Will Butcher joins EHC Red Bull München

Friday, 22. November 2024 | Will Butcher joins EHC Red Bull München

EHC Red Bull München signs ex-NHL defenseman Will Butcher// NEWSRed Bull München has signed US defender Will Butcher. The 29-year-old moves from Kazakh club Barys Astana to the Bavarian capital.

Among other things, Butcher played five years in the NHL and won the bronze medal at the 2018 Ice Hockey World Championship.

Will Butcher: "My family and I are very pleased and happy to be joining the Red Bull organization. Together with my wife, I was on vacation in Munich a few years ago and was already impressed by the people and the city back then. I am convinced that my style of play fits in very well with Red Bull's philosophy. The sporting prospects are also great, as the team's success in recent years has shown.

Butcher made his NHL debut with the New Jersey Devils in 2017. He was selected to the NHL All Rookie Team in his debut season. The offensive defenseman went on to play 243 games for the Devils and 37 games for the Buffalo Sabres in the world's best ice hockey league. During this time, he scored 17 goals and 101 assists. After various stints in the AHL and a brief stint in the multinational KHL, he is now making the move to the German Ice Hockey League (DEL).

Christian Winkler, Managing Director Sports Red Bull Ice Hockey: "We were looking for a strong defenseman and found him in Will. He is experienced, in his prime and has proven several times that he can play at the highest level."

Munich's new defenseman is already traveling to Munich this weekend. After the obligatory medical tests, Butcher will immediately train with the team of the four-time German champions. The Wisconsin-born left-shooter will wear the number 4 on his back and receive his eighth foreigner's license (Trevor Parkes has not yet been licensed for the DEL due to his injury).

The EHC Red Bull München squad

Goal (3): Christopher Kolarz, Mathias Niederberger, Simon Wolf.

Defense (9): Konrad Abeltshauser, Dominik Bittner, Jonathon Blum (AL), Will Butcher (AL), Maximilian Daubner, Sten Fischer, Emil Johansson (AL), Les Lancaster (AL), Jakob Weber.

Storm (16): Adam Brooks (AL), Christopher DeSousa (AL), Andreas Eder, Yasin Ehliz, Markus Eisenschmid, Patrick Hager, Nikolaus Heigl, Taro Hirose (AL), Maximilian Kastner, Nicolas Krämmer, Nick Maul, Veit Oswald, Trevor Parkes, Tobias Rieder, Benjamin Smith (AL), Filip Varejcka.