Stefan Mair: “Our players don’t rush from work to the dressing room”

In the first part of SportNews In the interview, Mair (55) and Hanlon (65) talked about how their moves came about and their respective new employers. Here they now provide an insight into their training work and their game orientation. They also report on their experiences in major ice hockey nations. Numerous training sessions have now been completed in preparation for the season. What major construction site have you identified so far? Mair: “Finding a common denominator and drawing a common thread through the team is what I see as my biggest challenge. I explain it like this: Whether in Germany or Switzerland, I have always tried to achieve the highest possible results with relatively small teams. I learned that you can only keep up if you appear organized and structured on the ice. In a league as balanced and full of foreigners as the ICE, you have to find yourself as a team, be compact and disciplined, otherwise you have no chance. The team structure is the be-all and end-all.” Hanlon: “I don’t have to explain the sport of ice hockey to the players. They also know what it means to play for HC Bozen. The first and foremost thing is to get the last, disappointing season out of our minds. Of course the many new arrivals help, they bring a breath of fresh air.” How would you describe yourself as a trainer? Hanlon: “I'm not a coach who goes out on the ice at practice and gives players instructions from the first minute to the last. I have my own style of coaching in which I try to gain the trust of the players, get them behind me and at the same time increase their awareness of their own abilities. We play a team sport, but basically every single player wants to win, win titles and earn a well-paid contract. My job is to support them and at the same time to form a functioning group out of all the individual characters.” Mair: “I would describe myself as a demanding, passionate and prepared trainer. I love this job and am certainly passionate about it. However, I owe it to the players and the club to be fully prepared for every training session and every game. That is also the demand that I set for myself. I can’t influence everything on the ice, but I can or must prepare my team for a game in the best possible way.” They are both considered coaches who place great emphasis on defense. What kind of ice hockey do you support? Mair: “You can’t categorize it. The years in Switzerland had a huge impact on me; I learned a lot more there than before in the DEL. I have really internalized such important components as speed and technique and would like to instill these into my team here in Brunico. When putting together the squad, we paid close attention to choosing players who would enable a structured, very compact game with a quick switch to offense.” Hanlon: “I also don’t like to be pinned down to a single style of play. I like winning games 2-1, but at the same time I'm as happy as a child when we turn a 0-3 deficit into a win with offensive fireworks. I always tell the players: I don't have a defensive or offensive game; we have to find the ideal middle ground as a united team. But I don’t have to explain to you that only teams that have a good back line win championships – whether in youth tournaments, world championships or in the NHL.” “The first layoff was the bitterest moment of my career so far.” Stefan Mair What has been the greatest moment of your coaching career so far? Mair: “That was the promotion with the Italian national team to the World Group and the following A World Cup in 2017. Plus the last season with HC Thurgau in the Swiss League. We marched into the semi-finals in a completely sensational way, we literally played ourselves into a frenzy, and there were a lot of emotions at the end.” Hanlon: “The years in the NHL, both as a player and as a coach, will remain in my memory forever. I was able to train legends like Alex Ovechkin in Washington or Roman Josi in the Swiss national team. But there is no single highlight, every station, even here in Europe, had its own special features.” What was the hardest moment of your career? Mair: “That was clearly my first layoff in Schwenningen in 2014. Being expelled is an intense feeling. Let's take a hydraulic engineer or a baker as an example. When they are told 'you're fired', it hits them hard too. As a trainer, you also have to be in the public eye and have countless people ask you about your dismissal and try to explain this personal failure. That really bothered me and kept me busy for a long time.” Hanlon: “I had some sad moments. The last disappointment I experienced was with Znojmo. We played a sensational season and fought our way to the quarter-finals, but the news that the club was withdrawing from the ICE made me even sadder. “It’s not about myself, but primarily about the many Czech players who have reached a top level and deserve to continue playing in this international league.” You mentioned your time in the NHL earlier. Is North American ice hockey even remotely comparable to that in Europe? Hanlon: “Ice hockey is a big business in North America, and in parts of Canada it is literally a religion. That's hardly comparable. However, leagues in Europe have certainly caught up in terms of professional level, quality and salaries. But some things are completely different: Here, weeks of preparation are completed together, while over there, each player is primarily responsible for himself and has to stick to his own training plan. The games are played here on the weekends, but in between you can use the time to train and prepare. In North America, coaches work much less with their players, where there is a game every few days. There are many more games in a shorter period of time. You literally live in buses, planes and hotels.” “Pustertal made a good choice with Stefan Mair.” Glen Henlon Stefan Mair, you recently worked in Switzerland for six years. What is the big difference to our ice hockey? Mair: “In Switzerland, a lot of things are subordinated to the sport of ice hockey. However, in Thurgau I worked with young players who were studying at the same time or who held part-time positions in sponsoring companies. From that point of view there are not that big differences, especially since the local players here at HCP really have a great attitude. It's not as if players here rush from work to the locker room five minutes before training. Things are now very professional. With our support staff, the players underwent targeted, structured advanced training throughout the summer. Glen Hanlon, to what extent do you think HC Pustertal will bear Mair's signature next season? Hanlon: “I don’t want to go that far in my assessment. I played with his predecessor, Raimo Helminen, at the New York Rangers and therefore paid particular attention to Pustertal last season. I think the club made a good choice with Stefan. He has gained decent references in Germany and Switzerland.” Let's ask you Stefan Mair: What development could Bolzano develop under Hanlon? Mair: “I'm looking forward to our two test matches in September, only then can I get a more accurate picture. In any case, you can tell that he expressed his wishes when selecting players. Bolzano has a very physical team that can displace more water than in previous years.” Where do you see your team at the end of the season? Hanlon: “Can you ask me this question again on October 1st? By then, 4 rounds and 4 home games have been completed. Yes, we have 4 of our 26 home games right at the start of the season. That's not ideal, especially since I'm convinced that the games in front of our own fans are crucial. It would be extremely important to leave these first games of the season with a good success rate, then this newly assembled team can quickly gain momentum.” Mair: “I’m a fan of short-term goals. A week before the start of the season we will get together and set a target until November, after which the next phase will be tackled. Of course the playoffs are ultimately the goal, but a real prediction is hardly possible in this balanced league.”

ICE Regular Season ICE	SP	TV	P
1. Klagenfurt	47	183:101	102
2. Fehervar	46	146:126	89
3. Salzburg	46	142:107	87
4. HCB South Tyrol	46	137:125	76
5. Linz	46	146:116	75
6. Villach	46	155:136	74
View all

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

Stefan Mair: “Our players don’t rush from work to the dressing room”

Stefan Mair and Glen Hanlon represent their own unique way of playing ice hockey. They want to show this in Bruneck and Bolzano from now on. But before that we asked both of them to the big trainer talk.

Suggestions

Comments (0)