In North America, the NHL is King. It is the measuring stick for all hockey leagues in the world, and rightfully so, it’s the best hockey league in the world and employs the planet’s best players. But it is not the only professional league, and those living in Canada and the United States, they don’t look past their own backyard to see what else is available to them as hockey fans. 

Turning towards Europe, there are dozens of excellent hockey leagues, and all of them have a very high level of play. Most hockey fans know of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Russia. Others may recognize the professional leagues in Sweden, Finland, or even Germany. But there is a league that deserves attention for its level of play and history, and that is the Austrian Hockey League. 

Austiran Hockey League 

There are currently 13 teams in the league with the league having some roots going back as far as 1923 with various incarnations of the league having a competition to crown the Austrian Champion. Some franchises even competed in the German Ice Hockey Championship. One club, Klagenfurt (EC- KAC), reigns above them all, having won 32 titles. This season, they moved to a new, modern arena to provide all the comforts that enhance the experience for their fans 

For North American fans, that makes them the equivalent of Austria as the Montreal Canadiens to the NHL. They both have the most titles, they both predate the current iteration of their top league, and they have some of the most dedicated and passionate fans in their leagues. 

Deep Ties to Montreal 

Canadiens fans may recognize the assistant coach at EC-KAC, David Fisher, the Habs’ 2006 first-round selection. Fisher left to play in Europe in 2012, eventually settling into Klagenfurt in 2016. He remained in the picturesque town at the foot of the Alps as a player until 2020. Once he hung up his skates, he remained as part of the coaching staff. 

But going into the 2023-24 season, EC-KAC has decided it needs new leadership behind the bench, promoting their Future Team (junior league) coach, Kirk Furey to the post. Furey has a long resume, not only coaching the EC-KAC junior club but also the 2023 Austrian World Junior Championship team, which was captained by Canadiens 2020 third-round selection Vinzenz Rohrer and starred Montreal’s 2023 fifth-overall pick, David Reinbacher. 

Chasing a Championship 

For Coach Furey and his EC-KAC squad, who were the 2019 and 2021 (no season was played in 2020) champions, there is very little time to get his club ready to take back their title as the new season starts on September 15th with a visit to the reigning back-to-back champions, EC Salzburg Red Bulls.

In an exclusive interview, the native of Nova Scotia spoke of what his team faces this season. 

“I won’t be making many changes to our team. We have a really good group of players, they have character, experience, and have the talent to match anyone in our league. They are very skilled. We’ll just need to focus on executing our plan. We will need to play fast and give teams no room to make mistakes, and when they do, we will need to capitalize. On defense, we’ll try to help Sebastian (Dahm) out by limiting the shots he faces.”

– Kirk Furey EC-KAC Head Coach 

As one of the six imports allowed, starting goaltender Sebastian Dahm has been a wall in net for EC-KAC, averaging a .923 save percentage in his 121 starts over his three seasons. Another of the imports, and assistant captain, is former Winnipeg Jets and NHL journeyman defender, Paul Postma who finished second in team scoring with 31 points in 45 games. Coach Furey sees him as one of the most important assets heading into the season.  

“He’s a true leader. He does all of the things that make a great pro on and off the ice. He is big, and he uses his size and reach to help defend, making life hard on other teams. He is also able to lead the way with our transition game. He has a great first pass and the ability to carry the puck. His shot from the blue line is also a big weapon.” 

– Kirk Furey EC-KAC Head Coach 

The level of play in the Austrian league is of high quality, and it is only improving. Hockey fans have to look no further than the new wave of high-end talent coming out of the small, land-locked country in the Alps. In the last four years, we have witnessed three players selected in the top 10 of the NHL Entry Draft, Reinbacher (5th), Marco Rossi (9th), and Marco Kasper (8th). They owe their development to the hard work of people like Coach Furey and the development coaches of all 13 clubs in the league, who have worked tirelessly to build the grassroots of the game in their homeland. While the young players and local fans benefit, so do hockey fans around the world as their best take their place among the top players in the world