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Former NHL star Zach Boychuk enters the league as a German champion. © Instagram/zachboychuk
Transfer hunt in the ICE: One hit after another
Yes, is it Christmas already? Many ice hockey fans might feel like they've received a gift from Santa Claus, especially on the hottest days of the year. The clubs in the ICE Hockey League are currently unpacking one transfer bombshell after another – including HC Pustertal and HC Bozen.
June 24, 2025
From: fop
The ICE Hockey League's transfer market is currently bustling, with some spectacular new signings generating plenty of buzz.
Among the clubs dominating the arms race for the upcoming season are the two South Tyrolean league representatives. HC Bozen has made a serious splash with NHL veterans Philip Samuelsson and Shane Gersich, as well as Slovakian champion Brett Pollock. Pustertal has also landed Munich's longtime top defender Jon Blum, after acquiring former Winnipeg striker JC Lipon, making quite a splash.
Michael Raffl is the most prominent
But even beyond the Brenner Pass, the clubs have landed some big fish. Fehervar, for example, has acquired three players with NHL pedigree: Drake Rymsha, Justin Richards, and Darren Archibald. The new Hungarian ICE club, Ferencvaros Budapest, has brought back a former MVP, Brady Shaw, to the league. Innsbruck did the same with the signing of Steven Owre.
Like in Bolzano: Mitch and Cole Hults are united in Vienna.
In the race for the most prominent signing, Salzburg likely edged out Ljubljana. The champions brought Lausanne captain and 629-time NHL player Michael Raffl to the league. The Slovenians landed Zach Boychuk, a newly crowned champion from Berlin who won a total of four titles in Germany and was also crowned champion in Switzerland and at the Spengler Cup.
Vorarlberg without reinforcements
Only one team has so far completely stayed out of the transfer spree: the financially troubled Vorarlberg Pioneers. However, with 80 days left until the start of the season, there's still plenty of time for all teams to pull off a few more deals.These are the top transfers so far:
| The club | Transfer hit | Previous club | Peculiarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bolzano | Shane Gersich | Iserlohn (GER) | 2018 Stanley Cup Champion |
| Val Pusteria | Jonathon Blum | Munich (GER) | 122 NHL games, DEL champion |
| Salzburg | Michael Raffl | Lausanne (SUI) | 629 appearances, 190 points in the NHL |
| Klagenfurt | Jordan Murray | Schwenningen (GER) | 215 DEL games |
| Linz | Ryan MacKinnon | Spisska Nova Ves (SVK) | Spisska's top-scoring defender |
| Graz | Anders Koch | Kiekko-Espoo (FIN) | World Cup quarter-final with Denmark |
| Villach | Adam Helewka | Bolzano | HCB top scorer 2024/25 |
| close | Darren Archibald | Wolfsburg (GER) | 55 NHL appearances |
| Ljubljana | Zach Boychuk | Berlin (GER) | Swiss champion, 4 DEL titles |
| Vienna | Mitch Hults | Kladno (CZE) | Bolzano's top scorer 2022/23 |
| Innsbruck | Steven Owre | La Chaux-de-Fonds (SUI) | ICE Top Scorer and MVP 2024 |
| Budapest | Brady Shaw | Angers (FRA) | ICE Top Scorer and MVP 2023 |
| Vorarlberg | - | - | - |
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