It is still quiet in the Linz AG ice arena. You can hear a humming noise coming from a device that could be an oversized dehumidifier. And music is playing. The same music that is played in the Parkbad. The path from the hall to the catacombs is closed. Because no one else can be found in the hall, we take a secret path into the changing room anteroom. You can hear two men talking. Sometimes in English, sometimes in German. It is about a “penalty killing unit”, i.e. a shorthand formation. It quickly becomes clear that they are Philipp Lukas and Mark Szücs.
Image: MARKUS PRINZ
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Image: MARKUS PRINZ
The coaching team, which jointly discusses transfers, has already done its job. Squad planning has been completed since Friday morning and the last remaining spot has been filled. Christian Wandelt also comes in, dragging a box. He is actually new, having moved from Krefeld to Linz in May, and is not yet 35 years old. But the German gives the impression that he has everything under control. “We are 100 percent ready to start training,” he will tell me later in the podcast conversation.
We accompany Christian. Linz is his second stop as a kit manager for a professional team. He himself played in the German fifth division. During that time, he realized that he wanted to stay true to the sport. His path led him to Linz via Leipzig and the DEL 2 team in Krefeld. He received support along the way. You have to know that kit managers are usually very friendly at games. The home kit manager washes the opponent’s laundry if the away team arrives the day before. Or the match kits if the next game is the next day. They help each other. And that’s how the German came into contact with Black Wings kit manager legend Wolfgang Janout in the DEL2 last year. He also got the contacts to Linz from him. So Christian is basically following in Wolfgang Janout’s footsteps.
