Graz 99ers will make their Champions Hockey League debuts in 2019/20 after sensationally winning the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga regular season.
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Austrian goalie Bernd Brückler may not be synonymous with having played for the 99ers, but having grown up in the city and played his junior hockey there he's been impressed with the team from his home town's season so far.
"First off I have to say that I’ve been very impressed with this 99ers team this season, especially the chemistry and depth of the team and how well they clicked from start to finish. On the one hand I was surprised like everyone else how they were able to go on and achieve the first-place finish in the regular season; but on the other I wasn’t so much. I was fortunate to play for Doug Mason in the last year of my career in Klagenfurt, and it doesn’t surprise e at all that he has had such success," revealed the former national team player, who now works as a TV expert. "He’s a very hard-working coach who has a plan for everything that he does. Graz stuck with him after a disappointing end to last season, and have been rewarded with their great results this season."
He continued: "It certainly means a lot for this organisation, that’s on the rise, to get into the Champions Hockey League. I’ really thrilled and happy for the fans and the club to be taking that next step, and getting CHL hockey to Graz is unbelievable. On top of that I can tell you that it’s a beautiful city and a great place."
Having played in the CHL for Salzburg in 2014, Brückler knows what is awaiting the 99ers. "Two words really: top competition!" he stated. "For me it was so thrilling to play against top teams form other leagues. As players, and fans too, you always talk about things like ‘I wonder how the DEL compares to our league?’, or how good are actually teams from Denmark?’, and in this competition you see just how good these teams are. We saw Nottingham get good results, I saw Aalborg come in and beat Vienna; so it’s a great show for the fans when the best of the best go against each other."
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