The Augsburg Panthers kick off the new DEL season tonight in Iserlohn, a season in which a lot is at stake for AEV.
With the AEV it is time to “start over”. After disappointing years under the leadership of coaches Tray Tuomie and Mark Pedersen, the Augsburg Panthers only recovered at the end of last season under Serge Pelletier. After a weak season, they almost made it to the first round of the playoffs, but in the end Kölner Haie had a long lead to the tail. A small consolation for the Swabians: after all they had nothing to do with relegation to DEL2. Krefeld had to take the bitter step into the lower house, the lions of Frankfurt ensured a return of the main metropolis to the belle étage of federal ice hockey.
Attention: two demotions are possible
As for the promoted team, staying in the league should be the minimum goal for the Fuggerstadt team this season. Should there be another second division champion willing to advance after this season (Krefeld, Kassel, Dresden?), Two League 1 teams are expected to drop in 2023. Augsburg wants nothing to do with that, better yet to return to the ranks of the playoffs. The team was therefore changed in some positions.
Peter Russell is now in charge of the gang. The 48-year-old Scotsman came from Ravensburg. Russell was able to confirm the good reputation he had acquired as a manager of the British national team as a club manager in DEL2. With the pressure forward, both defensive and offensive, he now wants to play a higher level. But not only is the manager new, but also ten players are now in the AEV squad for the first time.
Runner-up Endras is back
The most outstanding newcomer is a returnee. Longtime national team goalkeeper Dennis Endras returns to Schleifgraben from Mannheim. He has been on the ice for the Eagles for ten years where he was able to lift the championship trophy twice, now replacing Olivier Roy (now Fehérvár AV19 / Hungary ICEHL) prone to injury. Along with Markus Keller, he should make sure the Panthers concede even fewer goals in the future.
There have also been many staff changes in other areas, with a total of ten newcomers joining the team. With Scott Valentine, an Augsburg defense constant had to leave the club after six years (now HC Bozen / Italy ICEHL), a farewell few expected. David Warsofsky (from Ingolstadt) should compensate for this departure, Miro Sacher, who came from Krefeld, is probably not capable of this role. However, the fact that Slovenian international Blaz Gregorc remains a panther after his brief signing should help the defensive group. However, he will miss the start of the season with a shoulder injury.
Not even Matt Puempel can be there. The Canadian suffered a serious injury at a Landshut tournament and Russell will be without his scorer for a while. This is one of the reasons why the Panthers managers built the team to the last and added new staff a few days ago with Adam Johnson (Lehigh Valley Phantoms / AHL) and Terry Broadhurst (Tucson Roadrunners / AHL). Despite the efforts of national team player Samuel Soramies (Ingolstadt), that of Sebastian Wännström (HC Ajoie / Switzerland NLA) should be the biggest hit at the front of the squad. The Swede had shown his shooting skills in Switzerland and before that in Sweden and Finland (top scorer 2020-21), and now he wants to show this talent in Germany as well.
All in all, the Panther managers have managed to put together a balanced team. Achieving this year’s signings would be just as important as a fit return for captain Brady Lamb and striker Drew LeBlanc. Both players have exceptional skills, but have recently been able to show them too rarely. If it is possible to assemble the new warriors and the veteran ones into a functioning unit, the reboot and then the return to the ranks of the playoffs is quite realistic.
Tonight we have to prove it after a good preparation (8 games / 5 wins) in Iserlohn (19: 30 / Magenta). The Augsburg Panthers await Kölner Haie (16:30) for their first home game on Sunday.
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