Release from 19.03.2024

Voting for the Young Star of the 2023/24 season

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The voting for the Young Star of the 2023/24 season is open. You can vote for the winner of the season until Sunday, March 24 at 10:00 pm. The five monthly winners are up for election. One player each of HC TIWAG Innsbruck, EC Red Bull Salzburg, EC-KAC, spusu Vienna Capitals and HK SZ Olimpija are nominated.

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A total of five players are nominated for the Young Star of the 2023/24 season. The fans and TV experts from Austria, Italy and Slovenia will once again vote for the season's winner from the previous monthly winners. If two or more players receive the same number of votes, they will be ranked according to the result of the fan vote.

The following five young players born in 2002 and younger are nominated for the election.

Senna Peeters (HC TIWAG Innsbruck) | Winner September/October
Belgian-born Senna Peeters, who has already made ten appearances for the Austrian national team, won the election in September/October. The 21-year-old forward played his second full season with the HC TIWAG Innsbruck and was already an absolute top performer. With 38 points (16G | 22A), Peeters was his team's fifth-best scorer. He also had the best +/- statistic of his team (+24). In September and October, the right winger scored ten points and had a +/- of +9 in nine games.

Lucas Thaler (EC Red Bull Salzburg) | Winner November
The 22-year-old Lucas Thaler has been playing in the EC Red Bull Salzburg organization since the 2020/21 season. The Austrian 2023 World Championship participant is now an integral part of the team. In November, Thaler scored three goals in six appearances and also prepared two further goals. The two-time ICE champion also had a +/- of +7 in November. Thaler has made a total of 46 appearances so far this season, getting on the scoreboard 23 times (12G | 11A). In the quarterfinals against Linz, he scored two goals, including the fastest goal in ICE playoff history.

Finn van Ee (EC-KAC) | Winner December
In addition to Thaler, Finn van Ee is the second nominated player who plays in the semifinals of the win2day ICE Hockey League. The 21-year-old also scored two goals in the quarterfinals against the Pioneers Vorarlberg. In his first full season with the EC-KAC, van Ee has 15 points (4G | 11A) and a +/- of +22. In December, the two-time Austrian international contributed five points (1G | 4A) in eight games and had a +/- of +5.

Mathias Böhm (spusu Vienna Capitals) | Winner January
The 20-year-old Matthias Böhm played his second full season with the professionals of the spusu Vienna Capitals. In his debut season, the forward scored his first goal in the win2day ICE Hockey League. In the 2023/24 campaign, Böhm scored four goals in 35 appearances and also made four assists. The Klosterneuburg native's personal best month was January, in which he scored two goals and made two assists.

Marcel Mahkovec (HK SZ Olimpija) | Winner February
Born on December 17, 2003, Marcel Mahkovec is the youngest player among the nominees. The 20-year-old Slovenian played his debut season with the HK SZ Olimpja. In 51 appearances, Mahkovec scored 23 points (11G | 12A). In the Pre-Playoffs against Pustertal, the left-shooter was directly involved in four of the “Dragons'” nine goals, even scoring three times. In six Regular Season games in February, Mahkovec had five points (1G | 4A). Before joining Olimpija, Mahkovec played for his hometown club Bled as well as for Krefeld (GER) and AIK (SWE).

>> HERE YOU CAN FIND THE VOTING <<

Voting procedure
First, five monthly winners were determined. Four players per month were nominated to take part in the voting. Due to only a few match days in September 2023, the first two months were combined into one election. The five monthly winners will now compete for the title "Young Star of the 2023/24 season".

The election consists of two components: in addition to the fan voting on the league website, the TV experts from Austria, Italy and Slovenia also vote. If two or more players receive the same number of votes, they will be ranked according to the result of the fan vote.

Winner September/October | Senna Peeters (HCI)
Winner November | Lucas Thaler (RBS)
Winner December | Finn van Ee (KAC)
Winner January | Mathias Böhm (VIC)
Winner February | Marcek Mahkovec (HKO)