Release from 30.12.2021

Only one of four coaching replacements brought improvement

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Only one of four coaching replacements brought improvement

Twenty different head coaches led the 13 teams into games in the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League this season. While nine teams have relied on the same coach throughout, Steinbach Black Wings Linz, HC Tesla Orli Znojmo, HCB Südtirol Alperia and HC Pustertal Wölfe got new input from outside during the season. Only in the case of the league newcomers from South Tyrol has the change of coach been crowned with success - clearly.


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HC Pustertal started a new era at the beginning of the season with Luciano Basilie. However, the initial euphoria of the league newcomer in the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League was quickly dampened. After 16 games, the Wolves were in second-to-last place with a point average of 0.750. Only the Steinbach Black Wings Linz captured even fewer points in the same period under Dan Ceman. Both the South Tyroleans and the Upper Austrians took action at virtually the same time and parted ways with their coaches.

Successful "Move" of the Wolves

For HC Pustertal, this was obviously the right decision from a sporting point of view. First, Assistant Coach Matej Hocevar took over, who in his only game as Head Coach in the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League recorded a 3:2 victory over the Moser Medical Graz99ers. This also makes Hocevar the only undefeated head coach this season. After that, the management made a real stroke of luck with Finnish hockey legend Raimo Helminen. From mid-November to December 28, the 57-year-old Pustertal coach posted a point average of 1.857 in 14 games - only RBS coach Matt McIlvane scored an higher average this season.

Emergency stop of the Black Wings remained unsuccessful

The Steinbach Black Wings Linz pulled the emergency brake on November 1 from the last place in the standings and fired Dan Ceman with a point average of 0.733. Assistant coach Mark Szücs took over for him and brought new energy to the team. In the five games in which the 45-year-old Austrian was in charge, the Upper Austrians succeeded with eight points - a yield that the team, currently last in the table, could not record in any other phase of the season. Süzcs, however, was only communicated as an interim coach from the start. After the Linz team's most successful phase of the season, the interim coach was finally replaced by former NHL player Raimo Summanen. The latter was unable to carry the momentum of the last few games and even has a lower point average after eleven games than his predecessor Ceman. The average of 0.636 - since Summanen took over - is the lowest average of a head coach in the entire season.

The hoped-for upward trend also failed to materialize at Bolzano and Znojmo

The coaching change also fell short of expectations at HCB Südtirol Alperia and Tesla Orli Znojmo. ICE veteran Doug Mason took over the runner-up from South Tyrol in the offseason with ambitious goals. In his 20 games, the coach, who was previously employed by the Moser Medical Graz99ers and the EC-KAC, recorded an average of 1.600. Too little for the Foxes' management, which ended the cooperation with the 66-year-old - who was lying in fifth place in the table. Mason thus became the most successful head coach to leave his post this season. Assistant coach Fabio Armani and Bolzano legend Alexander Egger took over for him on an interim basis and were successful: in four games, the new dual leadership averaged 2.250 points. Over the course of an entire season, this average would currently be enough to take the lead in the standings. However, the duo was replaced by Greg Ireland as planned. However, the national team coach in the double role has not yet been able to match his team's performance from the previous year in the first nine games. With a point average of 1.500, he is even behind the dismissed Doug Mason.

The change of coach at Tesla Orli Znojmo in November has not yet brought the hoped-for success either. Last year's assistant coaches Jiri Beroun and Tomas Jakes posted a point average of 1.438 up to that point. The dual leadership was then replaced by the former head coach of the Washington Capitals and ordered back to the second line. However, the expected upward trend with neo-coach Glen Hanlon failed to materialize - with an average of 1.357 in 14 games, the former NHL coach is even just behind his current assistants.

The constants Matt McIlvane and Dave Barr

EC Red Bull Salzburg coach Matt McIlvane has the highest average of the season - excluding the short stint of Matej Hocevar (PUS). The 36-year-old - he is the youngest head coach in the league - has already been wielding the scepter of Salzburg since 2019. Although the former assistant coach of Salzburg (13/14) and Red Bull Munich (2014 - 2018) has not yet been able to bring any titles to Salzburg, the management held on to the US American and now seems to be reaping the laurels for it: As the only active head coach of the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League, he holds at an average of more than two points.

But spusu Vienna Capitals coach Dave Barr is also one of the most successful coaches this season - even though he took over the Caps in a difficult phase. Just one month before the start of the season, the former U-18 national team coach of Team Canada was hired by the Vienna Capitals, who were in the midst of a rebuilding phase. The early part of the season was correspondingly difficult, with the Caps seemingly stuck in the bottom third of the table. However, the Austrian capital proved to have patience and confidence in their neo-coach, who upgraded his team and has since led it to second place in the table.