The starting position
HC Pustertal Wölfe started the new season with defeats against Bolzano, Székesfehérvár and Ljubljana and a win against Innsbruck. Before that, however, almost no stone was left unturned in Bruneck. 13 players have left the club, 16 new ones have arrived. Led by a new coach, Jason Jasper, who replaces the Finn Tomek Valtonen.
This is Jason Jasper's second stint as coach after four years in the Danish top division with Esbjerg Energy. Last season, he reached the final with the team, in which Esbjerg was beaten by the eventual Danish champions SønderjyskE Vojens - the Red Bulls won 6:2 against Vojens in the CHL three weeks ago. Before that, the now 43-year-old played as a center in the DEL for many years and also won the German championship with Mannheim.
The South Tyroleans' best striker after four games is Mikael Frycklund, who is playing his second season in Bruneck, with 2 goals and 3 assists. Pustertal is in 10th place in the table with a goal difference of 9:13. The Red Bulls in 5th place have scored 10 times in 3 games (2 wins and an OT defeat) and conceded 8 goals. The Red Bulls still have the painful 7-1 home defeat from December last year in their minds ahead of the first clash of the season, but are determined to pick up three points. The return of Lucas Thaler and Phillip Sinn should also help, meaning that the Red Bulls are currently only missing the long-term injured Florian Baltram and Chay Genoway, who will soon be back in action.