Interview | Diego Kostner: “I’d rather be on ice than on vacation”

When Diego Kostner gets out of the car at the Würtarena parking lot, he takes a deep breath. He has just completed the four-hour drive from his second home, Bellinzona, to South Tyrol. For the professional ice hockey player from Runggaditsch near St. Ulrich, things are going quickly, almost two weeks after his last league game. Immediately after our interview appointment, Kostner is already on the ice in the Neumarkt ice stadium to optimally prepare for the World Cup in May with Italy's national team.

Diego Kostner, you could now lie comfortably on a beach somewhere and put your feet up. Why are you putting yourself through this stress? Diego Kostner: “I'd rather be on the ice than on vacation (laughs). No seriously, this sport is my life. I look forward to every single training session – especially when I get to join the national team. It's always nice to meet old teammates who you otherwise hardly have any contact with. I have only missed a few training camps or international matches over the last few years.”

Did the past season increase your desire for ice hockey again? “Sure, because with Ambrì Piotta we had a very strong season, but it ended too early. Nobody expected us to make it into the playoffs beforehand, but in the end we obviously want to make it through the first round. The 1:4 in the quarter-final series against Biel was clearly too high.”

How did the season go for you personally? “I have taken another step forward. I had an average of around 16 minutes of ice time and was also regularly involved in the special teams. I would say this was my best season so far. It was not an easy decision to move from Lugano to arch-rival Ambrì in 2016, but now it turns out to be the right one.”

“There is nothing like this at any other club” Ambrì Piotta is considered the cult club par excellence in European ice hockey. How much do you feel that as a player? “It's something special to play for this club. Our home venue, the Valascia, is somehow out of time - and that's exactly why it's so special. The atmosphere is simply gigantic. The village has fewer than 300 inhabitants, but there are always more than 5.000 spectators in the stadium at our home games. They come from all over Switzerland, but also from Italy and Germany. I recently met a South Tyrolean who goes to Ticino for every home game. There is no such attraction at any other club.” The Valascia in Ambrì is probably the most atmospheric ice hockey stadium in Europe.

Where does the Swiss league stand in international comparison? “In Europe, the National League is already at the top, only the KHL is probably even better. However, comparisons are very difficult because different ice hockey is played in different countries. In Scandinavia a lot of attention is paid to tactics, in Germany it's physicality that counts, but in Switzerland it's more about skating skills and speed.”

Which South Tyrolean would you trust to make it to the National League? “There are several. I'm thinking of the players who play in the DEL, but also some from HC Bozen. Of course, they would first have to take a back seat, adapt and learn. Basically, I see some Italian national players as having the potential to assert themselves with us – if they were given the chance.”

You are talking about us Swiss. Do you now feel like a true Confederate?

“I moved to Switzerland at the age of 14 to play ice hockey, speak real Schwyzerdütsch and could have applied for a passport long ago - but I am from Val Gardena and will remain so.” (smiles)

“I am from Val Gardena – and will remain so” How often are you still in your home country? “I don’t even know when I was last here. That would have been at Christmas. In total, I spend maybe ten days at home with my family throughout the year. The center of my life is now in Bellinzona, where I live with my girlfriend. In Switzerland we train almost all year round, so very few trips home.”

You are a professional and live your life accordingly. How strange is it to meet teammates in the national team who also have a regular job? “I once told my teammates at Ambrì, they couldn’t believe it. For me, everything revolves around ice hockey all day long, the next training session, the next game. I respect everyone who can manage that. It shows great passion for this sport.”

In the following video, Diego Kostner talks about his sporting future and gives young ice hockey players a tip:

National League A Switzerland	SP	TV	P
1. ZSC Lions	49	157:102	104
2. Fribourg-Gottéron	49	165:116	97
3. EV train	49	154:122	85
4. Lausanne HC	49	149:121	85
5. HC Lugano	49	156:135	79
6. SC Bern	49	135:138	78
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Interview | Diego Kostner: “I’d rather be on ice than on vacation”

At the age of 26, Diego Kostner has just played what he describes as the strongest season of his career. Reason enough for us to ask him for the big SportNews interview. We met South Tyrol's best ice hockey export in Neumarkt.

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