New variant in the youth work of the EV Berchtesgaden with the EC Red Bull Salzburg
The head coach Andreas Stöckl recently campaigned for a common cause with the Salzburg neighbors of the Red Bulls for the youngest. Last Tuesday, a delegation from Salzburg was at the junior training to discuss the cooperation.
“We’re thinking of the Finnish variant – letting children from the clubs train together. Because it is especially important for the little ones to be on the skates as often as possible, ”explains Andreas Stöckl. No club can put all years in the same quantity.
The togetherness in the foreground
In Salzburg there are two ice rinks that are in operation all year round. So the little ones can practice with them again and again in Salzburg. There is also a summer ice cream in Berchtesgaden, which can then be used again by the Salzburgers and other clubs. The ice ages are not unlimited. The concerns of the second EVB chairman Rupert Kellerbauer that special talents could be poached are refuted by the head coach Andreas Stöckl: “The focus is on togetherness and not the momentum to find accommodation at the famous EC Red Bull Salzburg. If a talent is accepted into the ›Red Bull Ice Hockey Academy‹ in Liefering, that’s no big deal either, ”says the head coach, referring to the careers of several EVB players. The living ice hockey legend Hans Pflug from Berchtesgaden has already worked as a coach in Salzburg. The same applied to the former second division player Barthi Zauner, who also worked in the Salzburg youth division. Sebastian Zauner, who played in the second German ice hockey league in Dresden for five years and has been at the target for the Austrian Bundesliga club Villacher SV since last year, was trained.
National player Benedikt Kohl – a “child” of the EVB
The 76-time German national player Benedikt Kohl also comes from the EVB and has been playing in the highest German league DEL 1 for 14 years. Benedikt Kohl looks back on more than 700 games in the highest German ice hockey league and shuffles after the stations in Mannheim, Augsburg, in Wolfsburg and Ingolstadt currently with the Straubinger Tigers.
Furthermore, Manuel Edfelder from Bad Reichenhall made it into the DEL 2 via the EVB. Manuel Edfelder played successfully for four years as a striker and defender with the Tölzer Löwen in the DEL 2 before he switched back to the Starbulls Rosenheim. The former German champion is currently in second place in the major league and should also achieve his next goal of advancing to the DEL 2 through Manuel Edfelder’s goals and assists.
The visionary Andreas Stöckl primarily sees the playful moment in working with EC Red Bull Salzburg. “This collaboration WILL NOT be about competitive nature, but rather about learning together,” says Andreas Stöckl, who also points to the past. »I was there myself as a defender when we played successfully in the Bavarian League for many years with the Salzburg class players Joe Zöhrer and Hans Aigner. Our cooperation in the youth field also opens up opportunities for Salzburg players to play in our first team. This opens up undreamt-of possibilities and ice hockey in Berchtesgaden could develop into its old prime again, “says the head coach, looking to the future.
Role models for the next generation
Then Rupert Kellerbauer’s fight, successfully fought five years ago, that EU foreigners can play at the EVB with a special permit would also work out. Rupert Kellerbauer definitely does not want only the people of Salzburg to benefit from the proposed collaboration. »Later top players develop from one breadth. And if one or the other talent is picked up in the professional department of the Red Bulls Organization, that’s not a big deal, it’s just good for us. Ice hockey professionals like Barthi Zauner, Benedikt Kohl and Manuel Edfelder are role models and figureheads for the next generation, “concluded the head coach. Now it is exciting to see how the internship between the EVB and the EC Red Bull Salzburg in the youngest junior division develops.
Christian Wechslinger