Thursday, 29. February 2024 |
"The competition is open"Head coach Oliver David gives his first interim assessment// win2day ICE Hockey LeagueOliver David was introduced as the new Head Coach of EC Red Bull Salzburg at the beginning of May last year. On Sunday, he will start his first postseason with the Red Bulls in the win2day ICE Hockey League. The 45-year-old American moved to the Red Bulls' organization from EHC Biel-Bienne in Switzerland and took over as head coach of a professional team for the first time. The basic round is now over and tonight the Red Bulls will also find out who their quarter-final opponents are. We asked the head coach for a first summary.
Next home game | Playoff Quarterfinals
Sun, 3 March | Opponent still open | Tickets
Oliver, the Red Bulls go into the playoffs as the third-best team after the basic round. What still needs to be improved?
The most important thing is always the attitude, the mentality. That's where it starts. In some of the most recent games, we had a lot of puck possession, were in the offensive zone a lot and created chances, but still didn't score many goals. That was frustrating at times when you don't get rewarded with goals. In other words, we simply have to make more of our many chances. Nevertheless, we have to stay calm, control the puck and continue to play patiently. And not start playing wildly forwards. We have to stick to our line and trust that we have the players to convert the chances.
We also have to keep an eye out for certain situations in the game. Many of the chances we conceded to our opponents were disastrous. Often a breakaway out of nowhere, a misplaced pass. Which is also a result of our constant attacking play. We have to be prepared for these moments. That's the way many of our opponents play against us.
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How excited are you about the playoffs?
For me, the most important thing is to prepare for the upcoming tasks at a high level, just like the players, and to give them everything they need for the playoffs. In professional sport, you only ever concentrate on the next game. Even though I can look back on a long season, the next important thing is always the next game. That's the only thing we can control; preparing for the next game and being ready for it.
How do you rate the win2day ICE Hockey League in general?
The skill level in the league is higher than I expected. I had countless conversations with my coaching team and with coaches who have worked in the league before. I also watched a lot of videos. But the reality is much better. Every team has at least a handful of players who can make the difference. And I don't just mean players from North America. I was often surprised by the quality of some of the moves or moves of individual players.
"Every team can have a good phase in March, extend it into April and play for the championship."
And no team really stands out extremely, you have to work really hard for every win. The same goes for the championship. My impression is that it's a really tough fight to become champions. I don't mean that we might not be well prepared for certain games or that we put in less effort.
The players all know what to expect. But you can never predict who will win a game. In other words, the competition is on. Every team can have a good phase in March, extend it into April and play for the championship. Including us. In this respect, we need to stay healthy now, we need the right mentality and we need to find a rhythm from game to game to carry the energy with us. And we want to continue to inspire our fans with exciting games that are worth watching, so that they continue to support us.
Next home game | Playoff Quarterfinals
Sun, 3 March | Opponent still unknown | Tickets
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