Worries about Pearson

VSV’s ace defender extended by one year

VSV defenders Philipp Lindner and Dylan MacPherson were delighted with the 3:1 win against Bolzano.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Joy at the Carinthian ice hockey clubs after the victories on Sunday! The Estonian Kulintsev celebrated his first goal at VSV, and there's also some personnel news: A defenseman has probably already extended his contract for a season, a forward will move to Vienna. However, the club is worried about offensive ace Pearson. At the KAC, goalie Florian Vorauer has even overtaken number one Sebastian Dahm in the statistics.

Happy Daniil! There were many happy VSV faces after the 3:1 win against Bolzano. Daniil Kulintsev had one of the happiest. The defender had been converted to center by coach Tray Tuomie - and closed the deal with three goals. His first league goal debut! The 22-year-old celebrated euphorically with the fans, then received the puck from his teammates: "I'll take it to my parents, it'll get a place of honor in the living room."

Villach's Daniil Kulintsev scored for the first time against Bolzano.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Contract now until the end of the season
Kulintsev has now got used to the level. "The start wasn't easy, especially the high tempo is insane. I'm really happy that VSV is giving me the chance to play in the ICE League." Initially, he always had a week-to-week contract - now the contract is fixed until the end of the season for the time being.

Richter moves to Vienna
There's also good news for Dylan MacPherson, who produced 29 points (twelve goals!) last season and has 19 this year (three goals, 16 assists). The top defenseman, who was chased by several clubs in the DEL, has almost reached an agreement with VSV to extend his contract for another year. The Canadian is even said to have already signed. Marco Richter, on the other hand, is likely to part ways. According to reports from Vienna, the striker has signed a two-year contract with the Caps.

Worries about Pearson
The club, on the other hand, is worried about Chase Pearson. The 27-year-old forward, who missed the last games against Linz and Bolzano, is neither injured nor ill - the US-Canadian has personal problems. A contract termination is also possible. For the time being, however, VSV is still hoping that the ace will return soon.

KAC-Goalie mit vier Siege in Folge mit nur insgesamt vier Gegentoren

Vorauer hat in den Statistiken Dahm überholt

Goalie Florian Vorauer has already shown a lot of patience at the KAC. Time and again, he has had to sit on the bench for weeks and watch Dane Sebastian Dahm shine in goal. Now, at the latest, the 25-year-old has shown that he is a strong alternative.

KAC goalie Florian Vorauer is looking really strong at the moment.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

"Reward for hard work!"
Since December 18, the Klagenfurt native has played four games, won all of them - and conceded just two goals. "Of course it's fun! The teamwork with the boys is great, we help each other. I see the performances as a reward for years of hard work with goalkeeping coach Andrej Hocevar," says the keeper.

Never lost at home
Statistically, Vorauer has even overtaken the one-goalie Dahm - with a 92.1 percent catch rate, he is ahead of the Dane for the first time, who has 90.8 percent. On average, Florian has conceded 2.12 goals per game so far - here too, Dahm has conceded more with 2.52 per game: "A nice snapshot. But I don't concern myself with statistics, I always think about the next shot." Florian's home record remains flawless: eight games in Klagenfurt, eight wins. Now Flo is enjoying the two days off: "There's been a lot going on in the last few weeks since mid-December, time to relax."