Canadian
goaltender Antoine Bibeau, 31, has signed a one-year contract with
Red Bull Munich, the German DEL club announced recently.
“I’m
very happy to now be part of the Red Bull organization in Munich,”
said Bibeau. “I’ve already played in Europe for the past two
seasons, where my family and I have really enjoyed it. When the offer
from the Red Bulls came, my family and I quickly agreed that this was
a perfect fit for everyone. My goal is quick and simple: Whenever I
get the chance to play, I want to help my team win games.”
“Antoine
is an internationally experienced goalie who has proven himself in a
wide variety of roles – he brings calmness, consistency, and
leadership qualities to a key position,” said
Christian Winkler, the managing director of Red Bull Ice Hockey –
a corporation that operates the Munich team and Red Bull Salzburg in
the Austrian-based ICEHL.
“We
are very pleased that we were able to convince him to play for our
club in the future. With him, our goalie quartet is now complete –
which this DEL schedule in an Olympic season demands.”
In
addition to Bibeau, Munich has under contract German national team
goalie Mathias Niederberger, Simon Wolff and Matthias Bittner.
Through
nine
games this season, Munich sits
ninth in the 14-team DEL with four wins and five losses.
The team’s leading scorer is Taro Hirose with 11 points. Other
ex-NHLers on the roster include forwards Tobias Rieder and Adam
Brooks and defenseman Ryan Murphy and Dillon Heatherington.
Ex-Canuck Heads To Germany
Canadian defenseman Akito Hirose, 26, has signed a one-year contract
with the Fischtown Pinguins, a DEL club based in Bremerhaven,
Germany.
Bibeau
was born in Victoriaville, Que. and played junior hockey in the QMJHL
for the Lewiston MAINEiancs, Prince Edward Island Rockets,
Charlottetown Islanders and Val-d’Or Foreurs.
Bibeau
was selected in the sixth round, 172nd
overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs
in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He played in the Toronto organization
from 2014 to 2017, mostly for the AHL
Marlies but he played two NHL games for the Leafs in 2016-17,
recording a win and a loss, and a 1.99 goals-against average.
Bibeau
appeared in two more NHL games for the Colorado
Avalanche in 2019-20. He also played in the organizations of the
San Jose Sharks, Seattle
Kraken, Carolina Hurricanes
and Ottawa Senators.
Bibeau
spent the 2023-24 season playing for AIK Stockholm in Sweden’s
second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan, and last season for KooKoo Kouvola in
Finland’s top-tier Liiga.
