Juri Steiner plays a special role at HC Bozen. © det

The secret hero of the locker room: This is Bolzano's good soul

HC Bozen will be fighting against the end of the season in Salzburg on Friday. We took a look inside the HCB locker room ahead of the game – and met the unsung hero of the White-Reds.

March 27, 2025

Bolzano power play. Like vultures, the White and Reds circle the Salzburg goal, waiting for their prey to make a mistake so they can pounce at the right moment. Patiently but determinedly, the players pass the puck to one another, and in the stands, tension, nervousness, and the desire for a cheer build up. And then, finally! Luca Frigo sees the gap. He waits for a pass from his teammate, positions his body for a shot, ready to fire the hard rubber puck at the bullpen with the speed of a Ferrari. But then a great murmur in the Sparkasse Arena: His stick breaks in two as he fires.

Frigo knows exactly what to do. He glides quickly toward the bench, where a young man with glasses and a gray sweater has already crept forward from the back and is handing a new ice lance over the boards. Frigo takes the expensive equipment (a stick like this costs around 300 euros) and seamlessly integrates back into the power play. "That's part of my job, too. I have to be fully focused during games because things like this can happen from time to time," says Juri Steiner. He's been the kit manager for HC Bozen since this season and is someone who usually stays in the background, but is nevertheless of great importance to the team.

Steiner at one of his main activities: sharpening his skates. © det

The 34-year-old family man from Waidbruck, who now lives in Lana, is responsible for ensuring that everything runs smoothly in and around the dressing room. "My biggest task is definitely sharpening the skates. Every player has their own preferences. Some prefer a harder grind, some a softer one. To know which player needs what, we've put different stickers on the skates, and I also keep an Excel list," says Steiner, whose "sharpening office" is located right next to the players' dressing room. Skates aren't cheap; the list price for a pair is €1.300 to €1.500, although there are discounts for clubs. A player needs one pair per season, sometimes two or three.

Sanding, sewing and washing

But Juri Steiner also has to demonstrate dexterity in a different environment. "I spend a lot of time repairing and sewing the players' equipment. I've now bought myself a really good sewing machine specifically for this. And, of course, doing the laundry also makes up a large part of my work." This laundry also means that Juri Steiner's nights—especially now during the playoffs—can sometimes be very short.

“It sometimes happens that I don’t go home until 4:XNUMX in the morning.” Yuri Steiner

When the HCB bus docks in the Sparkasse Arena parking lot in the middle of the night after a long drive from Salzburg or Villach, and the players head off to their freshly made beds, Steiner's work really begins. The laundry is washed and put in the dryer so that everything is ready the next morning. "It sometimes happens that I don't drive home until 4:8 a.m., and the next day I leave again at XNUMX a.m.," says Juri.

Here they were still "opponents" (one at Bolzano, the other at Pustertal); today they work together at HCB: Reini Apollonio (left) and Juri Steiner. © kp

Steiner receives support primarily from his uncle Reinhard Apollonio, whom everyone in the locker room at the Sparkasse Arena simply calls Reini. He's a true institution at HCB and has been the equipment manager for 30 years. This year, however, he wanted to slow down and therefore helps out sporadically. "Being able to ask him for advice is incredibly important to me. Reini knows the business like no other," says Steiner, who, in a way, found his way to this job through his uncle.

The good souls in the cabin

"I used to play ice hockey in Brixen, but then gave it up. Nevertheless, I still wanted to be close to the team, so I tried my hand at being a kit manager. During an internship with Reini and HC Bozen, I finally realized that this was really something for me," explains the trained mechanical engineer, who worked for a Brixen-based company for eleven years before becoming a full-time kit manager. For the past two seasons, Juri has worked for HC Pustertal, where they often had uncle-nephew reunions at derbies.

Since this season, Steiner has been sharpening the skates of the Bolzano stars. And, together with Reini Apollonio and Othmar Gamper (he's also an equipment assistant and "the girl for everything"), he's the good soul of the HCB locker room. Juri Steiner certainly wouldn't mind having to pull a few more night shifts this season. On Friday, HC Bolzano will face Salzburg, fighting to avoid a semifinal exit.