Frankfurt / Main (dpa / lhe) - The Frankfurt Lions have extended the contracts with captain Reid McNeill and young star Daniel Wirt. As the club of the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) announced on Thursday, the defender duo will also play in the coming DEL season on Main.
The 30-year-old McNeill has played 49 games for the Hessians this season and is one of the professionals with the most ice time. "Reid is an absolute leader of our team on and off the ice and certainly one of the most consistent defenders in the DEL on the defensive," said Frankfurt's sports director Franz-David Fritzmeier about the Canadian.
His 22-year-old defender colleague Wirt is entering his fifth season with the Löwen, for which he has been on the ice in all 54 DEL games so far. "Daniel has taken a huge step forward in his development alongside Reid McNeill, established himself in the DEL and certainly has the potential to be called up to the senior team one day if he keeps working hard and we do continue to encourage and challenge him," said Fritzmeier.
Two games before the end of the main round, the newly promoted team is in tenth place with 74 points and has the qualification for the pre-playoffs in their own hands. The last Löwen opponents on Friday are the Nürnberg Ice Tigers and on Sunday in front of their home crowd the second-bottom Augsburg Panthers.
