It’s been a hectic couple of weeks so this is the first time I’ve had an opportunity to write a blog. Three weeks ago I was out in Italy visiting Rob Wilson who’s had a very successful first season with Neumarkt Egna in A2 (the second tier of Italian Ice Hockey). Rob’s been interested in heading to Europe for about three years now and personally I felt he should have left sooner than he did, he turned down an offer from Fassa two years which really he should have taken looking back. However, Rob started a project in Newcastle with Paul Ferone and Paddy O’Connor which they felt they could make work but due to the delay in the Gateshead rink being built they financed it longer than they should have done, and lost a considerable amount of money along the way.
Back to Italy, Rob has taken a Neumarkt Egna team who finished bottom in the Italian A2 last season to second spot this season. They really shouldn’t have done that as Gardena and Vipiteno who finished first and third respectively spend big big money. So testament to Rob he coached Neumarkt who are low to mid table budget team to one of their most successful season’s in their history. Neumart have just moved into a brand new 1,500 capacity rink which is absolutely superb, it’s very frustrating seeing a village of 3,000 people with a new rink costing 5 million euros when the Vipers have been trying to move into our own facility for six years now in a catchment area of 2.5 million people. Furthermore Neumarkt have two big A2 rivals in Eppan (where Mike Ellis has been coaching) and Kaltern who are both within a twenty minute drive which is surreal to be honest and in addition Bolzano one of Italy’s biggest clubs are only fifteen minutes up the road.
It became apparent to me when I was in Neumarkt the difference between hockey in the UK and on the continent. In the past I hadn’t really taken notice of hockey in Europe but through my agency work I’ve had to. I arrived into Neumarkt on the Friday evening after a twelve hour journey which took me from Newcastle to Stansted a connecting flight onto Venice, I caught a train to Verona a quick change and then onto Ora. I arrived two hours before Neumarkt’s third game of their quarter final playoff series against Kaltern – their fierce local rivals. I arrived at the rink, very impressive building mostly a pine structure but with superb sightlines. Like most European rinks there are no seats and everyone stands down one side with a wall of sponsors on the other side. One thing I noticed straight away was the amount glass and natural light that they’d designed the building to allow, certainly different to most UK facilities and something I much more preferred than some of the dull and dark rinks we have.
Rob came and met me before the game and first thing he said to me: “This isn’t like Whitley Bay is it?” – an understatement if there was ever one. We sat for about half an hour talking about how he’d done there, the Italian game, what was happening in the UK and obviously the on going Vipers struggles. The game even in the second tier in Italy is faster and more technical than the Elite League. The physical aspect of the game isn’t anywhere near the UK but with it being such a big game against their local rivals, both teams certainly threw their weight around. One of the subjects we discussed was enforcers, even in A1 in Italy teams wouldn’t ever consider signing a player solely to fight and in theory they don’t have to as teams go out and try to beat each be playing hockey. There are no intimidation tactics and even the supporters frown upon any sign of fight breaking out.
Neumarkt beat Kaltern that night 3-2 in a typical scrappy playoff game, I then went to the game in Kaltern on Sunday which Neumarkt unfortunately lost 6-4. The rink in Kaltern I’d heard about before heading to Italy. Like a lot of the older rinks in Italy, it was outside but in recent times they’d put a timber roof over the top but still fifty percent of the rink is open to the elements which made it very interesting and very cold! Neumarkt never recovered from the loss in Kaltern and due to serious injuries to Rob’s best two players, one being my client Jussi Heikkinen, they just had too few bodies and ended up losing the series 4-2. Rob has enjoyed his first season in Italy and it’s been the best move for him, he lost a six figure sum trying to make the Vipers work which I find crazy but understand why and what they were trying to do. I have a lot of respect for Rob, he was a player I always admired in Sheffield. There are those people that don’t like him or have time for him but that’s life, one thing I will say about Rob is he is very passionate about his hockey – he lives and breaths it.
All in all a very enjoyable trip, Neumarkt is in Northern Italy where all the hockey is played there. It’s in the Bozen area which is not fair from the Austrian border and a beautiful area of the southern Alpes. The four days I spent there made me realise what a long way we’ve got to go in the UK. The likes of Nottingham and Coventry are superb businesses but the rest struggle from season to season. In Newcastle this season our guys have had five sticks to last them all season, in Neumarkt their star player has seventy sticks – that says it all!
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