Ingolstadt (dpa / lby) - The ERC Ingolstadt from the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) wants to work with coach Mark French in the long term. The Upper Bavarians have extended the contract with the 51-year-old Canadian by two years. French had succeeded Doug Shedden prior to this season. He was previously the assistant coach of Metallurg Magnitogorsk and had won the runners-up championship in the Russian-influenced Eastern European KHL with the club. Under French, the ERC is one of the best teams in the DEL after almost half of the main round games.
"We wanted to build a new identity and structure and an important building block for this was the signing of Mark in the summer. He lives these two basic elements authentically and fully fulfills what we expected from him. In addition, he identifies with one hundred percent with the ERC and the city of Ingolstadt," said ERC sports director Tim Regan on Friday.
French is an "ambitious, hard-working and detail-oriented coach who prepares the players very well, gives them a clear match plan for every game and is excellent at conveying his ideas about the fast hockey we want to play," continued Regan.
French said: "In a very short time, Ingolstadt and the ERC have proven to be an excellent location for me, both professionally and privately. The cooperation within our coaching staff and with Tim is intensive and first-class."
