Release from 14.09.2023

Online press conference kicked-off 8th Alps Hockey League season

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The eighth season of the Alps Hockey League was kicked-off with an online press conference on Thursday. 16 teams from three different nations will start the new season next Saturday. At the press conference, league newcomer HK RST Pellet Celje was officially welcomed once again. In addition, numerous panel guests and clubs were there to answer questions and great news was presented regarding the livestreaming. Because from this season on, not only all matches can be seen live on the central platform valcome.tv, but there is also a Follow your Team ticket, with which it is possible to watch all matches of one team.

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With seven games the new season of the Alps Hockey League starts on Saturday, September 16th. A total of 16 teams are part of the multinational league. In addition to the 15 teams from last season, a completely new team, the HK RST Pellet Celje, has joined the AHL. At the press conference, Celje head coach Gal Koren, who already played 150 AHL games for Ljubljana as a player, expressed his joy about the league affiliation: "Personally, I am already very excited about the upcoming season. For the club it is a new exciting adventure. We are all eager for the start of the season and for exciting duels against strong international competitors."

"New additions bring Alps Hockey League into the spotlight"
The upcoming season will also see some new names in the Alps Hockey League. First and foremost Rafael Rotter, who signed on with the EC Die Adler Stadtwerke Kitzbühel. The 36-year-old has so far played mainly in the win2day ICE Hockey League with the spusu Vienna Capitals. With the Vienna Capitals, the forward was once champion, and was also once named league MVP. For Board of Governors Chairman Marcello Cobelli, newcomers like Rafael Rotter are enormously important to get the AHL in the spotlight: "The Alps Hockey League has already developed very well in recent years and we are very pleased that better and better players are moving to our league. Thus, the AHL comes into the media and more spectators in the arenas."

No changes to the game mode
There are no changes to the game mode compared to last season. However, all teams have more games again, since 16 instead of 15 teams participate in the Alps Hockey League. In the Regular Season, all teams will therefore play 30 games. Afterwards, a Master and Qualification Round will continue before the last two quarterfinalists will be determined in the Pre-Playoffs. Last season, there Pre-Playoff duels. In the playoffs, all series will again be played in a „best-of-7“ mode. Detailed information about the game mode can be found here.

Fans see Zell am See as favorite for the title
The EK Die Zeller Eisbären received the most votes in the championships survey on the Alps Hockey League's social media outlets. Overall, 25% of all participants believe that the Salzburg team will win the championship this season. The current champion Jesenice is in second place with 20%. For JES captain Gasper Glavic they are one of the big favorites, as he noted at the press conference: "Our goal is clearly to defend the title, but there are some strong teams that surely have something against it." Last year's finalist S.G. Cortina Hafro and last year's semifinalist Red Bull Hockey Juniors finished in third and fourth in the championship survey.

"16 teams doesn't have to be the maximum"
The Board of Governors members are pleased that 16 teams will again participate in the Alps Hockey League this season. However, an additional expansion is not excluded. According to Nicolas Stockhammer, member of the Board of Governors for Austria is flirting with Kapfenberg joining in the next few years. According to Dejan Kontrec, member of the Board of Governors for Slovenia has a possible candidate in the form of Maribor, for example. For an entry into the Alps Hockey League, however, time and, above all, money are needed, which is why this is not to be expected overnight, the BOG members continue.

All games live on valcome.tv
As in previous years, all matches will be available in the livestream this season. What is new, however, is that with valcome.tv there is now only one platform for all games. In addition to the single match for €7.50, all fans have the option of buying a Follow your Team subscription for €99. With this it is possible to watch all home and away matches of one team. "The centralization on one platform was an important step for the Alps Hockey League. So it is possible for us to offer a special Follow your Team subscription. This means that fans can watch all games of their team at an affordable price", explains Alps Hockey League-Managing Director Christian Feichtinger.

Here we offer you numerous videos in which head coaches and players of various teams look ahead to the upcoming season.

How has the preparation for the 2023/24 season been going:


What are the goals for the new season:


What are your personal goals for the new season (players):


How much did the squad change from the previous season:


Which duels/opponents are you most looking forward to: