"Ice hockey has the same status in Sweden as football does in Italy."

But not because her parents Cristina and Werner, her sister Sabine, her brother Philipp, and her three-year-old niece will be cheering her on from the stands, but because Franziska Stocker will be facing some opponents she has played against in the past. After all, the defenseman is currently spending her fourth season in Sweden, a country where ice hockey is practically a religion. "Ice hockey has roughly the same status in Sweden as soccer does in Italy. It's a national sport," asserts Stocker, who played in the top Swedish league for Brynäs IF, the current club of Italy's national goaltender Damian Clara, during the 2017/18 season.

In the winter of 2022/23, the 28-year-old first landed a stint in the second-highest league with Södertälje. In the summer of 2024, she returned to the town about 40 kilometers southwest of the capital, Stockholm, and has played nine games this season, accumulating nine points. "Kika" has great respect for today's opponent, knowing that Sweden, after a generational shift, boasts young and very fast players. She also knows that the Swedish league is the best in Europe, with 80 percent of the national team players under contract there and the remaining 20 percent in the North American college league NCAA or the PWHL, the women's equivalent of the NHL.

Stocker was born on December 16, 1997, in Bolzano and grew up in Laives. Following in the footsteps of her two older siblings, Philipp and Sabine, little Franziska first took to the ice in skates at the tender age of three. Two years later, she started playing ice hockey. Her parents had no connection to the world's fastest team sport, but supported their children in every way they could. "Without them, none of this would have been possible. They drove us to training and games and picked us up afterward. We often spent entire afternoons at the stadium and still had to do our homework afterward," Stocker recalls of her early days. Franziska Stocker (center) during the opening match against France. © ANSA / ROBERT GHEMENT

Until the age of 14, she was allowed to play with boys before deciding to join the women's team of EVB Eagles South Tyrol. There, as a young girl, she not only won the Italian championship but also competed in the cross-border European Women's Hockey League (EWHL), improving tremendously. Another career leap came in the winter of 2015/16 when the business school student from Bolzano moved to Finland for a semester abroad and played for KJT in southern Finland. "I learned a lot there and, above all, matured as a person. It was a great year," recalls the Italian national player, who has already participated in ten World Championships. Stocker will never forget the 2018 championships in Asiago, when she and the "Azzurre" were promoted to the Division I Group A of the World Championship for the first time, only to return to the former Division C World Championship a year later.

Stocker also spent two years in Switzerland with the Ladies Team Lugano and returned to the Eagles in Bolzano several times in between. With the Eagles, she won the Italian Women's Championship five times and the EWHL twice. In the 2023/24 season, the defenseman won the U19 Italian Boys' Championship with the Neumarkt/Auer junior teams. And she did it at the age of 26. How was that possible? "The Italian federation provided excellent support for us women in the lead-up to the Olympic Games in our own country and made every opportunity available to us. This allowed all players of national interest, and especially those who could keep up physically with the boys, to participate in the U19 championship. Previously, this exception was only reserved for U23 players. That's how I, too, played for the U19 team of the Bolzano Academy at the age of 21," explains the player from Leifers.

She is proud to be part of the Olympic team and convinced that Italy will do well. In her eyes, being the underdog is "an advantage. After all, we have no pressure, can play freely, and will certainly be underestimated by our opponents. You could see that in our opening game against France. We are mentally strong and can play very fast. We bring a lot of energy to the ice and are proud to represent our country at this major event." Stocker and her teammates also want to show their critics that ice hockey isn't just for men, but that women can also play attractive and beautiful ice hockey. Her parents and siblings already know this and that's not why they came to Milan today.

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"Ice hockey has the same status in Sweden as football does in Italy."

When the first puck drops today at 2:40 pm in the "Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena" during the women's game between Sweden and Italy, one player's heart will be beating especially fast.

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