Tommy Purdeller, Alex Ierullo, and Bryce Misley at the first training session in Georgia. © Vanna Antonello (6)

First training session completed: Purdeller & Co. eager for World Cup

In less than 48 hours, the Italian national ice hockey team will play its opening game at the Division XNUMXA World Championship in Sfântu Gheorghe. In the following interviews, Tommy Purdeller and Luca Zanatta discuss their first few hours in Romania and outline the direction for the tournament.

25 April 2025

From: leo

After the long journey to the city of 50.000 inhabitants, the first training session in the state-of-the-art hall in Sfântu Gheorghe was scheduled for Friday morning. The team had to quickly adapt to the prevailing conditions, as the first tournament match against Japan was scheduled for Sunday at 11.30:XNUMX a.m. (live on SportNews-Ticker).

"I'm happy with how the players are working," said head coach Jukka Jalonen after the first training session at the World Cup venue. "In the last few days, we've made tough decisions because the differences between the players are very small. We had to consider everything, especially who can play on the power play and in the shorthanded position," the Finn said.

Tommy Purdeller in an interview:

The Blue Team's goal is clear: "We're aiming for promotion, but we have to take it one game at a time and live in the here and now. The goal is to get off to a good start and improve as the tournament progresses." Italy must be a difficult team to play, Jalonen concludes.

These are the opponents

In view of the friendlies, there is no clear favorite for promotion in Romania – although many have relegated Great Britain and Poland at the top of their list. British One name stands out from the crowd: Liam Kirk. The 25-year-old could win the DEL with the Eisbären Berlin on Saturday and should join the team during the tournament. Poland The Azzurri know this from two matches they played in preparation: one they won 3-2 and one they lost 1-3.

Luca Zanatta in an interview:


Romania Japan, and especially Ukraine, are among the dangerous underdogs. The hosts finished fourth in Bolzano last year, achieving their best result in 4 years. The Eastern Europeans are now looking to up the ante in front of their own fans.

Three familiar faces are in Japanese Squad. Coach Jarrod Skalde was in charge of HC Meran this season before stepping down mid-season. Defender Riku Ishida and forward Teruto Nakajima played a major role in the Eagles narrowly missing the semifinals of the Alps Hockey League (AlpsHL). A very young and extremely dangerous team will be sending the Ukraine into the race, which already attracted attention in the tests with victories against Poland and Japan.

One thing is certain: Italy has nothing to fear from any opponent. But it's also clear that promotion is anything but set in stone. Damian Clara and his team can't afford any slip-ups. Otherwise, they risk another year in the second division.