Tommy Bordeler’s Fairy Tale season continues – North America

Tommy Berdeler wants to establish himself in Canada. © Peterborough Bates

When the semi-finals of the world’s best junior league kick off in Canada on Friday, South Tyrol will be right in the middle: Tommy Bordeler is currently on cloud nine with the Peterborough Pets.

April 27, 2023

From: Leo

The North American adventure has seen many ups and downs for the 19-year-old from Brunek. For the first few months, bureaucratic hurdles and an injury prevented Buster from playing in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). When he was finally allowed to play, Purdeller showed his class. He scored a whopping six goals in his first 12 games and gained a lot of confidence from manager Rob Wilson, who had been in charge at Renon and Newmarket.

Although Purdeller subsequently cooled and lost some of his scoring ability, he played all games for the Petes, which finished fourth in the Eastern Conference. At the start of the playoffs, the Sudbury Wolves finished 4-0 in the series – also thanks to Purdeller, who contributed a goal in the fourth game. In the quarterfinals, Bates met Ottawa 67 seconds around Austrian Vinzenz Rohrer, who won the regular season. Against expectations, it was Peterborough who got the ticket to the semi-finals. Purdeller played all six matches, but was denied a scoring point.

The last dream alive

In the semi-finals, the Petes face a huge task starting Friday: They take on the North Bay Battalion, who have won all four of their head-to-head matches for the season against the Petes. But: in the quarterfinals, the second basic round. Lots of power when the decision was made against the Erie Otters only in the seventh inning. Either way: For Purdeller, the first season in North America has already been a huge success, especially since he sometimes plays against players two and a half years older than he is.