younion ice hockey: Salzburg sweeps away at the UNION Awards – TJ Brennan best player
Large survey among the players of the ICEHL
Vienna (OTS) – The season is over and so it was time again to ask the players about the individual and less minor things. Also in the second year of its existence, the Eishockeyspieler:innen UNION, a specialist group of the youth _ The Daseinsgewerkschaft, conducted a survey among the players of the ICEHL. With partly expected, partly surprising results.
First of all: The best crack from the point of view of the players – and thus successor to Ty Loney – is TJ Brennan, the Canadian from Red Bull Salzburg. The defender came from the Swiss League and particularly impressed with his goals and assists. In 60 games, he had 27 goals and 32 assists, making him the league’s most prolific defender. Despite everything, he always puts his personal performance at the service of the team and also mentions this in his brief statement: “No personal success can be achieved without the support of a great team.” Brian Lebler (Linz & Salzburg) came in second and third. and James Sheppard (Vienna).
Atte Tolvanen best goalkeeper
The league champion also came out on top when it came to the question of the best goalkeeper. Players voted playoff MVP Atte Tolvanen best in his craft. Around a quarter of all respondents say that he is the goalkeeper who is most difficult to score against.
Dave Barr is the best coach in the league
But which coach would players most like to compete under? Here the point goes to the capital Vienna: Dave Barr was an assistant coach in the NHL for 12 years before he coached the U18 national team from Canada for a year. Then the Vienna Capitals knocked and were able to guide the experienced man to Vienna. He led the Caps to 4th place in the regular season and further into the semifinals. Reason enough to be voted the best coach in the league with 29.6% of the votes cast. Matt McIlvane (Salzburg) comes second with 23.5% and Kevin Constantine (Fehervar) comes third with 15.7%.
Three referees in first place
The third team on the ice. Many are annoyed by them – but without them it just doesn’t work: the referees. Elias Seewald, Christoph Sternat and Alexander Hlavaty shared first place in the “Best Referee” category with exactly the same number of votes. While Seewald and Sternat are now regulars, Hlavaty, who is only 22 years old, is a young, promising newcomer who has already made a name for himself!
Speaking of names, which names aren’t mentioned often enough compared to the similar performance. Which players are most underestimated (by coaches, managers, media, …)? There was also a triple victory here: Chris Collins (Villach) was VSV’s third-best scorer in the past season. Stefan Häußle (Dornbirn) was elected captain in his tenth professional season with the Bulldogs and was the Bulldogs’ second-best home scorer. In his 6th year with the 99ers, Ken Ograjensek (Graz) continued to be one of the core regulars on offense. The Slovenian scored 35 points in 46 games for Graz. These three are the most underrated players in the eyes of their league peers.
Which hall has the best atmosphere?
This category saw the clearest win in the entire poll. With the runners-up from Fehervar, the guests have to die in the cauldron of the league – say 63.3% of all players.
However, the best atmosphere is not synonymous with the best ice quality. As in the previous year, when asked about the best ice cream, the Salzburg Volksgarten came out on top with 41% approval.
Which team has the greatest future?
The ice hockey players:innen UNION also ventured a look into the future: We asked which team will make the biggest leap forward next season?
There was an overwhelming majority of 32.5% for Black Wings Linz, who were hit by the crisis this year. We’ll see if players get it right!
Who is the most fashionable player?
But until then it is important to spend the summer months well. And so we asked the question: Who is the most fashionable player in the league?
There was also a triple victory here: Alex Petan (Fehervar), Dante Hannoun (Pustertal) and Ali Wukovits (Salzburg) were chosen by the teammates and opponents as the fashion icons of the ICEHL. The photos in the social media channels prove it.
Should the league be divided into divisions?
Players were also asked if they would prefer a regionalization of the league with more neighborhood duels and less travel? “Excitingly,” explains deputy chairman Patrick Harand, “there was a trend here.” Exactly half of the players would support a division into divisions, the other half prefer the current game plan with the same number of matches against all opponents.
83 percent of the players want a standard contract
On the other hand, there was a clear tendency when it came to the question of concluding a standard contract that the ice hockey players:innen UNION should negotiate with the league for the players. In order to harmonize the different employment contracts that are currently used by the clubs (and also to remove all clauses that are grossly disadvantageous for the players), the league and UNION have agreed to start negotiations on such a standard contract. “Since last year the ICEHL clubs canceled it at short notice last fall, but it was confirmed again, we are currently on hold because the league has not yet sent us any suggested dates, despite repeated requests,” chairman Sascha Tomanek on the OK by league manager Christian Feichtinger. “Because more than 83% of the players want such a contract in which only the agreed amount of money has to be used, based on the model of the NHL or the Scandinavian leagues.”
Questions & contact:
dr Sasha Tomanek
T: 0650 3232000
www.youunion.at