Despite all the frustration: Stefan Zisser strives to remain confident. © Private

The home World Cup is approaching: Where is Italy's ice hockey standing, Mr. Zisser?

In four months the B World Championship will take place in Bolzano, the most important ice hockey tournament in Italy for 30 years. In terms of sport, however, the anticipation is dampened. That's why we put Stefan Zisser to the test, after all he is responsible for the performance of all national teams.

24 December 2023

By: Alexander Foppa

The Bolzano native went through the youth selections himself, later played in the Blue Team for over a decade and now holds the role of national team sports director. In this role, he was recently on site at the disappointing U20 World Cup and the friendly games of the “big ones” in Klagenfurt. The impressions have a fair amount of weight on the end-of-year discussion, which he will share below SportNews .

Italy recently suffered a debacle at the U20 World Cup and the senior national team is not yet really up to speed. How difficult is your job currently?

“As passionate as I was as a player, I also put a lot of passion into my current job. That's precisely why the past few weeks have felt very frustrating. I'm primarily thinking about the U20 World Cup. We invested a lot, worked hard to get approval from the clubs, organized training camps for the boys and did team building sessions with them. But when it came down to it, we just didn't deliver. Third place and clearly missing out on promotion are a disappointment.”


How much does that bother you?

“Annoyance may be the wrong term, but it bothers you. In the club you immediately have the chance to overcome defeats and do better. Here in the national team you have to wait a year to get the opportunity to make amends with a team. And for some players, that opportunity no longer exists at all. We had players in the squad who probably wore the national team jersey for the last time at the World Cup in Slovenia. That makes me sad.”

The U20 World Cup came to a disastrous end for Tommaso De Luca and Co.4 © IIHF

What was the reason for the failure?

“The boys attended a camp in Sweden once again this year, they trained well and showed decent performances in the test matches. On paper, this is a top team, one of the best in recent years. That's why my expectations were very high, perhaps too high. On the ice I saw parallels to the performance of the senior national team at the World Cup in England in May. When it mattered most, we just weren't there. After the messed up Ukraine game I felt a lot of emotional pressure within the team. On the other hand, of course, you also have to question the coaching team. Were the specifications too complicated or were the wrong approaches chosen? These questions need to be addressed.


Were any mistakes made during the squad nomination?

“In retrospect, of course, you have to ask yourself that. Maybe one or two players would have helped us, but that remains a hypothesis. In any case, I have to say clearly: We filtered out the players based on their sporting and character traits. Coach Giorgio De Bettin looked at many players, got expert opinions and read scouting reports. We wanted to form a unit – and these players seemed the most suitable for that.”

“How can I celebrate bronze when I actually had higher goals?” Stefan Zisser

In the end, it was precisely the attitude that was one of the reasons for failure.

"That's true, unfortunately. Damian Clara was an extremely important player who wasn't there, but we also made individual mistakes and were simply unlucky in important moments. At the end, however, there was one scene that made me think: the players celebrated the bronze medal on the ice after the last game. Of course it's a sporting recognition, but how can I celebrate bronze when I actually had higher goals? This probably reinforces my conclusion that we simply didn’t have enough bite in this tournament.”


Will we see one or two U20 players again next spring at the home World Cup in Bolzano?

“Tommaso De Luca probably deserves to be at the World Cup because he is regularly on the ice in a top league in Switzerland. The same currently applies to Damian Clara. Tommy Purdeller is also a candidate, but he has no experience in adult ice hockey. There are certainly a handful of players who could be considered. But I don’t want to interfere with coach Mike Keenan.”

Mike Keenan should lead Italy until the 2026 Olympics. © FISG/Valentina Gallina

Speaking of Keenan: He watched the U20 games with you on site. How is the collaboration now?

“After the disappointing World Cup, we also analyzed the coach’s performance in the summer. But we have decided to confirm him - and we fully support him. Collaboration has become better. He spends a lot of time in Italy, watching tons of games and players. He also appears different in communication. We've all learned something new here. We try to be even closer to the players, look after them throughout the year and stay in touch with them.”


Keenan recently competed in the Austria Cup with his national team. What is your conclusion?

“All in all the tournament was okay. In the Opening game against Poland Johnny Vallini did an outstanding job, but many individual mistakes led to the defeat. We had the impression that some established players initially saw this tournament more as a compulsory task than as an opportunity to recommend themselves for the World Cup. That's why we called a meeting and gave them a clear message. This also bore fruit. At the Shutout win against Hungary “They all delivered a convincing performance.”

Goalie Gianluca Vallini impressed against Poland. © ÖEHV/Bernd Stefan

Which player took his chance to force his way into the World Cup?

“A Matthias Mantinger certainly made a recommendation. He behaved like an absolute professional, on and off the ice. His attitude and performance are currently right. I was surprised by Cortina defender Jason Seed. He showed that he really cares about this national team. Now it remains to be seen how these two players, and of course all other potential World Cup drivers, do in their clubs over the next few months.”


Seed is one of many Italos in the extended national team squad. Which ones could be added with a view to the World Cup?

“It looks like we will be planning with a maximum of seven Italos, so it will be tight for some of them. The ICE strikers Dan Catenacci and Anthony Salintri were already there, we are still keeping an eye on them. Dustin Gazley is a dream player because he would be an absolute reinforcement. Adam Capannelli from the Wipptal Broncos is currently having difficulties with the pass. But we also have an eye on him.”

“The players have to take part in two of the three preparation phases in order to have a chance at the World Cup. Stefan Zisser

To what extent is the basic structure of the World Cup squad?

“I would say that you can estimate 80 percent of the squad today. We are best positioned between the posts, where we currently have the choice of at least five excellent goalies.”


What criteria will be used in the final selection?

“Of course, primarily after sports. However, the past has shown us that commitment, passion and will are crucial. A player must absolutely want to play for Italy. That's why we have set the selection criteria that the players have to take part in at least two of the three preparation phases in November, December and next February in order to have any chance of playing at the World Cup. Of course, there are exceptions in the event of injuries or permission not being granted by the clubs. I am convinced that Italy will field a really strong team at the tournament in Bolzano. We have the quality, even if a lot of things didn’t go as planned in 2023.”