The Italian Ice Sports Federation (FISG) announces the decision to entrust the guidance of the Italian men’s national team to Clayton Beddoes, Canadian born in 1970, already assistant coach of the Blue Team in the last two seasons and with a well-known past as coach of Cortina and Vipiteno in Serie A and Alps Hockey League.

Beddoes, who currently holds the role of assistant coach of the ERC Ingolstadt in the German DEL, succeeds Stephan Mair on Italy’s bench in order to continue the technical project launched by the FISG three years ago and with the firm goal of presenting the team in the best possible shape to the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division I Group A, scheduled for next April in Budapest, Hungary.

The Euro Ice Hockey Challenge tournaments between November and February in Hungary and Poland will be important steps to test the growth and progress of the team on the way to the next Worlds.

Thanks to the acquired experience as a level player – 60 NHL games in two seasons with the Boston Bruins – almost 20 years in Europe with a leading role in Italy and Germany, as well as the last months of work passed alongside the Italian team, put the new head coach Clayton Beddoes in the best conditions to guide the team, with the clear intention of exploiting the full potential and enhancing the young talents.

Beddoes’ staff will also include Giorgio De Bettin, new assistant coach, currently assistant coach of Cortina with 115 national team games as well as a long and illustrious past in Serie A, and Jaakko Rosendahl, the coach of the last year’s goalkeepers and confirmed for the current season.

The FISG, that will explore the possibility to enhance the coaching staff during the season, in the meantime wishes to coach Beddoes and all the Italian staff good luck for the upcoming events, will the full conviction that it has taken the best decision in the interest of Italian hockey and of the entire federal sport movement.

– with files from the FISG