Tray Tuomie is the new coach of the Rittner gang. © Augsburg Panther

With a lot of DEL experience: This is Ritten's new coach

The coaching question has been clarified at the Rittner Buam SkyAlps since Tuesday evening. As was announced by the club's management at an information evening in Klobenstein, Tray Tuomie will be on the sidelines for the Blue-Reds next season.

30 May 2023

From: pm

His name should be familiar to ice hockey connoisseurs in this country: During his playing days, the American Tray Tuomie played for the Wipptal Broncos in the A2004 series for a few months in the 05/2 season and also won the championship with them. The former attacker had previously emigrated to Germany after his college days in the United States, where he was on the ice for a variety of teams from the second to the fifth German league.

After retiring as a player, Tuomie initially took over the Weser Stars as head coach in the fourth German league in the 2009/10 season. A year later, the now 55-year-old was already in the DEL, as an assistant coach for the DEG Metro Stars. In 2012 he came to the Nuremberg Ice Tigers, first for two years as an assistant coach, then for one and a half years as head coach. In 2016 he moved to another Bavarian first division team, the Augsburger Panthern, where he worked as an assistant coach for three years and was promoted to head coach in 2019. His last coaching position was at ESV Kaufbeuren in the DEL2 in the 2021/22 season, while Tuomie was without a club in the past sporting year

“We are thrilled that Tuomie is joining us”

On Tuesday evening, as part of an information evening with fans and interested parties at the drinks dealer “Fink” in Klobenstein, it was announced that Tuomie would be in charge of the Rittner Buam SkyAlps for the coming season. He is following in the footsteps of the Finn Santeri Heiskanen, who has been on the sidelines for the Rittner Buam for the last two years. “Tuomie is a great motivator and has a good rapport with his players. You can see from his great experience in the DEL that he is also very strong tactically and technically. We are thrilled that he chose the Rittner Buam. “He brings a lot of fresh air to the Ritten and is certainly the right man for us,” the two sporting directors, Dan Tudin and Alexander Eisath, are convinced.

Tuomie himself is also looking forward to his commitment on the Ritten. “I’m really looking forward to the coming season with the Buam! During the conversations with Tudin and the board, I quickly realized how special this place and this organization is,” says the American. “I want to build a team that plays fast ice hockey, but above all that enjoys playing ice hockey. The goal is of course the playoffs, after all, that’s where ice hockey is the most fun!”