The rest of the foreign players were rather an unremarkable mass, though defender Bryce Martin notably stood out negatively with several giveaways.
Especially on the power play, the Pioneers will face problems similar to last season, even if Murray managed a power-play goal against Graz shortly before the end.
Concerningly: Already on the opening weekend, Marko Ojanen coached as if it were Game 7 of a playoff series – all foreign players in the first two blocks, the third defensive pairing struggled for ice time, as did lines 3 & 4. It's clear that he has to make do with limited quantity and quality, but how will that look during the phase with more intense gameplay? Both games were already acts of sheer effort, likely also because CEO Christian Gross had already highlighted the Villach game as a key match in the summer.
Following the financial turmoil of recent days, VSV at least managed to collect three points and can hope that Alex Rauchenwald, Alex Wall, and Thomas Vallant will soon return. The fourth line with Paolo Wieltschnig, Jakob Sintschnig, and 16-year-old Slovenian Benjamin Topalovic was, of course, only a makeshift solution and soon no longer visible. The roster is truly stretched thin, but to sign more players after a rescue operation would be audacious.
Defender Sean Larochelle improved after a weak opening period, subsequently creating some offense from the blue line. Scott Walford presented himself as a solid defensive defenseman with good footwork. Ryan Sproul showed several strong moments with the puck, consistently getting it to the front of the net: His resting heart rate, whether during strong offensive moments or mistakes, is probably around 45. He is also one of those players who always maintain the same speed – regardless of whether the arena behind him is on fire or a training scrimmage is underway.
The Graz 99ers struggled for a long time against the valiant Pioneers, only scoring their goals in the final phase. Goalie Maxime Legace, who had a rather weak preseason, would certainly have benefited from a shutout, which he missed only shortly before the end.
Of the two new foreign defensemen (Ole Björgvik-Holm and Clay Hanus), Hanus left a far better impression. A strong skater (at one point he circled almost entirely around the opponent's zone) with good puck skills. His involvement will be defined by his points scored (or lack thereof). David Maier, who had almost become a goon in Klagenfurt over the years, demonstrated his long-buried puck skills with a beautiful give-and-go goal.
Black Wings Linz - Milano HC (0:4)
A sobering home opener for Linz, especially after only managing a single point with great difficulty in Szekesfehervar. Initially, the game was still on the edge, but Milano goalie Jacob Smith got hot with luck and skill, proving especially crucial while shorthanded. The Italians, for their part, scored three times on the power play, with center Blake McLaughlin particularly showcasing his shooting prowess.
The Black Wings competed with only seven foreign players; the two power-play pointmen, Niklas Würschl and Luis Lindner, were locals – a unique feature in the league. Würschl also had to carry the puck towards the opposing zone and encountered problems with drop passes (de rigueur nowadays) to Shawn St-Amant and Graham Knott. During one power play in the second period, these three players almost came to a standstill at times.
Milano presented itself as expected – hands & hockey sense > speed. While a broad front was used in attack, defensively everything was built around Alex Grant (very strong on some rushes) and Wyatt Wylie. The two seamlessly transitioned from PK to PP and back, shouldering a significant amount of ice time. Here, too, it remains to be seen how this holds up in more intense phases, though further new signings would not be a surprise.
Notable Observations in the League
What was already evident in preseason: The Vienna Capitals' top power-play block is not to be trifled with. Nick Bailen, Linden Vey, Jeremy Gregoire, Shane Gersich, and Andreas Lilja needed a combined 66 seconds for their four power-play goals in Innsbruck!
While Olimpija Ljubljana is firing on all cylinders at the start of the season, just like last year (5:3 & 6:2 on their Hungary road trip), things look bleak for Red Bull Salzburg. Their two CHL defeats (3:6 in Växjö and 0:5 in Rögle) could still be explained by the strength of their opponents, but the defensive issues seamlessly continued in the league: 1:7 against KAC and 3:6 in Bolzano.
Illustrative of the dismal performance was the Red Bulls' first goal: The enormous Isaac Ratcliffe could have filled out a registration form for the slot before his shot. Can new coach Alan Letang lead his team out of this hole?
