HCB Südtirol Alperia officially announces that an agreement has been reached to sign Canadian defender with a Slovenian passport, Matt Cairns, for the remainder of the 2025/26 season. The 27-year-old is expected in Bolzano today and will join the team immediately. The physically strong defender (188 cm, 92 kg) wore the Asiago jersey last season before moving to Björklöven in the Swedish Allsvenskan, where he played until three days ago.
“In view of the protracted injury of Barberio, who works closely with our medical team and who we hope to see back on the ice soon, we wanted to react to the transfer market in order to expand the squad and give the defense more breathing room,” explains HCB managing director Dieter Knoll. “Matt is a solid defender,” he adds, “who can help us a lot and is ready to play immediately thanks to his Slovenian passport. This year in particular it will be important to have as many players available as possible, as the Olympic Games coincide roughly with the IIHF transfer deadline and we need to protect ourselves against possible problems.”
The career
Matt Cairns was born on April 27, 1998 in Mississauga (Ontario) and made his first steps in the Canadian youth leagues, where he attracted so much attention that he was drafted in the third round as the 83rd overall pick by the Edmonton Oilers. However, he did not make the final breakthrough in the best league in the world: After several years in NCAA college hockey, he played from 2021 to 2024 in both the American Hockey League (14 appearances) and, above all, in the East Coast Hockey League (192 appearances, 43 points). His European adventure began last season with the move to Asiago: for the “Stellati” he played 46 ICEHL games and scored 3 goals and 16 assists. He finished the season at IF Björklöven, the current leader of the Swedish Allsvenskan, where he was also employed in the current season.
“I’m coming to a great club and a top team in this league,” explains Cairns. “Bozen shows every year that it can compete for the title, and in the last few weeks the club has shown great interest in me – an interest that is mutual. I am sure that I can help the team and I can’t wait to get on the ice for these colors. I have never lost sight of this league, in which many of my friends also play, and I believe that the level has increased significantly this year – not only among the top teams, but overall also among the teams at the bottom Table area.”
www.hcb.net, Image: HCI/PAPA Productions
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