Evan Toferer retires from hockey

It is with great sadness that HCB Alto Adige Alperia hears the news of the defender’s retirement Evan ToferHe was forced to hang his skis permanently.

The 27-year-old from South Tyrol had already struggled with a wrist injury since 2020 that caused him to miss a large part of the regular season. Since then, the long journey between surgery, rehabilitation and back on the ice has proven only temporary: Subsequent in-depth examinations led to the inevitable decision to give up hockey.

Then Ivan Toferer ended his career after 307 matches with Ritner Boam in the First Division, AlpsHL, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana, and 87 matches with the Foxes in the ICE Hockey League and the Champions League. For him also 27 games with the Italian national team. At his leisure, the Scudetti team won five Italian Super Cups and two Italian Cups with Ritner Boam.

Big thanks to Evan for his contribution not only to HCB, but to the entire Italian hockey movement with his determination, perseverance and professionalism. Great luck in the future!

For Evan Toferer, it is still too early to end his sports career, given that the original hockey player from Renon is only 27 years old. But two years of suffering forced HCB defender Alto Adige Alperia, who trained in hockey with Rittner Buam, to take the step.

“That’s right, I’m still young. I don’t have much to do,” says Toferr, grieving over his retirement. Specialists visited me first in Munich and then in Milan. After hearing the doctor’s opinion from Milan, it became clear to me that it was better to stop. And research from Rittner Buam’s management, Tauferer requested a second opinion. “We’d love to see him play ice hockey again, but his hand can’t handle the game anymore. It’s a real shame,” Adolf Ensam, Rittner Buams sporting director, realizes.

Tofferer injured his right hand on October 2, 2020 in an Ice Hockey League match against Innsbruck. He was diagnosed with a rupture of the four ligaments that hold the meniscus together and two operations followed.

“The proximal row of the wrist bones has been removed,” reports the defender, who is 1.90 meters high for 93 kilograms of weight. “Then in April of this year, I broke the Achilles tendon in my left foot while jogging. But my hand injury was crucial to my retirement. When I play ice hockey, I put too much pressure on my knuckle. It can flare up all the time and I’ll have to fix it through operations,” says Tofferer. “.

Growth on Renon and then the Big Leap to HCB

Topher spent his entire youth period at Rittner Buam, and for several years was also part of Renon’s first-team roster. No wonder, because it is home to the plateau.

“A great goal for a kid from Renon is to be able to play for the big team in the future. I’ve always trained hard for this and sometime succeeded. A lot of free time is sacrificed, but it is worth it in the end”,

The 27-year-old recalls. His debut dates back to the 2012/13 season, when Ritner Boam was still playing in the old Italian league. Objectives.

“I had a very nice time here. We’ve always had a good team. The coach with the best memory is Rob Wilson: ‘He’s the one I’ve learned the most from’.”

Your best teammates on the Renon?

“As a defender I admired Gabi Goentzel. As a forward, Eric Johansson.”

In the 2018/19 season, Toferer went on loan to HCB Alto Adige Alperia for four matches. Then, the following year, he made a quantum leap by playing in EBEL, the league now known as the ICE Hockey League. With the “Foxes” the defender played 77 matches (he scored 9 points) in four seasons.

“The transition to HCB was a big step: faster and more physical hockey is played there. I liked it. Firstly, my teammates are much faster, and secondly, I like physical play,” Toferr comments. But his injury put him in trouble during this period. “It was difficult, especially mentally. You were late to training and want to do everything to be able to play when you come back. But it is not that simple and it takes a lot of effort. Sometimes you lose even a little desire to play hockey,” he says.

The stairs will replace the hockey stick

Now, therefore, the Tauferer hanged his sledges. What does the future hold for him?

“At the moment I have to treat my feet. Then I will start a bartender. Now I live with my girlfriend in Siusi and this is where I would like to develop professionally,” predicts the trained carpenter. Whether sooner or later he will return to deal with ice hockey, it is not known: “At the moment no, I want to disconnect for a while. I still don’t know if I will do anything in the future,” he says, leaving his future open.

Rittner Buams wishes him well for future challenges:

“Ivan (Tofferer, editor) is a real reninones. Here he took his first steps on the ice and always gave us great joys. We wish him well in his future. At Ritten Arena he will always be welcomed with open arms, but he already knows it,” says Adolf Insam.

Profile of Evan Toferr:
Born in: January 26, 1995
born in: Bolzano
profession: Carpenter by training, now a bartender
to rise: 1.90 m
Weight: 93 kg
Career path Career path: 294 games for Poam Ritner (81 points), 77 games for HCB Alto Adige Alperia (9 points), 27 games for the national team (2 points).
Nicknames: Winning the 2016/17 AlpsH Championship, five Scudetti, two Italian Cups and the Italian Super Cup.

Evan Tofer