Red Bull Munich and defender Konrad Abeltshauser are going their separate ways after more than ten years together. As the club announced on Friday, the defender will no longer play for Munich in the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) next season. With 571 league appearances for the EHC, he is in second place within the club behind Maximilian Kastner (587 games).
“It’s practically impossible to put into words what ‘Koni’ has achieved for us on and off the ice,” said Christian Winkler, Managing Director of Sports at the EHC: “He was a real role model in every situation. We can only say thank you for ten years of honesty, passion and absolute dedication.”
Abeltshauser, who moved to Bavaria from the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL) in January 2016, can look back on a successful time in Munich with four championship titles won (2016, 2017, 2018, 2023) and a final appearance in the 2019 Champions League. In 2017 he was also named DEL Defender of the Year.
After the elimination in the playoff semi-final against Adler Mannheim, the Munich team announced further personnel decisions in addition to the farewell to Abeltshauser. With Nikolaus Heigl, Vadim Schreiner, Simon Wolf, Dillon Heatherington and Alberts Smits, five other players are leaving the club.