Release from 06.05.2024

New Caps-Coach | Important contract extensions in Linz and Klagenfurt

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Gerry Fleming is the new head coach of the spusu Vienna Capitals. The 56-year-old Canadian was head coach of the Swiss first division team EHC Kloten last season. The Steinbach Black Wings Linz and the EC KAC have made important decisions for the upcoming season: The Upper Austrians have signed their top scorer Graham Knott (24 goals, 35 assists) to a two-year contract. The EC KAC has reached an agreement with the entire coaching staff to continue their successful collaboration. Head coach Kirk Furey, assistant coach David Fischer and goaltending coach Andrej Hočevar will all remain in Klagenfurt until at least 2026.

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Gerry Fleming is the new head coach of the Caps.

Born in Montreal, Gerry Fleming began his coaching career after retiring as a player in 1998. He started as an assistant coach with the Fredericton Canadiens in the AHL. In the 2000/01 season, he became the head coach of the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks in the ECHL. He then spent seven years as the head coach of the Florida Everblades, making it to the Kelly Cup Finals twice. In 2008/09, he returned to the AHL with the Springfield Falcons as an assistant coach, and later moved on to the Oklahoma City Barons. He was promoted to head coach there for the 2014/15 season and followed the team to Bakersfield.

From 2018 to 2019, Fleming served as an assistant coach with Eisbären Berlin under Serge Aubin, contributing to a DEL championship. He then returned to the ECHL for a season as the head coach of the Iowa Heartlanders. In the 2022/23 season, he took over the Löwen Frankfurt in the DEL and led them to the postseason, marking their best finish in DEL history. He subsequently moved to Switzerland to coach EHC Kloten.

The Capitals' assistant coaches, Fabian Scholz and Bernhard Starkbaum, complete the coaching staff. Starkbaum has been with the team since last season, and Scholz joined in October 2023. Both will continue their roles under Fleming.

Gerry Fleming: "The spusu Vienna Capitals are a fantastic organization with great people and a lot of potential. There is a plan to evolve and bring a strong team to the ice. When the opportunity arose to become the head coach of the Caps, there were too many good reasons to pass up. Vienna is a wonderful city with a great fan base. I can't wait to get started. I haven't had any contact with Serge Aubin lately since I didn't want to disturb him during the playoffs, but when we were together in Berlin, he and his assistant Craig Streu only had good things to say about the organization, the city, and the fans."

Graham Knott extended contract in Linz

The 27-year-old Graham Knott was the be-all and end-all in the Upper Austrian team's offense last season and put on a spectacular show in the win2day ICE Hockey League, especially in the first half of the season. Four goals in one game and a "between the legs" goal while shorthanded are just a small excerpt from 59 scoring points in 50 appearances.

Graham Knott moved from the American Hockey League to Linz in the summer of 2022. Before his first stint in Europe, the Canadian had hopes of playing in the NHL. in 2015, the forward was drafted 54th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks. Although he has yet to play in the best league in the world, the left-shooter has played more than 200 times for the Rockford IceHogs, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Milwaukee Admirals in the American Hockey League. In addition, the 2017 Memorial Cup winner was on the ice in almost 100 games in the ECHL.

Graham Knott: "Starting with the management, the coaches, the players and the city of Linz. It feels like my home. It was a very easy decision for me. I will work hard on myself in the summer to get even better in all aspects. Even faster and even stronger. I'll be back!"

KAC extends long-term contract with coaching staff

Kirk Furey and David Fischer, both of whom once came to Klagenfurt as players, will continue to form the EC-KAC coaching duo in the coming season. The Head Coach and Assistant Coach have extended their contracts with the KAC until the end of the 2025/26 season. Goaltending coach Andrej Hočevar, the third pillar of the red-and-white coaching staff, had already committed to the club for the same duration.

Kirk Furey and David Fischer were given the task of taking over the sporting leadership of the EC-KAC a good ten months ago. In the past season, the KAC finished the regular season of the win2day ICE Hockey League in first place for the first time in 13 years, the team recorded its highest regular season points average in 23 years and ultimately only narrowly missed out on the championship title in the playoffs - losing in the seventh and deciding final game. A total of 44 wins in 65 league games resulted in a winning percentage of 67.7 percent: Of all the Klagenfurt coaches who worked at least one full season at the club, Dieter Kalt Sr. - head coach between 1975 and 1978 - was the last to record a higher percentage.

Oliver Pilloni, General Manager of the EC-KAC: "In a long recruitment process in the first half of 2023, Kirk Furey and David Fischer ultimately emerged as the candidates we thought were most likely to achieve the goals we had set ourselves - both in terms of playing culture and results. This assessment proved to be absolutely right in the past season, we are very satisfied with how the two have been able to shape the sporting development of the team, and the outstanding spectator numbers prove that the way the EC-KAC plays ice hockey is also perceived very positively overall. We want to continue on this path over the next two years, so we are very happy to be able to continue working with our coaching staff, who are so deeply rooted in Klagenfurt and our club. Together we want to build on what we have achieved and at the same time rejuvenate our team.