Release from 10.05.2025

New additions in Villach and Bruneck

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EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV and HC Pustertal have strengthened their roster with North American forwards. While Villach signed the 30-year-old American Nick Hutchison, Pustertal signed the 31-year-old Canadian JP Lipon. Both players were given two-year contracts.

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Nick Hutchison, who played his first professional seasons in the Pittsburgh Penguins' farm system in the ECHL and AHL after playing college hockey in the US, made the leap across the Atlantic in 2023 and played his first season in Europe in Sweden's second-highest league, the Allsvenskan, with Västeras IK, scoring 13 goals in 27 games and assisting on two others.

After returning to the ECHL for a stint as captain of the Wheeling Nailers - the farm team of the Pittsburgh Penguins - he wanted to return to Europe and signed with EV Landshut in the second German league before Christmas for the remainder of the 2024-25 season. In Landshut, “Hutch” impressed with his physical presence, his drive to the goal and his leadership qualities on the ice. In half a season in Bavaria, the right winger collected an impressive 33 scoring points (15 goals, 18 assists) in 28 games and was regarded as one of the dominant power forwards.

Pustertal signs NHL and KHL-experienced player
The 31-year-old JC Lipon was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in 2013, played nine NHL games for the Jets and made a name for himself on the Jets' farm teams in the AHL, the St. John's IceCaps and the Manitoba Moose (for five years), before moving to Europe for the first time in 2020. In the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons, he played in both the Russian KHL (Riga, Sochi, Novosibirsk) and the Swedish SHL (Oskarshamn).

In the last three years, Lipon played for the Straubing Tigers in the DEL. As a powerful, dynamic winger, he scored 113 points in 173 games, including Champions Hockey League and Spengler Cup appearances.