The ICE Hockey League regularly loses strong players to other leagues at the end of the season. The following analysis highlights how some of the most prominent departures of recent seasons were able to establish themselves in their new teams. In the second part (first part here) we look at Chase Pearson, Scott Kosmachuk, Evan Buitenhuis and Joe Cramarossa!
Chase Pearson
Chase Pearson was an important center for Villacher SV in the 2024/25 season and performed well in the games he played. Although the beefy center forward was occasionally injured, he recorded a strong 33 points (19 goals, 14 assists) in 38 games, which corresponds to a solid average of 0.87 points per game. In the playoffs, Pearson was able to add a goal and an assist in four games, but was also missing there due to injury. After his time in Austria, he looked for a new challenge in Great Britain with the Nottingham Panthers in the EIHL (Elite Ice Hockey League) for the 2025/26 season. Pearson established himself as an immediate key player there. In his first three games for Nottingham he has already collected six points (4 goals, 2 assists).
Scott Kosmachuk
Scott Kosmachuk was an absolute top scorer in the ICEHL for several seasons and achieved an impressive career points average of 1.03 points per game (120 points in 116 games) in the league. He spent his best years as the top three scorer in the entire league in the EC VSV team. For the 2025/26 season he moved to Vlci Zilina in the Slovakian league, where his production was slightly reduced. With 11 points (6 goals, 5 assists) in 17 games, his points average is currently 0.65.
Evan Buitenhuis
As a goalkeeper for HC Innsbruck, Evan Buitenhuis was a consistent force over two seasons and recorded strong averages of 2.76 goals against per game (GAA) in the ICEHL with an excellent catch rate of 91.5% over his entire time. His move to Jukurit in the Finnish Liiga is considered a sporting promotion to a top European league. There he was even able to improve his goals against average: in 14 games he has a GAA of 2.10 and a continued solid catch rate of 91.0%.
Joe Cramarossa
Joe Cramarossa spent the 2024/25 season with the Vienna Capitals in the ICEHL and established himself there as a solid offensive player. In 35 games for the Capitals, the center/left winger scored 23 points (8 goals, 15 assists). For the 2025/26 season, Cramarossa moved to the DEL to the Augsburger Panthern, returning to the stronger German league, where he had previously played for Mannheim and Frankfurt. He got off to a mixed start in Augsburg: in his first eight games for the Panthers he only recorded 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist), but the Panthers are currently in a solid seventh place after several weak seasons.
Image: VSV/Krammer
