The “eagles” meet on Friday (Heidi-Horten-Arena Klagenfurt, beginning 4:00 p.m.) as part of their season preparation for the Grizzlys Wolfsburg from the German ice hockey league. For the team of head coach Tray Tuomie, it is the important endurance test against a top-class opponent.
The starting situation
With the third test game of the preparation, the EC IDM heat pumps VSV have a real yardstick on the program. After the narrow 3: 4 after penalty shooting against Kassel and the clear 6-1 success in Zell am See, the duel with Wolfsburg offers the next opportunity to consolidate the interaction and further sharpen the processes in all parts of the team.
For the blue-whites as well as for the club from northern Germany, the meeting is a valuable location determination at a high level. And even if it sounds like a phrase, it aptly describes the situation: the VSV wants to make visible progress in the third preparatory game and, above all, park the weaknesses that were recently striking – starting with unnecessary disc loss in the forward movement, and even concentration defects in its own third.
The opponent
Wolfsburg hopes for a comeback season in 2025/26: After years of constant top performance, in which Wolfsburg landed four times in a row among the top five teams in the DEL main round and made the leap into the semi-finals three times, the team experienced a bitter set up in the past playing time: in the end of the big playing in the table, they only found themselves on the eleventh in the table. This placement, which is unsatisfactory for the claims of the club, resulted in far -reaching consequences in summer: the sporting management re -established the squad in several positions and thus reacted to the lack of consistency of the pre -season.
Special attention attracted special attention from KHL: Defender Keaton Thompson, who is supposed to stabilize the defensive with an overview and duel strength (52.3% duels), as well as striker Robert Lynch, who should bring fresh swing onto the offensive with his dynamics and final strength (13.11% scoring efficiency). This duo is supplemented, for example, by striker Tyler Gaudet, who contributed 18 goals and 18 assists in 35 league games for the DEL relegated Düsseldorf.
Mike Stewart continues to be an old acquaintance on the gang. Between 2001 and 2010, the Canadian bore the dress of Villacher Adler, played a total of 382 games, scored 29 goals, 118 assists and collected no less than 830 minutes of penalty. His contribution to the 2005/06 championship team, with which he entered the history books of the association as captain (in the absence of Herbie Hohenberger). He is supported by ex-KAC striker Gary Shuchuk, who got 20 goals and 36 assists for Rot-Weiß in the 1998/99 season.
Friday, August 22, 2025 | 4:00 p.m.
EC IDM heat pumps VSV – Grizzlys Wolfsburg
Heidi-Horten-Arena, Klagenfurt
www.ecvsv.at, pic: ECVSV
