted in many penalties, Calgary had seen enough. of the. He seems to see himself as a tough guy in Linz, players like that rarely have long lives in our league. If he can develop a goal risk on the power play from the middle of the left wall, that would probably help Linz’s defense more. If he and Piche don’t meet, Josh Roach (retired) will be lost even more than he already was.
In Linz it often happened that the first goalkeeper (Michael Ouzas) was outmatched for lack of alternatives. Now with David Kickert and Luka Gracnar there are two capable goalies ready, I imagine a 70:30 division of labor in favor of Kickert. However: Kickert finally has to prove that he can maintain his performance throughout the season, Gracnar was also anything but a superior man in Norway, his restless style was never my cup of tea. Are those two or just two goalkeepers 1B?
As head coach at Innsbruck and Krefeld, Pierre Beaulieu had the thankless task of taking over teams in December that he could only manage but could no longer turn around. He is now primarily responsible for the gang at the start of a season for the first time. He is intelligent, eloquent, speaks German and English and knows the league with all its quirks. Their engagement made more sense than that of an entirely new man. Can you put your stamp on the team or have you inherited another troublesome project with Linz that doesn’t help you on your CV?
The potential problem
I don’t remember a summer for an EBEL team that was more marked by discussions. What began as a difference of opinion between the main characters, President Peter Freunschlag and GM Christian Perthaler, degenerated into a month-long mud fight, which made an episode of the jungle camp seem like “Dear Family.” Vice presidents, player agents, ex-coaches and the city of Linz got involved in front and behind the scenes, the local media were still fanning the fire with enthusiasm, suddenly a second club from Linz was there, but the league clubs did it they rejected. Even after that, there was almost no calm, after all, Baumgartner was able to put together a team once and there were teams that started their preparations later. Will there be peace this year in Linz (banned in the name of the club)?
When an organization is split in half like the Black Wings, that is a problem even in normal times. Combined with Corona, which is currently reaching an earlier audience like Linz, this can only have a dramatic financial effect. Even if the team has become cheaper again, does the game, in which a farm team also participates, play out throughout the season without financial problems? It’s hard to believe in …
Where could it be modernized?
The team now needs some time to bake, and follow-up obligations shouldn’t be considered so quickly. Not all new ones will attack, but I also don’t expect brutal failures …
The persective
A direct top-5 ranking would almost be a sensation, but the direct route to the playoffs hasn’t been a sure hit even recently. In the hope that anything is possible …
Text as: © LAOLA1.at
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