His contract is as time-limited as that of Innsbruck defender Quinn Wichers, for whom it remains an open question whether his skillset is sufficient for ICE League level. The Sharks (Haien) already have a pure defensive defender, Connor Mayer, available on an import ticket.
Eleven of the 70 "new" foreign players moved within the league, including long-serving players like Scott Valentine (from Bolzano to league newcomer Milano), Sam Harvey (Bolzano to Innsbruck), and Brady Shaw (originally from Budapest to Innsbruck, then to Linz after contract termination there).
The only league returnee is Joseph Cramarossa – the ex-Cap signed with VSV after a season in Augsburg.
This leaves 58 foreign players (including Mozik and Wichers) who could play their first ICE game on September 18th. Where do these new players come from?
ECHL Ahead of AHL as Main Supplier
A trend of recent years, not just in the ICE: The ECHL is the new main supplier from North America. No fewer than twelve new arrivals played there exclusively or primarily last season (excluding short AHL recalls).
In contrast, only six players who mainly played in the AHL are among them, with three – Louis Domingue (will his body cooperate?), Blake Hillman, and Isaac Ratcliffe – in Bolzano.
Previously, this ratio would have been reversed, but strong AHLers now earn good money there or are still living out their NHL dream.
In the DEL too, more and more ECHL players have come into vogue in recent years, with Nürnberg taking on a pioneering role here. Even a team like Eisbären Berlin, which could afford almost any available player, brought in ECHL veteran Jack LaFontaine for the vacant goalie position, who was only ever allowed brief stints in the AHL.
Naturally, prices for ECHL players have also undergone inflation; bargains are becoming increasingly rare, especially since this league received a new collective bargaining agreement this year.
However, Pioneers Vorarlberg still brought in three players from the ECHL this year, who are likely at or below the internal salary cap of 25,000 Euros.
College Players
Four players come from the Canadian college system (U-Sports).
Of these, Clay Hanus (Graz) and Sean Larochelle (VSV) are planned as undersized but skilled defenders. Only one player comes directly from the American college system (Noah Serdachny/Pioneers).
Scattered Across European Leagues
Innsbruck tryout Wichers played in the Asia League last season, Mozik and Samuel Houde (Milano) were sidelined due to injuries, the rest came from European leagues – and quite scattered.
The DEL, the Slovak Extraliga, and the Swedish Allsvenskan are the main European exporters to the ICE, each with five players. Only defensive defender Mattias Göransson (KAC) originates from a level higher in Sweden, the SHL.
Only three players (two of whom are in Feldkirch) moved from the Finnish Liiga – every player is needed there, as the field of participants will be reduced from 17 to 14 teams after this season, and countless players already play overseas or in the rest of Europe.
Another three players came from the KHL, with Milano forwards Michael Dal Colle and Greg McKegg playing only a handful of games. Milano, where membership with the "Optima Sports" agency was obligatory for imports and Italian-Canadians, also drew twice from the Czech Extraliga.
Other supplying countries like Denmark (3), Norway (2), or Poland (1) promise smaller price tags, which doesn't necessarily apply to the only player from DEL2 (Justin MacPherson/Fehervar). Salaries there are increasing season after season.
The same applies to the British EIHL, which probably also explains why they didn't lose any players to the ICE this year.
ICE Remains Firmly in North American Hands
The ICE has long been strongly influenced by North America, and that hasn't changed this summer:
Only 11 of the 58 new faces are Europeans, with the Pioneers leading the way with three Finns. As mentioned: Anyone who didn't get a contract in the bloated Liiga this year has to come cheaper, though this doesn't necessarily apply to defender Teemu Kivihalme in Bolzano.
For a Swedish player like Jakob Lilja, not many doors necessarily opened before he signed in Vienna: He has already played in Switzerland and the DEL, and an engagement in his home country or Finland is not possible due to the embargo against ex-KHL players.
Few New Goalies
Only three teams brought in new import goalies this year, of which Bolzano sacrificed two foreign player slots for Domingue and Marco Costantini.
Innsbruck found Harvey within the league, and in Linz, Dylan Wells is set to succeed long-time goalie Rasmus Tirronen.
The Vienna Capitals, as well as newcomer HC Milano, are trying to get by with local goalies.
