Upi Karhula in his new home, the Sparkasse Arena. © HC Bozen

He's already getting started: New HCB coach makes a cold start

HCB Südtirol Alperia searched for a new head coach for a long time this summer before finally revealing their appointment on Sunday morning: Antti Karhula will be behind the bench for the Foxes. Just five days later, the Finn has already started his work in Bolzano.

August 07, 2026

From: dl

Karhula arrived in Bolzano, the capital of South Tyrol, on Thursday evening. The 50-year-old is tasked with leading the Foxes back to their former glory and restoring their dominance in local ice hockey. This will be no easy task, however. Following a roster overhaul in the summer, Karhula must rebuild HC Bolzano. He will be able to work with a fellow countryman, the new offensive defenseman Teemu Kivihalme.

Established players like goalkeeper Sam Harvey (who transferred to Innsbruck) and captain Daniel Frank (who retired) are no longer with the team. However, they have been joined by several young, talented players and interesting new signings from overseas: Goalkeeper Louis Domingue, in particular, is one to watch. Karhula was at the Sparkasse Arena in Bolzano on Friday to hold talks and plan the work for the coming weeks.

Training starts next week

The new import players, arriving from Detroit, Vancouver, and Toronto, are expected to arrive in Bolzano early next week. Training camp in Corvara will begin on Thursday. The first exhibition game against AlpsHL champion HC Gröden will take place on Saturday, August 22nd, at the adjacent ice rink.

Karhula was present at the physical tests of Brad McClure, Jakob Fuchs, Nicoló Remolato, and Daniel Gellon on Friday morning. The new HCB coach previously coached Fehervar and Ljubljana in the ICE Hockey League. Most recently, Karhula worked with Bad Nauheim in the DEL2.