It is the pure dominance that Red Bull Salzburg embodied in Austrian ice hockey. On Friday, the Salzburgers won the fourth game of the Best-of-Seven series of Win2day ICE Hockey League Against the KAC 4: 0 (1: 0, 2: 0, 1: 0) and thus the final with 4: 0. Dem Rise Only two goals are scored in four games. The fourth Salzburg League title In a row, the Tenth since the climb in 2004 was celebrated extensively in the Volksgarten.
20 years later
If you go back in the history of the club, then the first championship title was the Vienna Capitals On April 12, 2005, exactly 20 years ago, a kind of initial spark. Because soon afterwards Austria’s team captain left Dieter cold After just one year in Vienna, the capitals and hired near Salzburg. It was clear: if you get cold, you want the title. And it was a sign for the player market that lace ice hockey should be played in the Volksgarten.
Other stars were added like Matthias Trattnig, who broke off his North America career in 2005 and was involved in the best of the age of 25. Also the long -time team defender Martin Ulrich Was part of the team that came to the final in 2006.
Tolvanen only got two goals in the final
In 2007 Salzburg won the first championship title. Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitzwho had already supported the club in the second division and thus ice hockey as the first team sport, not only rely on leaders. He wanted personalities on the coaching bench. In the first title, the former Swedish team boss was Hardy Nilsson In office, later the Canadian Pagged stone With his demanding personality and his offensive playing, new standards in Austrian ice hockey. The long-time NHL coach won three championship titles.
The best academy
Not only a lot of money was invested in players and coaches. Page was also there when Red Bull built the young academy, which was opened in 2014 for football and ice hockey. It is still one of the most modern performance centers for young players in Europe and a motto why so many teenagers want to come to Salzburg from other clubs. There are five of the largest Viennese talents in the Lower 20 team alone, but also 18 Germans. But this weakens the competition within Austria more than has previously used the professional team.
New manners
Another factor that led to the current dominance was the break with old customs in the league. Until the transfer of Ali Wukovits and Benjamin Nissner From Vienna to Salzburg, it was an unwritten law among the clubs that Austrian players themselves do not be recruited according to expired contracts. Since 2021, the two have been part of the scaffolding of the Salzburg team that has no longer lost a play-off series. Nissner has achieved incredible 51 scorer points in the four play-off seasons.
And of course Salzburg, with probably nine players, is making a large part of the national team, which from May 9th wants to do as well at the World Cup in Stockholm as in the previous year with 10th place.