Image: GEPA pictures
Masters KAC and Red Bull Salzburg are again considered top domestic title contenders. Of the six foreign teams, vice-champion Bolzano is again the strongest. New are the HC Pustertal from South Tyrol, Znojmo and Ljubljana.
In the first round on Friday (live Puls24) there will be a duel between the KAC, who appear in almost unchanged formation, with the Vienna Capitals. Last but not least, the Klagenfurters underlined with four wins in the Champions League that they are still in good shape. KAC manager Oliver Pilloni is convinced that his troops are far from full. “We have been working with these players for years, if we had the feeling that they were just doing their job and wanting to collect the money, then they would be wrong with us. We have seen in the CHL that players themselves win are not satisfied after overtime, they want to push each other, “emphasized Pilloni.
The Capitals, on the other hand, had to cope with numerous well-known departures, neotrainer Dave Barr has a veritable remodeling to cope with. In preparatory matches, the Viennese have not yet shown themselves to be well-rehearsed. “Internalizing our system naturally takes time – also due to the large number of newcomers”, Barr warned us to be patient.
Salzburg's usual high standards
Salzburg and Bozen were already in promising early form in both the CHL and the KAC. Both are in the same group early in the round of 16, but there has not yet been a direct comparison. In the first league match, Salzburg will meet Black Wings Linz on Friday. “The hunger is very high. The very clear goal is to win the title. Of course, that is not easy, we have very good opponents,” emphasized Peter Schneider, who came to Salzburg from Brno. He still lacks the championship title, which is why Salzburg was the first choice for him.
The Linzers are already “pretty hot”, as new signing Rafael Rotter said. The long-time Capitals striker counts “like every year Klagenfurt and three or four top teams including Bolzano, and hopefully Linz as well” to the clubs that will play in the front.
The first interim goal for everyone is to qualify for the play-off, which the best six achieve after double rounds, with 52 games each. The teams in positions seven to ten will fight for the remaining two tickets for the quarter-finals in the new pre-play-off. For the teams in positions eleven to 14, the season is over at the beginning of February. The rest of them play in the play-off in “best of seven” mode.
An open question is whether the dense game plan can be pulled through in the six participating countries without any shifts in the significantly worsening pandemic situation and the correspondingly changing corona regulations. League manager Christian Feichtinger hopes that this time the season can be completed without interruption and, above all, with spectators in the halls. “Nothing can replace the fans in the hall, for the clubs the audience income makes up 35-40 percent of the budget. We hope that we can get through the season as best as possible and without restrictions.”
Hope for a smooth season
Fortunately, the Ministry of Sports put together an aid package in the preseason, in which no more spectators were admitted from November. “That helped to fix the worst problems.” If the worst case occurs again, he relies on renewed help from the public sector. Apart from the Corona issue, Feichtiger expects “140 exciting days”, integrating the three new teams was “a pretty big challenge”.
League President Jochen Pildner-Steinburg also expects a smooth season under “relatively normal conditions”. “The most important thing is that the fans are back. Ice hockey without fans is very nice, and also well done last year, but the presence of the fans and the atmosphere in the hall are what the teams need in order to perform at their best.”
