Resumed his work as the new Bozen coach on Monday: Glen Hanlon. © det

Glen Hanlon's HCB comeback: “I missed my players”

Last year he led HC Bozen to the threshold of the ICE championship title, now he is supposed to navigate the most successful ice hockey club in Italy out of the crisis as a firefighter. Glen Hanlon started work as the new coach in the state capital on Monday. A big challenge awaits him.

02 October 2023

Glen Hanlon is 66 years old. He played more than 500 NHL games in his career as an ice hockey goalie, he was then a coach at a global club like the Washington Capitals, coached in the KHL and led the Swiss national team. And yet he says: “I was nervous when I came into the dressing room today.” A nervousness that quickly disappeared. On the ice at the Sparkasse Arena, the Canadian got along brilliantly with his old and new cracks from HC Bozen. He gave clear commands, circled eagerly across the ice, patted someone on the shoulder here, made a joke there and even had one or two intensive conversations.

Shortly before noon on Monday, Glen Hanlon was back at his old place of work. The Canadian led the crisis-hit Foxes' first training session in the Bolzano ice hockey arena. In the place where the former world-class goalkeeper left his mark thick and fat last season. After all, he is the coach who brought the HCB very close to their third ICE championship title and thus triggered a hype that has not existed in South Tyrol for a long time.

Now he is a crisis fighter

But times have changed. After the fairytale season, the runner-up has slipped into crisis, perhaps deeper than ever before in the ICE Hockey League, formerly EBEL. Seven games, six defeats, including the defeat against arch-rivals HC Pustertal, as well as the defeat in the Champions League. Coach Niklas Sundblad, with whom the Foxes started the season, had to pack his bags after just three games. Bringing Hanlon back was the logical solution.

“I’ve been around hockey my whole life, I just wanted to be with my family.” Glen Hanlon

The fact that the collaboration didn't continue in the summer was due to Hanlon himself. “I've been involved in ice hockey my whole life, I just wanted to be with my family. This was the first time in my life that I was at home for so long. “I really enjoyed the time with my son and my wife,” said Hanlon, who added: “Now I’m happy to be here again. I have to say I really missed my players.”

The feeling is mutual, as it's no secret that Hanlon is the players' dream coach. With his razor-sharp ice hockey mind and fatherly manner, he managed to form a close-knit team last year. That's exactly what he should do in this difficult situation. Of course, there are also some technical issues. Hanlon, who has watched the last few games, explains: "The boys played well at times, but you don't have to be a coach to understand that it's difficult to win games if you don't score goals." Indeed The Foxes only managed eight goals in seven games.

Looking for creativity

“I have a lot of trust in my players, I know that they can score goals and play on the power play. At the moment it's just a matter of the head. The offense is creativity, the strikers are artists, and it's difficult to express your creativity when you're holding the stick tensely and are nervous. We have to work on being creative again,” says Hanlon. The first opportunity to do this is on Tuesday, when the Foxes visit Vorarlberg from 19.30 p.m. At HC Pustertal, however, the emotional situation is currently completely different. The wolves greet you from first place and travel to the top game against runner-up Red Bull Salzburg on Tuesday.

ICE Hockey League – Tuesday’s games

19.15 pm
Klagenfurt – Vienna
Salzburg – Pustertal
Villach – Fehervar
Innsbruck – Linz

19.30 pm
Vorarlberg – Bolzano

19.45 pm
Asiago – Graz