This is what sets the Cavaliers apart from all other hockey clubs

Many club officials in Italian ice hockey are currently looking appreciatively to the lowlands. The Cavaliers are currently experiencing an unexpected upswing as a “trendy” club, the first season in the AlpsHL was mastered with attractive, successful ice hockey and now – at the beginning of the summer – the Unterlandlers have a broad squad together. What do the Cavs do differently than the other representatives of the fastest team sport in the world here? We spoke to sports director Andreas Zelger about this.

What positives and negatives do you take away from the inaugural season in the AlpsHL?

Andreas Zelger: “It was pleasing to see how this young club has grown to its task with this young, league-inexperienced team. “Everything has developed further with the Cavaliers over the past year, and the sporting success was of course the cherry on the cake.”

And what about the negative aspects? Didn't you have to overcome any hurdles? “Oh yes, there were. I don't want to say that we underestimated the jump from the IHL to the AlpsHL, but the organizational effort was immense. This started weeks before the start of the season with the search for accommodation for the players, then extended to the day-to-day organization of training and game days right up to the preparations for the new season. At the same time, it was also really great to see how many volunteers really pitched in and made this club grow.”

“We have now established ourselves in the district and have formed a real brand.” Cavaliers sports director Andreas Zelger

Have the Cavaliers finally arrived in the Unterland? “The first two years were extremely difficult. In addition to the development, we also had to do a lot of educational work so that the people of Neumarkt and Aur could put aside their skepticism. We have now established ourselves in the district, we have formed a real brand and are recognized as a club and organization. This is shown by the audience response: the average is constantly increasing, you can see more and more new faces in our stadium. But I wouldn't describe this as having arrived; that would mean that we no longer have any goals. Rather, the foundation has been laid on which we will now build.”

As of today, the Cavs have 21 players under contract, more than any other ice hockey club in Italy. Are you one step ahead of the competition? “I don’t think so, maybe we just have a different approach. I would put it this way: With our limited budget, we have to be creative and think ahead. For us, the local players, the homegrown players, have a special importance. They are the club and they embody it. You are the cornerstone. Then why shouldn't we lay this foundation stone early? With timely confirmation, we give them importance and responsibility, but at the same time we also hold them accountable. And so we have a broad squad together relatively early on, which is then enhanced at certain points by top performers from away.”

How is the division of tasks between you, coach Olli Hällfors and president Gerd Grossgasteiger regulated? “The squad planning is the responsibility of the sporting management, and I am responsible for that. Of course, I will consult with all parties. The coach brings his opinion into the selection of players and together with the club management we determine the basic game orientation, the values, the club philosophy and the external image. We act according to the guidelines.”

When it comes to choosing players, Finns are clearly in vogue in the lowlands. Where does this preference come from? “It's very simple: we find the Finnish market incredibly interesting because of its nature. There are big gaps between the U20 championship, second-class Mestis and the elite Liiga class. Many talents therefore take a foreign league as a stopover. In addition, Olli (coach Hällfors, editor's note) worked in the Finnish youth sector for a long time, there is hardly anyone he doesn't know or has even trained himself. He gives us excellent player information.”

Who else are they looking for in the transfer market?

“With our core of local players and the three legionnaires from Finland, we are very solidly positioned. There will be a young defender added and possibly a fourth foreigner. Whether we get this now, only during the course of the season or not at all at the end is still completely open. In any case, we are planning with the current squad and at the same time keeping our eyes and ears open.”

What are your goals for the new season?

“For me as sports director, my goal is to be able to say in the final discussions at the end of the season: Bravo, you have improved! With a young team you just have to see development. Coaches and sports directors have to measure themselves against this. If everyone goes above and beyond, the team will automatically improve and the results on the ice will also be good. We saw that last season.”

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This is what sets the Cavaliers apart from all other hockey clubs

SportNews invites representatives of all local clubs in the AlpsHL and IHL to the big summer discussion. Today it's the turn of Andreas Zelger, the squad planner for the Unterland Cavaliers.

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