Canadian Defender Corcoran strengthens the EC Red Bull Salzburg

Canadian Defender Corcoran strengthens the EC Red Bull Salzburg

Salzburg, Österreich - The EC Red Bull Salzburg has signed a new defender with Connor Corcoran. The 24-year-old Canadian, previously active at the Bakersfield Condors in the American Hockey League (AHL), has valuable experience from 44 games in the AHL and 18 games in the Echl for the Fort Wayne comets. No information was published about the exact contract term of Corcoran. It is interesting that the player has already worked with the new head coach "Manny" Viveiros at the Henderson Silver Knights, which is a common basis for future cooperation.

In the meantime, the HC Puster Valley is taking up its young talents Fabian Gschliesser and Alan Lobis in the professional squad. Gschliesser, an important team member last season, has already played 62 games in the Win2day Ice Hockey League. Lobis, on the other hand, trained in Kaltern and Finland, has taken over management responsibility at the Rittner Buam in the past two years and has been appointed to the squad by coach Jason Jaspers.

games and challenges

A recent game of the HC Pustertal against the acting champion, Salzburg, shows the challenges that the team is facing. Coach Jason Jaspers had to do without the injured players Deluca and Bernard. Nevertheless, the team tried to make rooms tight and make quick counterattacks. Salzburg dominated the game right from the start and early scored the lead goal in the 6th minute through Bourke, with an assist from Thaler.

In the first third, HCP managed to compensate for in the power play through Lacroix. But Salzburg quickly countered with two more goals before the first third ended. However, HCP showed improvements in the second third, and Akeson managed to equalize 3: 3. Despite the combative catch -up hunt, the HC Pustertal could not decide the game for itself and had to go home with a defeat.

ice hockey in Germany and Salzburg's meaning

ice hockey is also very popular in Germany. The German ice hockey league (DEL) has developed into one of the leading leagues since its foundation in 1994. After handball and football, it is the country's most popular sport in the country. Over 4.87 million Germans show particular interest in ice hockey. The DEL recently generated record sales of 173.6 million euros in the 2023/24 season, which underlines the growing popularity of sport.

The EHC Red Bull Munich, who won three consecutive DEL championships from 2016 to 2018, and the Eisbären Berlin with their 10 championships as record champions, are just a few examples of the strength of German ice hockey. In an international comparison, Germany occupies 8th place in the IIHF world rankings of the men in 2024, underpinning through successes such as the silver medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Ice hockey remains a sport in both Austria and Germany that offers both fans and players great emotions and exciting games.