Teemu Virtala moves from Kaltern to the Ritten plateau. © Max Pattis

After championship win: Kaltern's coach moves to a higher level

After winning the championship with SV Kaltern, a new beginning awaits in Klobenstein. As the Rittner Buam announced on Sunday, they have secured the services of Teemu Virtala, the newly crowned championship-winning coach of the Hechte (Pikes).

03 May 2026

From: cst/sn

The Ritten/Münster SkyAlps have a new coach. Finnish coach Teemu Virtala will be behind the bench in Klobenstein for the 2026/27 season. The championship-winning coach of SV Kaltern is expected to lead the blue-and-reds back to the top of the Alps Hockey League and IHL Serie A.

The name Virtala is already familiar to South Tyrolean ice hockey fans. The Finn has been living in the region since 2018. He initially played for HC Pustertal in the 2018/19 season. Virtala spent the following season in Denmark before signing with SV Kaltern. He played there for four seasons and won the Italian Hockey League once.

Virtala took on his first coaching role as a player-assistant coach in the 2022/23 season. After retiring as a player in 2024, he was promptly promoted to head coach by the Hechten. This proved to be the right decision: In the last two seasons, the 42-year-old led the Kaltern team to two IHL titles, even achieving the double of the Italian Cup and the IHL in the 2025/26 season. Now Virtala is taking another step up the career ladder and moving to the AlpsHL.

Tudin, Eisath and Virtala are looking forward to seeing each other again

The Ritten Buam's sporting directors, Dan Tudin and Alexander Eisath, have high praise for the new Finnish head coach: "We are delighted to welcome Teemu to our program. He is an extremely dedicated and structured coach who we are convinced can help us implement the necessary cultural shift here in Ritten. He has a deep understanding of the challenges of ice hockey in Italy and follows a systematic approach to optimally prepare a team for victories."

"My goal is to rebuild something successful on the Ritten." Teemu Virtala, new coach of Rittner Buam

Virtala is also delighted about his new role: “I’m really excited. It has always been my goal to continue my coaching career and take steps forward. Ritten is one such step for me. My aim is to build something successful again at Ritten. This won’t happen overnight; it will require time, dedication, and the will of everyone involved. I value every single day, the small steps forward that can always be taken.”