Hit or miss? The balance of the HCB new arrivals

Leland Irving (30 years old, goalkeeper): The former NHL goalie is an asset for the HCB. He has already proven himself to be a guarantor of victory on several occasions. The statistics prove this: With a catch rate of 92,2%, he has the third-best value in the league. However, Irving still lacks consistency, which is also due to the fact that he has been repeatedly let down by those in front of him recently - especially when it comes to rebounds.

Leland Irving has already shown real brilliant performances, but needs to be more consistent.

Tim Campbell (27 years old, defender): The Canadian with the distinctive mustache came from the French league as a no-name, but quickly turned out to be a real reinforcement. His elegant game and his offensive drive are reminiscent of Sébastien Piché, who was never forgotten in Bolzano.

Paul Geiger (26 years old, defender): The 1,90 meter giant still has a lot of room for improvement. Although he is a good skater and tries to stimulate the game from defense, he is still too error-prone at times. Despite his beefy stature, the physical game is not yet his.

Markus Nordlund (33 years old, defender): The experienced Finn is the leading player in the Foxes' newly formed defensive group. He plays a leadership role both on and off the ice. His puck handling and game overview are excellent. In the recent times of crisis, however, even the veteran made far too many mistakes.

Matt MacKenzie (27 years old, defender): So far he has only rarely really appeared - which is not a negative attribute for a defensive player. In fact, as a classic stay-at-home defender, he maintains an inconspicuous style of play. After an initial period of getting used to it, MacKenzie can now impress with solid performances at his first European stop.

Tobias Brighenti (22 years old, defender): The youngster from Margreid still owes proof of his EBEL suitability. After a difficult start to the season with little ice time, he was handed over to cooperation partner Ritten. He should gain match practice there. However, the national player definitely deserves a second chance.

Marco Insam (29 years old, winger): The “prodigal son” was welcomed into the ice wave with enormously high expectations. After the first phase of the season, it seems as if he never left. His versatility and his hard-hitting shot are a real weapon for the HCB. He is also extremely respected within the team as a leader.

Matti Kuparinen (34 years old, center): After a stuttering start that immediately earned it a lot of criticism, the Scandinavian import made remarkable developments. He has long since become indispensable for coach Kai Suikkanen. The Finn is not a man of big tones; rather, he leads the way with his self-sacrificing and physical style of play. Ivan Deluca has all the prerequisites to assert himself in the EBEL.

Ivan Deluca (21 years old, winger): The Sterzinger was signed as a promising player and must be evaluated accordingly. Hardly any South Tyrolean was able to gain a foothold in the EBEL as quickly as Deluca, but he will probably have to be patient until he finally makes a breakthrough. After a good start, he has been playing less and less recently; he needs to reverse this trend with good training performances.

Massimo Carozza (22 years old, winger): It is difficult to label a player who is in the lower salary bracket and does not affect the points account as a bad purchase. That's why we leave it to the statistics: 17 (short) appearances, 1 assist, 0 goals. A rare photo: Andrew Crescenzi celebrating a goal.

Brett Findlay (26 years old, center): With 26 assists, the Canadian has long since become the league's “assist god”. His liveliness, his elegant playing and, above all, his eye for the free man are impressive. He has only shown these qualities too rarely in the important games. Of the many new additions, Findlay is nonetheless the most compelling.

Mike Blunden (32 years old, winger): With goals, tough performances and little tricks at the start of the season, he impressively demonstrated why he has earned his living in the best league in the world for years. The HCB signed him primarily because of his leadership personality and he hasn't shown that yet. In difficult times like these, there has to be more to come from the former Montreal striker.

Dan Catenacci (25 years old, center/winger): Similar to his line partners Findlay and Blunden, Catenacci has already hinted at his qualities on several occasions. It has the best +/- value of all Foxes (+10). However, he is now also challenged: Bozen relies on consistently good performances from his parade block in order to climb back up the table.

Andrew Crescenzi (26 years old, winger): If Carozza's expectations were dampened in advance, the exact opposite applies to Crescenzi: The long-time AHL striker with NHL experience is the biggest disappointment at HCB to date. He is far too sedate in his movements, far too harmless in the opponent's third. If that doesn't change, he will be the first candidate to be eliminated if the club management decides to make squad changes.

ICE Regular Season ICE	SP	TV	P
1. Klagenfurt	47	183:101	102
2. Fehervar	46	146:126	89
3. Salzburg	46	142:107	87
4. HCB South Tyrol	46	137:125	76
5. Linz	46	146:116	75
6. Villach	46	155:136	74
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Hit or miss? The balance of the HCB new arrivals

The CHL season is over for HCB Südtirol Alperia, half of the EBEL regular season is long over - so it's time to take a closer look at the 14 new players in the squad of the last struggling champions. Who did the Foxes bring in as reinforcements and which player did they miss? An interim balance.

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