Release from 30.11.2023

New generation: ICE teams rely on youngest head coaches in European comparison

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A new chapter has been written in the win2day ICE Hockey League since the current season, but at the latest since Marcel Rodman replaced the experienced head coach Rob Daum at EC iDM Wärmepumpen VSV. With an average age of 45.4 years for head coaches, the teams are setting a remarkable trend. The win2day ICE Hockey League presents itself as a league in which the young head coaches want to shape a fresh and modern style of play.

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If you compare the age structure of the head coaches with other top European leagues, it becomes clear that the win2day ICE Hockey League has the youngest coaches in its ranks. With an average age of 45.4 years and a median (mean) of 43 years, it leads the field. In comparison, the Finnish "Liiga", the "second youngest" league, has an average of 45.8 years and a median of 44 years. The Danish "Metal Ligaen", on the other hand, is the league with the most experienced head coaches, with an average age of 51.7 and a mean age of 55.

Almost a third of ICE teams have coaches under the age of 40

A closer look at the individual teams in the win2day ICE Hockey League illustrates the path taken. An impressive four out of 13 teams have coaches under the age of 40 on the coaching bench, which corresponds to almost a third of the league. This figure is not only the highest in absolute terms, but also as a percentage compared to other top leagues. A total of ten head coaches in the win2day ICE Hockey League are under 50 years old, which corresponds to more than three quarters of the coaches. Only the Finnish "Liiga", in which eleven head coaches under the age of 50 are under contract, has a higher absolute figure. However, the relative proportion of coaches who have not yet reached the age of half a century (77%) is nowhere as high as in the win2day ICE Hockey League.

David Kiss of Hydro Fehérvár AV19 is the youngest head coach in the league at the age of 33. He is followed by Christian Dolezal from the spusu Vienna Capitals (37), Mitch O'Keefe from HC TIGWAG Innsbruck and Dylan Stanley from the BEMER Pioneers Vorarlberg (both 39). However, David Kiss is "only" the fourth youngest head coach in a top European league. Lørenskog (DEN) with 29-year-old Niklas Andresen, HC Lugano (SUI) with 30-year-old Luca Gianinazzi and Manchester Storm (UK) with 32-year-old Matt Gin have even younger head coaches.

Bolzano and Asiago rely on routine

Even if the youngsters are currently dominating the league, the experienced coaches still have their place. Migross Supermercati Asiago Hockey and HCB Südtirol Alperia in particular have opted for experienced coaches. Asiago has been relying for several years on "Hall-of-Famer" Tom Barrasso (58), who is still in his prime as a coach and is in good company compared to the top European leagues. At 66, Glen Hanlon from HCB Südtirol Alperia is the oldest head coach in the win2day ICE Hockey League - but by no means the oldest coach of a team in Europe. At 70, Tom Coolen of the Five Flyers in the Elite League (Scotland, UK) is the oldest head coach in a top European league.