Das Problem in der Defensive ist seit Jahren aufrecht. Während man im Sturm angesichts der kommenden Jahrgänge und mit Komarek, Zwerger, Haudum, in weiterer Folge Rossi, zumindest im erweiterten Sinne A-tauglich aufgestellt ist, schaut es hinten ganz schlecht aus. Und wirklich viele zukünftige Hoffnungsträger scharren nicht in den Startlöchern. In der EBEL werden seit Jahren so gut wie keine Nationalteam-tauglichen Verteidiger "produziert". Die Top-4 sind in der Regel mit Legionären besetzt, die wenigen österr. Defender sind lediglich für die Tiefe da und um das Punkteproblem zu umgehen.
Wie würdest du dahingehend gezielte Einbürgerungen sehen? Es ist ja allerehrenwert, wenn man den Weg mit den Einheimischen gehen will, aber wenn man schaut, was sich z.B. bei Weißrussland an eingebürgerter Prominenz aus der KHL tummelt, wäre es lediglich ein Angleichen der Voraussetzungen.
Zwei, drei Spieler, die jahrelang in der Liga überzeugt haben, könnten über die fehlende Qualität - und was die Defensive anbelangt - auch Quantität hinweg helfen. Jamie Fraser, Marc-Andre Dorion (falls er in der Liga bleibt) wären sicher in allen Bereichen hilfreich.
I think Belarus has done itself more harm than good with its policies. But Austria is in a different situation, because Austria has its own legitimate league.
Typically I would say no, and in principle I still think no, but I'm becoming more open to the idea. Some countries do so very irresponsibly, they reap the benefits of their decisions for a short while, and then things begin to turn for the worst. However, some countries do it more responsibly, like Germany.
So could Austria also maybe naturalize one or two players? I think it depends on what Austrians want, which is why I think my opinion doesn't matter much. If it's a player like John Hughes who has lived in Austria for 7 years, learns the language and participates in the culture, maybe gets an Austrian boo, and the fans are ok with it, I see no reason not to. If the red-white-red faithful are for it, I don't have patriotic grounds on which to object.
Two things to consider. My knowledge of the EBEL points system, which may not be correct so correct me if I am wrong, is that there are zero points award for being a foreigner, but there are points awarded for a national team affiliation. If my understanding is true, that is motivation for both players and clubs not to want players to be naturalized. They would not reduce their point values by gaining citizenship, but they would gain points by playing for a national team. In light of that, I think many would be hesitant, and certainly their clubs would be resistant.
The second is that the vast majority of players that get naturalized are comparatively old, and not particularly elite. Would Jamie Fraser be a better first-pairing defenseman than Martin Schumnig? Yes, probably. But he's still not a Philip Larsen or a Korbinian Holzer. He's not Nick Bailen, or Oskars Bartulis or Auvitu, or Sekera, Jaros, or Roman Josi. Naturalizing players, especially from a league like the EBEL, not the KHL or the DEL, is at best alleviating the problem. It does not fix the problem. If 2022 is the goal, Fraser will be 35 and Dorion will be 36. They may still be functional EBEL players but scientifically we know they will be regressing physically. If by then Germany has Moritz Seider, Leon Gawanke, and Denmark Malte Setkov, Oliver Joakim Larsen, and France Enzo Guebey, and we have a few aging Canadians, the problem has arguably not improved at all. The only true way to fix a talent crisis is to produce more talent.
