Broncos strengthen with Matti Näätänen

The offensive defender, who turns 17 on July 31th, comes from the Finnish capital Helsinki and took a rather unusual path. Näätänen played as a striker until six years ago and as such not only made it into the Finnish U16 and even the U20 team, but also had engagements with the Espoo Blues and the Pelicans Lahti in the SM-Liiga as well as with Frisk Asker Norway and HC Vsetin in the Czech Extraliga. At the age of 25, he finally switched to defense.

“We had a lot of injuries in defense at Jokipojat at the time and the coach asked me if I would be willing to play as a defender. Of course I wanted to help my team and agreed. After that, I never wanted to play as a striker again because I liked playing as a defender so much,” says Näätänen about this unusual step. For five seasons, Näätänen was one of the best offensive defenders in the Finnish second division. In 245 Mestis games with Jokipojat Joensuu, he scored 44 goals and provided 80 assists, but at the same time he did not neglect his defensive duties.

Last year the Finn played for Kaufbeuren in the DEL2 and made an excellent impression in the 68 games. With a total of 30 goals, eleven of which were in the majority, he also took the top scorer among all DEL2 defenders and also contributed 24 assists.

Broncos head coach Axel Kammerer, who has found out more about his new protégé from coaches, teammates and opponents in the DEL2, describes the Finn as follows: “Näätänen is a very good ice skater who is reliable and uncompromising on defense, but not too tough plays, has an excellent shot and is very dangerous in the power play. Since he shoots from the right and has great tactical discipline, he is exactly what we are looking for in the defender position.”

Broncos let Derek Eastman go This also means the Broncos are saying goodbye to Derek Eastman. The sporting director Egon Gschnitzer regrets this step: “We need a right-wing shooter in defense and since we are planning with only one imported player in defense, the decision was clear. Eastman has been a central figure in our team over the last two years with his professional attitude and 47% loyalty to the club. Having to let go of a player and especially a person of his caliber is always a difficult decision.” The American played a total of 47 Serie A and 2 Serie A40 games with Vipiteno. In the highest Italian league, Eastman has a total of 64 points, while in the second highest championship he managed XNUMX points.

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Broncos strengthen with Matti Näätänen

After the signings of Joni Puurula and Chris St. Jacques, the ice hockey club from Wipptal has hit the transfer market again and signed Finnish defender Matti Näätänen.

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