Tommy Purdeller moves to HC Pustertal. © Tommy Purdeller

Purdeller & Gschliesser: Two friends reunited at HCP

For years they enjoyed their training side by side at the Salzburg Ice Hockey Academy before their paths separated. Now Tommy Purdeller and Fabian Gschliesser are reunited. The two strikers have signed with HC Pustertal.

July 04, 2024

From: leo

There has been a lot of speculation about Tommy Purdeller's future in recent months. Will the 20-year-old stay in North America, will he return to Europe or will he head to Scandinavia? As was announced on Thursday, the striker is returning to his hometown club. At HCP, Purdeller will be joining Fabian Gschliesser, who was under contract with the Wipptal Broncos last season and has already had a taste of the ICE Hockey League.

Purdeller's return is particularly spectacular, as the right-handed shooter is one of the biggest local talents, along with Damian Clara. In the last two seasons, the man from St. Lorenzen played in the Canadian youth league OHL. He won the title with the Peterborough Petes in his first season, and this year he was crowned his team's top scorer. Before that, the South Tyrolean played for the Red Bull Juniors in the Alps Hockey League. At the age of 17, he collected an impressive 35 points in 32 games. Now he wants to prove himself in a higher league.

Fabian Gschliesser (right) and Davide Conci (left) will be running together again this year. © Oskar Brunner

Gschliesser has had a similar career path - with the exception that he returned to South Tyrol last year. The center played a major role in the Wipptal Broncos reaching the semi-finals of the AlpsHL with his defensive strength and 26 points in 43 games. He also played 16 times for HC Pustertal, but did not play many games. This year, that is set to change. The Wolves' squad now has 15 strikers. Thanks to the cooperation with the Wipptal Broncos, surplus players under the age of 24 can play in the AlpsHL if they do not win a regular place at HCP.