The Preseason is coming to an end and the new season of Icehl is just around the corner. Time to take a look at the teams and deal with the squads with which the 13 clubs go into the new season. We present the squad, you take over the evaluation: with our survey tool at the end of the article.
Behind the HC Innsbruck “The Haie” is one, from a sporting point of view, disastrous season. With only ten wins and 30 points, the Inntalers only took the last place in the final settlement. As the only team in the entire league, you did not make it through the 100-goal brand (99), while the only Icehl club was more than 200 goals (206). Unsurprisingly, it was not surprisingly that you took a very large change in the Inn Valley. This did not stop at the upper floors either, because Max Steinacher said goodbye to the long -time Sports Manager of the Haie. After the end of the season, six cracks left the shark basin in the player sector, twelve “new” players were welcomed in the Tyrolean capital.
TRAINER
The main trainer of the sharks is also “new”. Actually, the plan was to go to the 2025/26 season with Jordan Smotherman, but family reasons ensured that Smotherman returned to North America. In return, a long-time Ebel striker celebrates his “comeback” in the multinational league, but on another post. Ryan Kinasewich, who spent the past few years at the Utah Grizzlies in the East Coast Hockey League, is the new strong man on the HCI gang. Kinasewich knows the league, as he grazed the jerseys from Zagreb, Salzburg, Graz, Dornbirn and Fehervar between 2010 and 2016. Florian Pedevilla remains co-trainer and also had a significant part in the squad composition this year.
GOALKEEPER
In May, the commitment of the American Mattias Sholl was announced, who is to establish itself as a new number 1 in Innsbruck. But the collaboration ended only a month later and the contract was terminated. The “replacement” was already ready: Matt Vernon will appear in the dress of HC Innsbruck in the coming season. For the 27-year-old Californian, whose father Mike stood in 781 NHL games between in the goal, Innsbruck is the first European station. He will form a goalkeeper tandem together with the Austro goalie Jakob Brandner. The native of Graz showed a few great performances last year and, if Sholl, could develop the position of #1. The 21-year-old Schwazer Markus Gratzer can also hope for one or the other.
DEFENSE
There were changes in the defensive department, but there are five cracks with old master Jan Lattner, Winston Frimmel, Noah Kerber, Devin Steffler and Elias Stöffler, which also defended for the HCI last year. Lattner goes into his seventh season with the Tyroleans at the age of 35 and wants to lead the Innsbrucker back into the playoffs. With 13 points in 46 games, the Czech was also the best defender of the sharks. There is definitely room for improvement in the offensive output of the defensive.
Three cracks are new to the D-contingent, namely the Canadians Patrick Kudla and Cole Moberg. At the age of 29, Kudla has a certain level of experience – for him it is the second “stint” in Europe, because between 2018 and 2022 he gained valuable experiences in Slovakia and in the Czech Republic. In the past season he posted 30 scorer points in the dress of the Idaho Steelheads (Echl). Moberg is significantly younger at the age of 24 and only debuted in the 2020/21 season in professional ice hockey. The 2019 Draft Pick of the Chicago Blackhawks (#194) has largely spent the recent years in the Echl and had 55 points in 187 missions. The “access trio” is rounded off by 29-year-old Mario Ebner, who comes back to Austria after one year in France’s second division. For the HCI, the Hainburger has already played 111 games, so it also brings some experience.
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| Kader 2025/26 (under contract) | Goal: Matt Vernon, Jakob Brandner Defense: Storm: |
| Confirmed approaches: | Marcel Witting (Black Wings Linz), Matt Wilkins (Angers), Patrick Kudla (Idaho), Darien Craighead, Troy Lajeunesse (both Aalborg), Benjamin Corbeil, Emmett Sproule (both Univ. New Brinswick), Matt Vernon (Jacksonville), Cole Moberg (Florida everblades), Steven Owre) (La Chaux-de-Fonds), Mario Ebner (Tours) |
| Confirmed departures: | Corey Mackin (Eisspiraten Crimmitschau), Ryan Valentini (Asiago), Yushiroh Hirano (DEG), Patrick Grasso (Belfast), Nicholas Welsh (Kookoo), Mattias Sholl (Ontario Reign), Mark Rassell (Nürnberg), Kele Steffler & Devin Steffler (Zell am See), Evan Buititenhuis (Jukurit), Jeremy Bracco (Poprad), Anders Krogsgaard (Esbjerg), Valentin Ploner (Kundl), Garrett McFadden (Belfast), Zintis Zusevics, Daniel Jakubitzka & Nicholas Schintler (both career end), Markus Gratzer (loan to Kitzbühel) |
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STRIKER
There was much more upheaval in the storm department, no fewer than eight new faces will be hunted this year. The commitment of the former league-MPVS Steven Owre can undoubtedly be described as a royal transfer. At the end of June, the deal was confirmed and the Canadian was bound to the club for two years. In 2023/24, the 29-year-old played big in the dress of the Pioneers Vorarlberg and came up to a strong 62 points. After a year in Switzerland, where he collected 43 points in 41 games for HC La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Swiss League, the right shooter celebrates his ICE comeback and will be the linchpin in the sharks offensive.
The two Canadians Troy Lajeunesse and Darien Craighead found the way to the Inn from Aalborg. Both cracks are 28 years old and were able to show in Denmark last year. Lajeunesse scored 26 goals and scored 57 points, Craighead scored 27 goals and ended the season with 68 points. With these strong numbers, the two landed in the top 4 scorers of the Danish league. However, it was not enough for the championship title: in the semi -finals they said goodbye to the summer break with one, 2: 4 against Herning Blue Fox. The two cracks have a lot offensive, especially the HCI power play, which was underground in the past season, should benefit from it.
But the HCI grabbed another duo: Last year, Benjamin Corbeil and Emmett Sproule stormed together for the University of New Brunswick, now they want to prove themselves at their first European station. In their last year of college, both cracks came up with a point-pro game cut, but how they will find their way around European ice cream remains to be seen. Already in April, the Haie Matt Wilkins presented as a new addition to the offensive. Between 2019 and 2020 he stormed in the Alpshl and opened big at the time. He was able to collect a whopping 156 points in just 80 missions. About Winterthur, La Chaux-de-Fonds, HC Banska Bystrica and the Ligue Magnus Club Angers found 34-year-old strikers to the Tyroleans. Remarkable: In six of his seven “European seasons” he cracked the point-pro game brand. Also new to the Haie storm contingent: ICE routine Marcel Witting and Kilian Rappold. Both came from the Black Wings Linz to the Inn. Witting goes into his already eleventh ICE season and stood on the ice in 247 games, with the EC-KAC he was able to celebrate three championship titles. Rappold is significantly younger at the age of 23 and has only 79 ICE inserts on his back.
The line-up of long-term sharks Lukas Bär, who is already ninth season with the Innsbruckern, is rounded off, Carinthian Stefan Klassek, Villacher Jonas Dobnig and some Tyrolean Youngster such as Lorenz Klingler, Julian Pall, Sebastian Weidacher and Alex Erlacher. The 30-year-old Mittersiller Thomas Mader is also on board. He has been “swimming” in the shark pool since 2020.
Now you are on: Where can you see Innsbruck in the coming season?
Master
1 (1.1 %)
final
0 (0 %)
Semi -finals
1 (1.1 %)
Quarterfinals
5 (5.49 %)
Pre-playoffs
27 (29.67 %)
Preliminary round
57 (62.64 %)
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