Canadian right winger Scott Kosmachuk, 30, has signed a contract to play the remainder of the current season with Red Bull Salzburg, the Austrian-based ICEHL club announced on Wednesday.
Kosmachuk previously played two seasons in the ICEHL for Villacher SV from 2020 to 2022. In 2021-22, he was third in league scoring with 50 points in 46 games. He has spent the past two seasons playing for TPS in Finland and Lada Togliatti in the KHL.
“I was looking for a league outside of Austria, but now the opportunity has come up to play in the prestigious Red Bulls organization and luckily I fit the team’s needs,” said Kosmachuk “I’m a fast forward and love to create offense. My biggest strengths are my skating and my shot.”
A native of Richmond Hill, Ont., Kosmachuk played junior hockey for the OHL’s Guelph Storm, where he was a two-time league all-star, was a member of Guelph’s 2013-14 OHL championship team and played in the Memorial Cup that year, recording five points in four games.
Kosmachuk was picked in the third round, 70th overall, by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. From 2014 to 2019, he played mostly in the AHL but in the 2015-16 season, he played eight NHL games for Winnipeg, recording three assists. His NHL rights were also owned by the New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche and Washington Capitals at various times.
Kosmachuk has played in Europe since 2019, starting in Germany with the Augsburger Panther. He hasn’t played this season but has been training in Toronto. He is expected to join the Salzburg team later this week.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to add Scott to our team,” said Salzburg coach Oliver David. “With his tremendous experience, passion for the game, work ethic and skill set, it will be exciting to see what’s to come.”
Kosmachuk is expected to be one of the team’s top offensive players. He joins a team that includes defenseman Ryan Murphy – a player he has played against numerous times in his career – and was a teammate of winger Thomas Raffl with the Manitoba Moose in 2015-16.
A perennial Austrian powerhouse, Salzburg uncharacteristically sits seventh in the ICEHL standings with 23 points in their first 13 games, but has played fewer games than every other team in the league.
Salzburg is also currently alive in the Champions Hockey League round of 16, with a one-goal aggregate lead over Finnish club Lahti Pelicans. It remains to be seen if Kosmachuk will be in the lineup for the return leg in Salzburg next Wednesday.