Tomi Wilenius remains at MEC Hall 04: contract for the next season!

Tomi Wilenius remains at MEC Hall 04: contract for the next season!

In the current season of German ice hockey, there are significant developments for the Saale Bulls Halle and its top scorer Tomi Wilenius. The attacker, who returned in Zell am See last summer after two seasons, achieves impressive performances. In the main round of the Oberliga, Wilenius was able to collect 39 points (15 goals and 30 assists) in 31 games, which granted him an average of 1.26 points per game. This excellent value catapulted him to second place in the team's internal scorer ranking, although he was only able to play 70 % of the main round areas due to an injury. This performance has led to the MEC Hall 04 and Wilenius have agreed on an extension of the contract for the 2025/26 season, which means that it will be occupied by the first quota in the squad. This will be his second season at Halle and overall the fourth in the Oberliga. As eishockey.net , the Saale Bulls are for the sixth time in a row on an attacker from the far north.

However, the situation for the Saale Bulls is more complicated than expected. The current penultimate of the Oberliga Nord has to do without Wilenius, which is expected to fail for up to six weeks due to an injury. The exact reason for his absence is currently unknown. This season Wilenius was able to score five goals in 13 games and also give 13 templates, which makes the gap that leaves its absence all the greater. In the meantime, Mantas Stankius, a 24-year-old Lithuanian who is currently studying in Halle, will move into the squad. Stankius previously played for ESV Burgau in the Bavarian Landesliga, where he scored 6 goals and 19 templates in 20 games. Although he has already played four seasons in Germany, this will be his debut in the Oberliga, since he does not have a German passport and therefore did not work beforehand, like ice hockeynews.de reported.

The situation of the Saale Bulls

The Saale Bulls are currently under massive pressure with only 13 points from 13 games. The sports director, Kai Schmitz, was concerned about the injury -related challenges that make the season difficult for the team. In parallel to Wilenius, goalkeeper Kai Kristian also fails for a few weeks due to illness. To strengthen the team, Felix Noack was hired by the Blue Devils Weiden with a funding license.

The ice hockey Oberliga, the third highest league in German ice hockey, has a long and eventful story. She has been divided into two groups, North and South since 2015. In recent years, however, bankruptcies and withdrawals of teams have occurred, which endangered the minimum number for regular game operations. Nevertheless, the top division remains an important springboard for players who have the dream of getting up to higher leagues, such as ice hockey-statistiken.de explains.