The Capitals are looking forward to the debut of ex-NHL professional Sheppard in the ICEHL home game against Pustertal.
Sheppard also played twice for Team Canada at the Spengler Cup
After eight rounds they have six defeats, a goal difference of 14:21 and are only 13th in the ICE Hockey League table before the bottom of Linz. The season start of the Vienna Capitals has failed and confirms those expectations that the personnel losses of Austrian top players could not be compensated.
With James Sheppard everything should get better against Pustertal from today. The 33-year-old Canadian is the previous king transfer of the Viennese after star defender Shawn Lalonde did not want to sign the league's Covid liability waiver and was passed.
No jesus?
The expectations of Sheppard are huge. But he is not a Jesus, said manager Franz Kalla. At least Sheppard should be able to walk through frozen water. In the summer he let Cologne know that for family reasons he would not return to the DEL, where he had almost one scorer point per game with the Haien. Before that he was with Eisbären Berlin for three years, in Switzerland and until 2015 in the NHL. In San Jose he had last collected 1.3 million dollars (1.12 million euros) for a one-year contract and came to 18 points scorer in his last NHL season. In the DEL there were 154 in 211 games.
Great class
Before his debut in Vienna, the playmaker reassured him: “Such bumpy season starts happen again and again, nobody needs to worry.”
Captain Mario Fischer is looking forward to the 1.88-meter-tall and 101-pound striker: “During training you could see that James is a very strong player who has a good pull towards the goal. We will certainly take another step in the right direction with him. “
Defender Alex Wall, like James Sheppard, comes from the Canadian east coast: “It is said that all Canadians who come from the east coast are of the same kind. His 431 games in the NHL are a statement. He knows everything about ice hockey, including how to get out of such a difficult situation that we are currently in. ”
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