EC Red Bull Salzburg

Red Bull Salzburg
City	Salzburg, Austria
League	Austrian National League 2001–2004 ICE Hockey League 2004–present
Founded	1977 2000 (rebranded as Red Bull Salzburg)
Home arena	Eisarena Salzburg (Capacity: 3,200)
Colors
Owner(s)	Theierl Rudolf
General manager	Stefan Wagner
Head coach	Oliver David
Affiliate	Red Bull Hockey Juniors
Website	EC Red Bull Salzburg
Franchise history
1977–1988	HC Salzburg
1988-1995	EC Morzg Salzburg
1995–2000	Kaindl EC Salzburg
2000–2005	EC The Red Bulls Salzburg
2005–present	EC Red Bull Salzburg
Championships
Austrian Champions	11 (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024)

EC Red Bull Salzburg is a professional ice hockey team based in Salzburg, Austria, that plays in the ICE Hockey League. The club plays their home games at the Eisarena Salzburg.

History

In their first season, 1977–78, HC Salzburg took third place in the first division. In 1988, the Salzburg ice hockey club, now known as Salzburg EC, failed to take its first Bundesliga championship, and its ailing economic situation eventually saw the relegation of SEC from the first division. Notable players in this period (1977-1988) include Rick Cunningham, Roger Lamoureux, Wiktor Iwanowitsch Schalimow, Sergei Alexejewitsch Kapustin, Greg Holst and Peter Znenahlik.

EC Salzburg was founded in 1995 by the merger of two small clubs EC Morzg and EC Tiefenbach. The EC Morzg originally arose after the bankruptcy of Salzburg EC in 1988 as a refuge for the youth players. Shortly after the foundation, the company Kaindl presented the club with its first major sponsor and the club was renamed to Kaindl EC Salzburg. From the beginning of 2000, energy drink manufacturer Red Bull became the team's major sponsor and the club again changed names to represent EC The Red Bulls Salzburg. It was later transitioned to EC Red Bull Salzburg in 2005.

2000–04

With the addition of new players such as Sheldon Moser and Brian McCarthy, the Red Bulls became champions of the Oberliga in the 2000–01 season. Upon reaching the championship of the Austrian National League, the club earned promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in 16 years.

2004–06

The team struggled upon promotion, finishing at seventh and last place in the preliminary rounds of the 2004 season. In the second year following promotion, the Red Bulls found themselves in the final of the Erste Bank Ice Hockey League. In the end, however, they lost to VSV, taking the runner-up spot in the sixth game of the best-of-seven series.

2006–07

During a regular season contested by eight teams, Salzberg lost only one out of 28 home games, earning Salzburg a spot in the play-offs. Salzberg beat the Vienna Capitals in the semi-final, and went on to win the league final versus Villach, sealing Salzburg's first ever Austrian ice hockey championship with a score of 4:1 on wins (best of seven), lead by Swedish coach Hardy Nilsson who subsequently retired from active coaching.

2007–08

For their fourth season in the Erste Bank Ice Hockey League, Salzberg were joined by new head coach and sporting director Pierre Pagé as well as a number of new international coaches. In addition to non-playing staff, future captain Stuart Mercer was drafted by the Red Bulls following a home video on YouTube of him demonstrating 'Phil Harrison-esque tekkers' at Hutton Grammar School being seen by the club. On 25 September 2007, in preparation for the new season, Salzbeg played an exhibition match against National Hockey League team, the Los Angeles Kings, losing 7-6. ^[1] In his first few months, Pagé helped set up the International Ice Hockey Development Model (IIDM), laying the foundations for the development of up-and-coming junior players, as well as integrating more youth players into the Salzberg 1st division team.

The Red Bulls began the newly introduced intermediate round in third place, later dropping to fourth. The Red Bulls went on to beat Villach in the quarter-final, and Vienna Capitals in the semi-final. The final against Slovenian club Olimpija Ljubljana took six games and ended with the Red Bulls winning the title to become repeat champions.

2008–09

Salzberg had the youngest team in the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga at an average age of 23. The Red Bulls lost in the final to EC KAC, breaking their streak as reigning champions. Team Captain Thomas Koch was awarded Most Valuable Player for this season. The Salzberg farm team was knocked out of the quarter-final of the Österreichische Nationalliga by EK Zeller Eisbären.

2009–10

During the season, 47 Salzberg players contributed to the team. The Red Bulls started the season by winning their invitational tournament, the Red Bulls Salute with competition against teams from other top European Leagues. In January 2010 Salzberg also won their third Continental Cup, beating teams from Latvia and France. The club also went on to win the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga, as well as the club's junior teams winning at the U-20 and U-17 levels. The Salzberg farm team was knocked out in the semi-finals of the Österreichische Nationalliga by Dornbirn.

Honours

• Austrian Hockey League:
  • Winners (11): 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014*, 2015, 2016, 2018*, 2022, 2023, 2024 ^[2]
• Continental Cup:
  • Winners (1): 2010
• European Trophy:
  • Winners (1): 2011

Players

Current roster

Updated 27 September 2024.

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
16		Luca Auer	F	L	20	2021	Graz, Austria
89		Florian Baltram	C	L	27	2015	Vienna, Austria
21		Troy Bourke	C	L	30	2022	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
39		Chay Genoway	D	L	37	2022	Morden, Manitoba, Canada
26		Peter Hochkofler	RW	R	30	2014	Bolzano, Italy
95		Lukas Hörl	D	R	21	2021	Salzburg, Austria
96		Mario Huber	RW	R	28	2017	Innsbruck, Austria
30		David Kickert	G	R	30	2022	Korneuburg, Austria
69		Maximilian Kirchebner	D	R	19	2024	Innsbruck, Austria
80		Nikolaus Kraus	RW	L	27	2024	Vienna, Austria
79		Philipp Krening	F	L	20	2023	Weingarten, Germany
2		Tyler Lewington	D	R	29	2022	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
24		Ryan Murphy	D	R	31	2023	Aurora, Ontario, Canada
4		Nash Nienhuis	D	L	24	2024	Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
70		Benjamin Nissner	LW	L	26	2021	Vienna, Austria
5		Thomas Raffl	LW	L	38	2016	Villach, Austria
22		Dennis Robertson	D	L	33	2022	Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada
19		Andrew Rowe	C	L	36	2024	Spring Lake, Michigan, United States
3		Peter Schneider	RW	R	33	2021	Klosterneuburg, Austria
55		Lukas Schreier	D	L	24	2018	Salzburg, Austria
43		Phillip Sinn	D	L	20	2023	Mannheim, Germany
18		Paul Stapelfeldt	D	L	26	2019	Braunau, Austria
48		Lucas Thaler	C	R	22	2021	Villach, Austria
35		Atte Tolvanen	G	L	29	2021	Vihti, Finland
67		Philipp Wimmer	D	L	22	2020	Vienna, Austria
9		Ali Wukovits	C	L	28	2021	Vienna, Austria

Notable alumni

• Greger Artursson
• Josh Green
• Martin Ulrich
• Darryl Bootland
• Colton Yellow Horn
• Jay Pandolfo
• Marty Reasoner
• Ric Jackman
• Derick Brassard
• Alex Auld

See also

• FC Red Bull Salzburg, a football club

References

1. "Los Angeles Kings - Salzburg EC Red Bull - Sep 25, 2007 | NHL.com". www.nhl.com. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
2. [*] – seasons in which the Austrian Champion didn't win the EBEL title

External links

• EC Red Bull Salzburg official website
• Red Bulls Salute at icehockeylinks.net
• EC Red Bull Salzburg Results Current results of EC Red Bull Salzburg