EHC Red Bull Munich signs defenseman Les Lancaster from Ilves Tampere

Thursday, 01. February 2024 | EHC Red Bull Munich signs defenseman Les Lancaster from Ilves Tampere

Red Bulls sign Les Lancaster under contract"The aim is to fight for the title"// PERSONNELEHC Red Bull München has signed the 28-year-old US-American Les Lancaster. The defenseman with the most points in the last "Liiga" season moves from the current Finnish league leaders Ilves Tampere to the Bavarian capital.

Christian Winkler, Managing Director Sports Red Bull Ice Hockey: "With Dominik Bittner and Adam Almquist, we have to cope with two long-term losses at the defender position. That's why we wanted to add another defender after signing Emil Johansson. When we got wind that Les might be available, we took a close look at this personnel issue internally. The feedback about him was exclusively positive. He also gave us the feeling that he really wanted to move to Munich. We are delighted to have such a strong defender in our ranks in the future."

Lancaster with 100 scoring points in 171 games

Lancaster moved to Europe in the summer of 2021 and has since signed for 16-time Finnish champions Ilves Tampere. In his 171 appearances in Finland's top league so far, he has collected a strong 100 scoring points (27 goals | 73 assists). Last season, the Ypsilanti-born right winger was both top scorer (15) and top scorer (54) among all defenders in the Finnish "Liiga".

Lancaster already achieved the same in the 2020-21 season for his former club Allen Americans in the North American ECHL. Before playing in Europe, Lancaster played exclusively for North American teams.

Highlights: EHC Red Bull München vs. Straubing Tigers (01.02.2024)

// DEL - HIGHLIGHTS

New number 74 looks forward to team and city

"First of all, I would like to thank my former club for the past two and a half years. However, sometimes changes are necessary. I'm happy to now be part of the great Red Bulls organization," said Lancaster. "I don't know any of my future teammates personally yet, but I've already played against some of them. My goal, of course, is to compete for the title with the team. My fiancée and I have already done a lot of research about the city in the past few days. We're both looking forward to exploring our new home," the 28-year-old continued.

With this addition, the Red Bulls have awarded their eleventh foreigner's license. Lancaster has already arrived in Munich and will wear the number 74.