Italy's World Cup captain Thomas Larkin. © det

“I received death threats”: Italy’s captain looks deep

Sleep again, then the Ice Hockey World Championships begin in Bolzano. The Blue Team will then be led by Thomas Larkin - a person who has experienced more in his career than almost any other Azzurri player. This includes not only beautiful moments, but also dark times.

27 April 2024

Our conversation with Italy's captain Thomas Larkin in the pretty foyer of the Hotel Sheraton lasts around half an hour. It's a conversation at the end of which you can clearly understand why the Italian-American will lead the Blue Team into a World Cup as captain for the second time from Sunday. The sporting career, i.e. experiences in North America, the KHL and the DEL, are one aspect. The other is the aura that the 33-year-old exudes. There is a real leader sitting opposite us. Someone you listen to with excitement when he speaks in his deep voice. And someone who has experienced the highest highs and lowest lows in his career and in his life.

That's precisely why the conversation with Larkin is full of interesting anecdotes. The uncompromising defender said, for example, that his mom is from Milan and his dad is from the USA, but he was born in London because his father worked in the financial industry there at the time. At the age of three, Larkin and his family moved to Varese, where he not only fell in love with his current wife and mother of his two daughters, but also with ice hockey.

Larkin will lead Italy into the tournament as captain. © Valentina Gallina

Larkin says (in the best Italian, mind you) that he is full-blooded Italian and very close to his homeland. “At the age of 14 I left Varese and went to the USA to work towards a hockey career. But during the holidays I always went back to Varese and played with the youth teams there." He talks about his NHL dream, which he narrowly missed: "I was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets and played with the NHL team also did the preparation for the season. In the end, unfortunately, it wasn't quite enough for a mission." And he remembers his two-year adventure in the Continental Hockey League, or KHL for short, in which "away trips often lasted two weeks because of the enormous distances."

The check that changed everything

Over the years, Thomas Larkin also experienced the bad sides of his sport. In November 2017 - the defender was just playing his first season with the Adler Mannheim - his name dominated the ice hockey headlines in Europe for days. In a Champions League match against Swedish club Brynäs IF, Larkin brought down his opponent Daniel Paille so hard that he had to end his career due to a head injury.

“All of this showed me how crazy the modern internet world is.” Thomas Larkin

Brynä's sports director then spoke of an "attempted murder", and Paille himself accused Larkin of grievous bodily harm. The case went to court, where the Italian was ultimately acquitted. “What happened back then was just absurd,” Larkin gives deep insights. “People saw the video of the scene on Twitter and Instagram and insulted me in the worst possible way. I was threatened with death, my wife was threatened with death. Swedish commentators, journalists and officials totally drove me into the abyss.”

The court acquitted him

Four years after the foul - and a time in which Larkin also had to seek psychological help - the trial took place in a Swedish court. “Until then I never spoke about it publicly and only kept it under wraps. Ultimately, the court confirmed the version I have always held: it was an accident. All of this showed me how crazy the modern internet world is, in which anyone can write anything.”

Thomas Larkin has been an integral part of the Azzurri for years. © Valentina Gallina/FISG

You can tell: This story has left its mark on Larkin. But his six-year adventure in Mannheim couldn't dampen them, after all, the Italian-American mutated into the most solid defenders in the DEL during that time and even made his ice hockey-crazy club German champions in 2019 with an overtime goal. “All hell broke loose in Mannheim. We celebrated in the locker room until 4 a.m., then there was a winner's parade. In short: If you become champion in Mannheim, you are the king.”

A remarkable standing

The fact that Larkin has now achieved a considerable standing was also evident last summer. When he moved to the Schwenniger Wild Wings (South Tyroleans Alex Trivellato and Peter Spornberger also play there), he was immediately elected captain of the team. Larkin will also wear the Wild Wings jersey next year. But first there is the World Championships in Bolzano, which should culminate in promotion. That would make the multiple captain particularly proud.