Release from 03.05.2023

Oliver David new head coach in Salzburg

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The new head coach of EC Red Bull Salzburg is Oliver David. The 44-year-old American was assistant coach at Swiss top league club EHC Biel-Bienne in the last two seasons and also led the team as interim head coach in two games during the playoff phase. For David it is after Switzerland only the second European station as a coach, for the first time he takes over a pro team as head coach. In addition, HC TIWAG Innsbruck announced the signing of center Adam Rockwood.

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Oliver David's coaching career began in the NAHL (North American Hockey League), a junior league in the United States. From 2013 to 2021, interrupted only by a 2016/17 WHL season in Portland, he was on the bench in the USHL (United States Hockey League) with the Dubuque Fighting Saints, where he was also named Coach of the Year in the 2019/20 season. In the 2021/22 season, David took a coaching position in Europe for the first time, overseeing the EHC Biel-Bienne team in the Swiss National League for two seasons as assistant coach. In the most recent playoff phase of the championship - Biel lost 1:4 in the seventh final game in Geneva - he replaced head coach Antti Törmänen, who was temporarily out of action due to health problems, on the bench in two games. In Salzburg, the father of two children succeeds Matt McIlvane, who has wielded the coaching scepter in Salzburg for the past four years, in his second European posting, and enters the new season side by side with the existing coaching team of Ben Cooper, Daniel Petersson (assistant coaches) and Markus Kerschbaumer (goalie coach) as the defending champions.

Oliver David, Head Coach EC Red Bull Salzburg: "Already five years ago, when I was still working in Dubuque, I had a first contact with the Red Bulls and the Red Bull Ice Hockey Academy. I wanted to learn from the academy at that time because we built something similar in Dubuque. Since then I was very interested in the Red Bulls and followed the development of the academy and the professional team. Now I was all the more pleased to receive the offer from the Red Bulls and I want to continue what has been built there in recent years. I know the history of the club and see myself as part of the team, which already exists to a large extent. I want to learn from the club and its history, but also bring my own ideas and experience to the table. The Red Bulls want to win and develop and I want to play my part in that. It's a big challenge, but one I'm really looking forward to."

Innsbruck signs new center
HC TIWAG Innsbruck announced the signing of Adam Rockwood. The 27-year-old Canadian last played successfully for Allsvenskan club AIK and recorded 48 points from 56 games - he was one of the best assist providers in the entire league in the Regular Season. After stations in Sweden, Finland and Slovakia, the center now moves to the win2day ICE Hockey League. "I am very excited and very happy that it worked out with the Sharks. I can hardly wait to come to Tyrol. I've heard nothing but good things about the organization, the coaches, the environment, the fans and the city," Rockwood said.