Roland Ramoser says goodbye - video

“You're a good boy, but you'll never be a good ice hockey player” - that's how youth coaches and supervisors judged Roland Ramoser. A statement that is burned deep into the young boy's memory. Back then, no one expected the unbridled, almost insane determination with which the young player worked on the cornerstones of his career. No journey was too far and no task too big for him.

After he was able to attract attention as a 17-year-old in Italy's junior national team, a lucrative offer came to his family's farm in Oberbozen. The Canadian club Hull Olympiques wanted to bring Ramoser to the motherland of ice hockey and include him in their broad youth sector. In consultation with his family members, the young person decided to take advantage of this unique opportunity. “It was then that I realized that I could manage to earn long-term money with ice hockey,” remembers Ramoser. Two years later he returned to Italy to sign with the Devils Milan, who had been promoted by Silvio Berlusconi. As an up-and-coming young talent, he suddenly found himself on the ice with ice hockey greats like Gates Orlando and Mike Napier.

Revered in Germany

This was the beginning of a successful career that would take him to Germany via Bolzano and Val Gardena in the following years. First the Nuremberg Ice Tigers, then the Kassel Huskies and later his return to the Franconian metropolis marked his stay in the DEL. Today “Rolly the Kid” says about this time that it was the most important and beautiful sporting experience. How much the German fans had grown to love him became clear a year after his farewell in Nuremberg, when he played in the World Cup with Italy in the Ice Tigers stadium and the neutral audience gave him a standing ovation.

Back then, in 2001, he went hunting for goals for Ritten. Two seasons later, the legendary number eleven returned to HC Bozen, where he rose to captain and undisputed leading player over the next eight years. “I spent my most successful years in ice hockey in Bolzano. To this day, I still have numerous close friendships with the club.” In the past few months he has once again donned the jersey of his hometown club Ritten.

A life without ice hockey

He sees his future there even now that his career has ended - but not in ice hockey: “I would like to take over my parents' guest business and farm in Oberbozen. This is a task that fills me with pride.”

From now on there is little time left for ice hockey: “I would like to draw a line at the end of my career, although I will remain a fan of this fascinating sport forever. I'm not the type of person who wants to leave with a big farewell game, I'd rather like to reminisce about the old days with my friends."

A career straight out of a picture book

And there is a lot to discuss. After all, the now 38-year-old was on the ice in Serie A for 15 years and 625 games (690 scorer points), winning five championship titles, the Italian Cup three times and the Super Cup three times. In Germany he played a total of 212 games and scored 124 points. With the national team he appeared in a whopping 13 A and four B World Championships as well as two Olympic Games. Given these numbers, Ramoser can confidently be mentioned in the same breath as South Tyrolean ice hockey legends such as Gino Pasqualotto, Martin Pavlu, Norbert Prünster or Adolf Insam.

His determination is still noticeable even after his career has ended: “If I had had the chance to be on the ice again at an A World Championship, I would have carefully questioned my decision again. After all, I wasn't missing much and I would have broken the international record for World Cup participation." This statement reflects his dedication to this sport and shows why the good boy Roland Ramoser has become a good, if not unique, ice hockey player.

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Roland Ramoser says goodbye - video

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