When it comes to fine arithmetic, Rüdiger Storch is not easy to lead.

The stadium announcer, who has been extremely popular with Frankfurt ice hockey fans for decades, has only recently demonstrated this impressively as a moderator in the club's own video format.

His study of the crucial numbers this spring showed the following: In the close play-off quarter-final in the second German ice hockey league against the Bietigheim Steelers, the Lions scored 15 hits in the entire series and thus as many as the eventual champions.

David Lindenfeld

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    The North Hessian rival from Kassel had only 14 goals in the final in five games, Bietigheim again 15. For Storch, the matter was clear: Hesse's number one, an unofficial title that is not insignificant for the fans, comes from Frankfurt - so you can tell bend it too.

    The good mood is back

    The sports director Franz-David Fritzmeier, who was invited as a guest in the first broadcast, was happy to take on this ball. He'd been looking for excuses for two or three weeks, he said jokingly, and laughed. And now something like this is being put in his mouth: “You are the best, Rüdiger.” Even if the bill will only remain a side note of this Corona season, which has not gone according to plan, you can still read a lot from it. On the one hand, how close the lions failed in the end. On the other hand, and from the point of view of many observers, this is the more important point: The good mood is back.

    A little more than a month after the disappointing end and several weeks in which the club only reported exits and no additions, the bitter feeling of not having achieved the promotion as a major goal has given way to new zest for action.

    It therefore fits into the picture that the club has now clarified the important position behind the gang: Bohuslav Subr will be the new coach for the coming season.

    The 41-year-old Czech previously coached the Dutch club Tilburg Trappers, which competes in the German third division, for six years and previously worked as a youth coach for the Dutch junior selection teams of the U18 and U20.

    He will be assisted by Jan Barta, who most recently supported the coaching staff as “Development Coach”.

    The sports director remains true to his choice of coaches: Subr, whom everyone just calls “Bo”, is the next after Olli Salo and Matti Tiilikainen that no one really wanted to.

    Once, with Tiilikainen, it worked.

    Salo was released early last season because there was no harmony between him and the team - also due to the freedoms he gave the team.

    His professional competence is undisputed, says Fritzmeier.

    This can also be seen from the fact that from now on Salo will coach a Finnish top division club.

    Subr is the small solution to the big coaching question that has been with the club since December.

    Not a big name

    It doesn't have a big name, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. In Tilburg, “Bo” had already shown that he could work for a club for the long term and build something, says Fritzmeier. And that's not the only reason Subr fits into the requirement profile. “With Bo we have chosen a strong, self-confident coach who will lead the team with clear guidelines, but who is also communicative. Our team needs this rigor, but not a general who just yells around ”, says Fritzmeier, who pointed out several times that the new trainer had to be“ affordable ”. That's the case with Subr, for whom the Lions are a great opportunity, unlike other contestants.

    As described by Fritzmeier, Subr also appears.

    The new coach looks confident at his first public appointment.

    When he speaks English, his North American accent comes through, which he acquired while playing as a player in the USA and Canada before returning to Europe with a knee injury.

    And his absolute will to win.

    With almost every answer, Subr comes to talk about winning at some point.

    He wants to play aggressively, aggressively and hard.

    “We won't win every game, but we will go into every game and we will definitely want to win it,” promised the new coach.

    Bring your own ideas

    In Frankfurt he finds a squad that currently includes twelve players - including striker Rylan Schwartz, just a new addition.

    From now on, the new coach has the opportunity to contribute his own ideas.

    It is not currently possible to predict when further obligations can be expected.

    The entire Löwen team around the shareholders Stefan Krämer and Andreas Stracke as well as sports director Fritzmeier is facing an immense challenge, because due to the pandemic it will remain unclear for a long time what the financial requirements for the coming season will be.

    “The situation is damn difficult.

    We want to put together a team that is affordable, but we are also prepared to take a certain risk because we want to play a significant role, ”said Krämer recently.

    Immediately afterwards, however, he tried again to prevent worried thoughts that the lions' plans could turn into a gamble: "We will not put the club at risk," said Krämer. In concrete terms, this means that the demands remain high, but the total budget (in the past at 4.5 million euros) will have to be reduced somewhat. Be successful despite less money - there were better starting conditions for new coaches on Ratsweg.