Release from 29.07.2022

Bolzano strengthens with US-American Hults

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Mitch Hults is back in the win2day ICE Hockey League. The 27-year-old US-American, who was under contract in Bratislava in 2020/21 (49 points), signed on with the HCB Südtirol Alperia for the coming season. In the past season, the forward was active in the Finnish Liiga for HC TPS in Turku (24 points).

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After years with youth and university teams, Hults made his American Hockey League debut in the 2016/17 season in the San Diego Gulls jersey. In subsequent years, he bounced back and forth between the AHL (with a total of 84 appearances and 36 points) and ECHL (83 games, 67 points). However, his definitive confirmation came in Europe: in 2020 he moved to the win2day ICE Hockey League to the Bratislava Capitals, where he scored 49 points in 55 games and failed with his team in the quarterfinals just against Bolzano. In the regular season he was among the top ten scorers in the league. Last year he moved to the Finnish Liiga, where he played together with Juraj Slafkovsky (first pick in the 2022 NHL draft) in the jersey of TPS, scoring 26 points in 65 appearances in the Champions Hockey League and the championship, losing with his team only in the championship final to Tappara.

"I already had the opportunity to get to know Bolzano two years ago with Bratislava on the occasion of the quarterfinals," explains Hults, "I was immediately taken with the city and the surroundings. Beforehand, I had a lengthy conversation with Coach Glen Hanlon, his take on hockey excited me, so I had no doubts about embarking on this new adventure. We are a strong team with many successful personalities: we have to grow together as a group and only then we can go far." Finally, the American center talks about his experience in Finland: "This has helped me a lot, because there is a different concept of hockey there and I have developed into a "two-way" center: I have learned to support my team also in the defensive phase. I'm looking forward to making my debut in front of the white and red fans: I love the support of the fans in Europe and I know that Bolzano is a ‚hot‘ place".