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.
The new season brings several innovations for the HC Pustertal: With Hotel Falkensteiner, the club has won a prominent name sponsor for the first time, which gives the association additional radiance and financial stability. In addition to sport, the roof problem in the Intercable Arena recently made headlines, but the game should not be at risk. In terms of sport, however, the view goes ahead: with exciting transfers and a mixture of international experience and local cracks, the wolves are also aiming the playoffs this year
TRAINER
Head coach Jason Jaspers, who goes to his second season as head coach, continues on the gang. The 44-year-old German-Canadian led the team in the right direction last year and is intended to consistently continue the development. Previously, Jaspers was a head coach at Esbjerg Energy in Denmark. He is supported by assistant Kohl Schultz and goalkeeper coach Thomas Tragust.
GOALKEEPER
In the box, Eddie Pasquale remains the clear number one. The 34-year-old Canadian has enormous experience: missions in the NHL for Tampa Bay, almost 300 AHL games and over 200 games in the KHL. With Dynamo Moscow he was in the Conference final in 2021, with Canada he took part in the Olympic Games in 2022. In Bruneck, Pasquale has long been a crowd favorite and is considered to be a topper. Jakob Rabanser is new to his side, a 2.06 m large -scale player who has worked his way up into the professional team via the Alpshl. The 25-year-old South Tyrolean is a promise for the future and now receives more responsibility. Andreas Bernard left the club and switched to the Alpshl.
DEFENDER
The defensive is strong, but fertilized. The transfer of Jonathon Blum made headlines. The 36-year-old American was drafted in the first round by Nashville in 2007, completed 122 NHL games, played for years in the KHL and most recently as a top performer at Red Bull Munich in the DEL. Despite his age, he brings routine and offensive quality. With Markus Lauridsen (Denmark), another internationally experienced defender joined it. The Olympic participant came from Frankfurt in 2022 and was also a cornerstone of the Danish defensive at the home World Cup in Herning.
Daniel Glira and Luca Zanatta embody the Italian identity on the defensive: Glira has been a regular in the national team for years, Zanatta promptly convinced last season and is also part of the fixed inventory on the defensive. Greg Ditomaso has newly encountered. The Italo Canadian comes from the Alpshl to Bruneck and is also an Italian national team player. The defensive is rounded off by the contract extension of Austin Osmanski, which after a mouth you give convincing playoffs a chance and Talent Gabriel Nitz.
With only seven defenders, the defense of the wolves is very sparsely occupied and does not tolerate failures. Accordingly, with Lauridsen and Blum you already have two older cracks in the back, which will rewind a lot of ice age. Especially in intensive winter, this thin defensive can cause problems for the first time if the first injuries are also noticeable.
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| Kader 2025/26 (under contract) | Goal: Eddie Pasquale, Jakob Rabanser Defense: Storm: |
| Confirmed approaches: | Austin Rueschhoff (Kärpät), Greg di Tomaso (Cortina), JC Lipon (Straubing), Alex Ierullo, Nick Saracino (both Asiago), Luciano Zandegiacomo Mistrotione (Sterzing), Jonathon Blum (RB Munich), Henry Bowlby (Rögle), Markus Lauridsen (Frankfurt), Cole Bardreau (Bridgeport), Austin Osmanski (Utica), Rok Ticar (Graz99ers) |
| Confirmed departures: | Jason Akeson (HC Genve-Servette), Ivan Althuber (career end), Andreas Bernard, Brett Findlay, Alex Petan (Laibach), Josh Wesley (Zvolen), Tommaso Traversa (Meran), Tyler Coulter (Ferencvaros), Cedric Lacroix (Cardiff), Ole Einar Engeland Andersen (Fehervar), Viktor Svedberg, Leonhard Hasler (end of career) |
| Any approaches/contract extensions: | |
| Any departures: | |
STRIKER
In the attack, the wolves had to cope with some painful departures in summer. Top scorer Jason Akeson said goodbye towards NLA to Geneva Servette, the uncompromising Cedric Lacroix moved on to the British Eihl. Alex Petan also left Bruneck and moved to Ljubljana, while Tyler Coulter signed the new Ligateam Ferencvaros Budapest. In addition, the departure of Brett Findlay, which is currently still without a new contract.
In order to close these gaps, those responsible ensured remarkable reinforcements. The focus is particularly on Cole Bardreau, a two-way center that demonstrated his qualities in over 500 AHL games and even bore the New York Islanders jersey in the NHL. Bardreau is considered a tireless worker with an overview and leadership qualities – it was not for nothing that he immediately received the “A” on the chest and is now part of the captain team.
With JC Lipon there is another seasoned crack to Bruneck. The 32-year-old right shooter not only brings more than 250 AHL points and World Cup experience with the Canadian U20 team, but has also been a constant service provider in the DEL in the past three years. His experience and scoringouch should give the offensive game of the wolves additional stability.
In addition, the Slovenian international Rok Tičar, who has over 700 games in European top leagues, numerous World Cup and Olympic appearances as well as Icehl stations in Klagenfurt, Vienna and Graz has an impressive vita. Tičar is considered a flexible striker who can shoot goals as well as players – exactly what Bruneck needs after the prominent departures.
The 2.01 meter tall American Austin Rueschhoff, who already demonstrated his risk of goal in Finland at Kärpät Oulu, provides for additional force. With his physique, he is likely to cause a lot of traffic in front of the opposing goal in the Icehl. He is supported by Ivan Deluca, the massive South Tyrolean, who also exudes constant danger with a lot of body presence.
Wit and creativity, on the other hand, bring Alex Ierullo and Nick Saracino into the team. Ierullo already demonstrated its qualities as a scorer in North America and was recently an important part of Asiago, which is why he now also bears the “A” on his chest. Saracino in turn, once NCAA champion and most recently between Asiago and Bozen, brings routine and risk of scoring alike.
The local heroes are not to be forgotten: Raphael Andergassen, Matthias Mantinger and top talent Tommy Purdeller have been the foundation of the “Puschtra” for years and are also indispensable support this season. The attack is complemented by young owners such as Alan Lobis and Fabian Gschliesser, who get their chance of more ice age and enrich the team with youthful freshness.
All in all, the offensive combines an exciting mix of international class, physique, playing joke and local identity. So it should not fail in the Puster Valley to achieve the declared goal in the Puster Valley.
Now you are on: Where do you see the HC Pustertal in the coming season?
Master
2 (1.71 %)
final
2 (1.71 %)
Semi -finals
44 (37.61 %)
Quarterfinals
46 (39.32 %)
Pre-playoffs
22 (18.8 %)
Preliminary round
1 (0.85 %)
Image: HCI/Papa Productions
