Beach paradise instead of NHL: The new life of Thomas Di Pauli

Moment! Is that really Thomas Di Pauli's voice on the other end of the line? We expected English answers. So typical American chatter. In the language in which we arranged the interview appointment on WhatsApp. Instead, it sounds like a real South Tyrolean is chatting on the other side of the phone. Someone who occasionally adds an English term (“hockey guys”) to his German vocabulary. And who sometimes devours one or two syllables. But the fact that this is actually a man speaking who has lived in the USA for around 15 years is a little surprising given the impeccable Kalterer dialect.

“I have a hard time writing in German, but speaking is great,” explains Di Pauli. “I grew up speaking German and this dialect, which is still my first language. And I want this to stay with me.”

<a data-caption="Freunde aus Kindheitstagen (v.l.): Raphael Andergassen (HC Pustertal), Thomas Di Pauli, Patrick Gius (SV Kaltern), Bräutigam Theo Di Pauli, Alex Frei (Rittner Buam) und Michael Felderer (SV Kaltern) feierten gemeinsam die Hochzeit in Kaltern. © SV Kaltern" data-fancybox="inline-116324" target="_image" href="https://s3-images.sportnews.bz/_images/scale/1280x1280/img/2022/06/freunde-aus-kindheitstagen-vl-raphael-andergassen-hc-pustertal-thomas-di-pauli-patrick-gius-sv-kaltern-braeutigam-theo-di-pauli-alex-frei.jpg"> Friends from childhood (from left): Raphael Andergassen (HC Pustertal), Thomas Di Pauli, Patrick Gius (SV Kaltern), groom Theo Di Pauli, Alex Frei (Rittner Buam) and Michael Felderer (SV Kaltern) celebrated the wedding together in Kaltern. © SV Kaltern

These days “Tommy” was able to brush up on his dialect skills. It is the first time in six years that he has visited his birthplace. The reason is a happy one: his brother Theo - also a former ice hockey star, now a successful surgeon in New York - said yes to his Australian fiancée Amy in the idyllic Campan Castle in the heart of Kaltern. Why in Kaltern? “This is our home, we have our friends there, Kaltern is our heart!” says Tommy Di Pauli, in whose voice there is a feeling of pride and pathos. An unusual career Di Pauli has had a special journey. The son of a Kalterer man and an American woman grew up in the Überetscher Weindorf, played ice hockey for the local Hechten and HC Bozen, and also won two Italian youth championship titles. His extraordinary talent was unmistakable even back then, as was his friendly and open nature.

Thomas Di Pauli played two games in the NHL.

When he was a teenager, Di Pauli and his family moved across the pond to his mother's home country, Chicago. Young Thomas' goal: He wanted to become an NHL player. He should actually succeed. In January 2020 he played two matches in the best league in the world with the Pittsburgh Penguins and wrote South Tyrolean, but also Italian, sports history: no ice hockey crack from the “Bel Paese” had ever achieved this before. The resignation shock But after that, Sand got caught up in the career of Thomas Di Pauli, who had previously been plagued by injuries. He doesn't have a single ice hockey appearance in the 2020/21 season, so he wanted to try out Europe for the winter of 2021/22 and signed a contract with the Krefeld Pinguins in the DEL. “I’m looking forward to this adventure,” he said a few weeks before training began. “Health simply comes first.” Thomas DiPauli But then came July 22, 2021 - and a communiqué from Krefeld that shocked ice hockey South Tyrol: Thomas Di Pauli had to end his career due to injury. “We are shocked by the news Thomas gave us. This is a moment when sport takes a back seat,” said managing director Sergey Saveljevs at the time. Injury remains a mystery “It was sad, but the right decision,” explains Di Pauli now after a year in which he practically disappeared from the scene. “Health simply comes first.” The former NHL professional still doesn’t want to reveal exactly what problem forced him to quit. There was a lot of speculation, including whether it could be an illness. But Di Pauli denies that. “It’s a lower body injury. There were already treatment methods, but that would have taken a lot of time. I also didn't feel like constantly injecting things into my body. So I listened to the doctors’ advice and ended my career.” “What made me saddest was not being able to play for Kaltern or Bozen anymore.” Thomas DiPauli Di Pauli speaks surprisingly matter-of-factly about the end of his career, without any sadness or frustration. “For me, no world has collapsed at all. What made me saddest was that I could never play for Bozen and Kaltern again. That would have been a goal of mine, just like the 2026 Olympics with Italy. But life has much more to offer than just ice hockey. I’m glad that the injury doesn’t affect my everyday life and that I can enjoy my life.” A new life in beach paradise The Kalter native had already worked on a plan B throughout his career, so he studied and learned Spanish. After his career ended, his path ultimately took him away from the USA and to Puerto Aventuras, a picturesque coastal community at the easternmost tip of Mexico and directly on the Caribbean Sea. “It's paradise,” enthuses Di Pauli, who bought a house on the beach and a boat there. He is now indulging in his second great passion, fishing, which he practiced with great enthusiasm and dedication as a small boy on Lake Kaltern.

Di Pauli and girlfriend Valentina.

“I started a company. People can go out to sea with me and fish.” The offer is very popular; if he wants, he can go out with clients every day. The fact that he is passionate about his passion is also evident on social media, where he likes to pose with his magnificent catches from the depths of the ocean. “We have a good life,” smiles the 28-year-old, who lives in the holiday paradise with his girlfriend Valentina and his dog. Kaltern remains home Di Pauli is happy with his new life away from the ice. How does he imagine his future? “I will soon be opening a fish restaurant near my home in Puerto Aventuras where I can feed people my catches. I want to build something for myself in Mexico. I don't think about ice hockey that often anymore and I can't imagine working there again at some point," explains the Überetscher and adds: "My perfect life would look like this: eleven months a year in Mexico, one month here in Kaltern. I want to come home more often in the future. Because this village will forever be my home.” When Tommy Di Pauli spoke these words into his cell phone, he was enjoying a warm summer evening on Lake Kaltern. So where it all began.

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Beach paradise instead of NHL: The new life of Thomas Di Pauli

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