The 2024-2025 season of the Ligue Magnus resumes tomorrow. On this occasion, let’s take a look at the new developments that have marked the off-season for the Nice Eagles.
It had been five years since Nice last qualified for the final phase of the Ligue Magnus. In 2024, that changed as the Eagles finished the regular season in eighth place with 54 points, three points ahead of the first team in the play-down. It was a success for the club, which thus achieved its goal. However, against Rouen, the 2024 champions, in the quarterfinals, the challenge was too great (four losses for one win). This journey shows that the team from the Côte d’Azur is on an upward trend, but there is still progress to be made to compete with the best teams in the league, a reality that the club is well aware of.
A Reimagined Structure
This year, Nice welcomes the arrival of a new general manager, Nicolas Tomasini. Having previously been with Grenoble and more recently Chambéry, he has solid experience in managing major teams. “My role this season will be to structure the club at all levels,” he emphasized at a press conference. “One of my priorities is to establish a more coherent organizational structure and strengthen the various departments, step by step, in order to best prepare for the move to the new ice rink scheduled for January 2029.” This new facility, which will accommodate 5,000 spectators, will be the cornerstone of Nice’s project, offering a capacity five times greater than the current venue.
With this facility, the new manager hopes to “progressively enter into an extremely professional era, comparable to what we see in Rouen, Grenoble, or Marseille. Thanks to this ice rink, we will become serious challengers for the championship in the years to come, that’s certain.” Alongside him, Laurent Izapow has been appointed as the club’s general director. A lawyer by training, specialized in sports and corporate law, he participated in the creation of Nice Hockey Élite in 2017. “We will work diligently to strengthen Nice’s position in French ice hockey,” assures the new leader.
A Very Busy Transfer Window
In terms of staff, Frantisek Stolc signs up for a second season, with the goal of reaching the playoffs again, as was the case last year. However, the task appears challenging given that the team has undergone significant changes, with 19 departures and 17 arrivals. It’s a situation that is far from straightforward for the staff. “The market is always complicated. We wanted to keep certain players, but they received better offers, notably from their home countries. However, we were able to replace them with quality players,” explained the coach. While the club has lost key players like Ondrej Kopta, Nikita Bespalov, Yevgeni Nikiforov, and Jesper Larinmaa, it can still count on experienced players like Marc-André Lévesque and Luka Kalan.
Among the new recruits, the arrival of French international goalkeeper Raphaël Garnier stands out. The squad has been rejuvenated with the aim of building a competitive team within five years. “I am convinced that it’s a winning combination for a club like the Nice Eagles. Young French talents have a better chance of getting ice time with us than in the big clubs of the league, like Rouen, Grenoble, or Angers,” asserts the Eagles’ coach.
Regarding the friendly matches, Nice has a record of two wins and two losses. The Eagles started with a win in Briançon (2-3), before suffering two defeats against the same team (1-3 then 1-4 in the Riviera Cup). A positive point was the victory on the ice rink of Marseille (4-5) at the end of last week.
Tomorrow, Nice begins its Ligue Magnus season by hosting Chamonix at 8 PM at the Jean-Bouin ice rink.
