Große Erwartungen der Rockets an Thomas Raffl!
Kelowna General Manager Bruce Hamilton spricht im aktuellsten Interview über seine "european prospects" von der faszinierenden "Entdeckung" aus Österreich und den hohen Erwartungen an Raffl's ersten Auftritt im Trikot der Rockets. Raffl soll vorerst den lettischen Starstürmer Lauris Darzins ersetzen, der zumindest bis Weihnachten an einer schweren Schulterverletzung laboriert (außerdem könnten der Lette noch diese Saison ins Trikot der Nashville Predators bzw. Milwaukee Admirals wechseln).
Hamilton im Original:
The injury to Darzins certainly smarts. ... However, the intriguing prospect of Raffl filling the void has Hamilton excited.
“Raffl is a big forward and we’re really looking forward to seeing him in camp,” he says. “With Darzins out until Christmas, we’ll see how things go. I’m sure we can find a spot for one of them when Lauris comes back. But, don’t forget that Darzins will be an overage player this year and is still a candidate to turn pro (Nashville holds his NHL rights).”
Raffl is a native Austrian – a rarity in the higher echelons of hockey world – whose 6’4” frame tips the scales at 200 pounds. Like Edler, he played professionally last season in his homeland, suiting up with Heraklith VSV in the Austrian Division One Elite League. There he played on a line with a pair of NHL’ers including Ethan Moreau of the Edmonton Oilers.