Squad Highlights
Goaltender Rasmus Reijola hit top form, especially at the start of the playoffs. The towering Finn has been one of the league's most consistent goalies since joining three years ago.
Dominik Horvath was a serviceable backup (nothing more), but after constant injuries last season, he is now without a club. If Beni Halasz can relieve Reijola, a good duo will be ready again. However, the ex-Linz player only played two games last season.
Major clear-out in defense: Last year's import defenders Joel Messner, Martin Stajnoch, and Ole Andersen all had to leave; only Tim Campbell (perhaps a clean break would have been appropriate here too) was allowed to stay.
The new import defenders promise interesting prospects on paper: Justin MacPherson arrived as a power-play specialist from the DEL2, and Ben Zloty (though paid in Forints) is also considered a player with power-play merits.
Viktor Persson could be a mobile defensive defender. With four foreign players and national team stalwarts like Bence Stipsicz or Roland Kiss behind them, there should be good depth in both directions by ICE standards.
In offense, the turnover was much lower; the only new foreign player is Mike Cyr. Most recently active in the USports league, the extremely diminutive (1.71 m) winger was a good QMJHL scorer years ago.
Players from this league are obviously difficult to assess, but Moncton is consistently one of the better teams there. At least in terms of skating – a shortcoming in Fehervar for years – he should upgrade the team.
Squad Question Marks
113 goals – tied with the Pioneers – was the league's lowest tally last season. Not much has changed offensively to expect major scoring outbursts.
If Cyr performs, Janos Hari revives like he did at the end of last season, and late signing Max Gerlach (a typical "good bad-team player") continues to score, the scoring could improve.
Hari's performance curve had significantly declined until his recent resurgence. Trevor Cheek (33) will never be able to generate great speed, Anze Kuralt is already 34, and Istvan Bartalis (35) seemed to have reached the end of his career.
The offense remained unchanged except for Cyr – how is a very sluggish team supposed to become a nimble one?
Ted Dent took over the coaching position in Szekesfehervar relatively early but couldn't make the team faster. After the surprisingly long playoffs, his stay seemed uncertain for a long time until he eventually received an offer.
But here's the twist: His predecessor, David Kiss, is now his new boss as the new Sports Director (Viktor Szelig was no longer tenable due to the last two seasons). Kiss has held many positions at the club and is considered a veteran. Will he support Dent when he needs it?
Potential Reinforcements
Nine foreign player spots are filled; the remaining open one could well be used for a scorer or speedster during the season
Outlook
The days when Fehervar was a top team in the league seem to be over. Last season's tenth place was their worst in eight years.
They will certainly be looking to climb a bit, but for the Hungarians, the same applies as for teams like Vienna, Linz, or Villach: Who among the top 6 do they really want to kick out?
