Italy's National Women's Hockey Team Experiences Unforgettable Centralization Experience In Canada

Let’s shocked the hockey world!

It’s the Italian women’s hockey team motto this year. 

Part of Group B with Sweden, Japan, France and Germany, Team Italy needs to finish in the top three in order to advance to the quarterfinals. 

The only other time the team played at the Olympics was in 2006 when Italy hosted in Torino. The team finished with an 0-5 record, being outscored 48 to 3. 

Hence the motto!

This attitude comes from newly named head coach, Eric Bouchard. 

The 34-year-old, who is an assistant coach with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL and the head coach of the Centre 21.02 summer women’s hockey camp in Verdun, took the team’s reins at the end of October after being hand-picked by GM Danièle Sauvageau. 

And Bouchard made an impression right away.

“Eric has been great,” said team captain Nadia Mattivi last week in Montreal, where the team is holding its centralization. “He took the lead right away. He set the standards from day one, very high standards. He’s just an incredible coach. Very clear, very transparent, very efficient, to the point. I can’t say a bad thing about him. He was the missing piece for this team and the coaching staff.”

Words echoed by forward Kayla Tutino and goalie Martina Fedel.

“The first impression we have of Eric is that he is the ultimate professional,” said Tutino. “He has high standards, he demands a lot from the players, but he is very demanding of himself as well. So far, practices have been fast paced, we work hard, and he raised the level from the start. He made a good impression from the beginning, and we are all very motivated.”

“Since he came into our team, he made a very good impression on all of us,” added Fedel. “His speech about why he wanted to coach is what got everyone. He’s just so committed. He pays attention to every single player and all the details he’s been teaching us have been coming together. All the girls like him a lot. He’s very strict, but at the same time that’s what we need.”

The Grind Is Never Over

The speech Fedel is referencing to is the one that Bouchard gave after the second week of the centralization. It was about being committed to the team, being disciplined. When you get tired or sore, this is where the discipline should kick in. 

And for Bouchard, it’s a team effort, everybody is in this together, including the coaching staff. It was important for him to make sure his new players knew the sacrifices he was also doing, the effort he was putting in this, like driving back and forth between Montreal and Shawinigan (a two-hour drive, one way) five or six times a week.

And then, the speech became more personal. He spoke about his girlfriend, Montreal Victoire D Kelly-Ann Nadeau, who worked very hard to get where she’s at and who is still working hard to stay there. The message behind it was that the grind is never over. The things you do when no one is watching are the most important ones. It was a heartfelt speech that resonated with everyone. 

On the ice, Bouchard wants his team to dominate the details. He wants a team with a strong DNA, always on the puck, in better shape than the others. He truly wants Team Italy to surprise the hockey world, plain and simple.

From Enemies to Friends

Defender Laura Fortino, who will participate in her third Olympics, had also great things to say about her new head coach and his entourage.

“Eric has been an incredible addition to this group. He’s been an incredible leader for us, very professional in everything that he does and he really elevated this group to the next level. He also has an incredible staff with him with Alex, Frank, and now PA.”

Alex, Frank, and PA are Alexandre Tremblay, Francis Paré, and Pier-Alexandre Poulin. They are all part of the French Connection with Team Italy, alongside Sauvageau, Bouchard, Stephanie Poirier (former head coach also working for Hockey Quebec and the one who organizes the schedule and the accommodations for the camp and the centralization) as well as goalie coach Karel St-Laurent. 

Tremblay used to be behind the Montreal Victoire bench last season, before going back to being a skills coach. Paré, who played years in the AHL and KHL, is the head coach of the Séminaire St-François Blizzard U18 team. Poulin has been assisting Bouchard at the Centre 21.02 in Verdun, where many professional and college women hockey players train during the summer. Oh. And he’s also Marie-Philip’s brother!

Here's a cool story. 

When Poulin was named head coach of the Cégep Beauce-Appalaches Condors in the Junior AAA league, Bouchard was coaching for the Longueuil College-Francais in the same league. In his first year behind the bench, Poulin was named coach of the year in the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The following year, Poulin and Bouchard were pitted against another in the Quebec Junior Hockey League’s final. 

Being both competitive, they didn’t like each other at the time. But after Longueuil defeated Becauce, both coaches shook hands in the middle of the ice and a friendship grew from there. Ever since, Poulin has been helping Bouchard during summertime at the Centre 21.02, and it’s not a surprise to see Poulin helping his friend one more time here with Team Italy. 

From Team Canada to Team Italy

If there weren’t enough Quebecers involved with the Italian team, Maxim Noreau, an Olympic bronze medallist in 2018 and current development coach with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the QMJHL, as well as Pascal Dupuis, former Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and current assistant coach in Shawinigan, have both helped Bouchard over the past month. 

Bringing those friends and colleagues has come a long way with the players during the centralization. 

“It’s been incredible for our group,” mentioned Fortino. “It’s been growth this entire month on and off the ice. Our coaching staff has been incredible. It’s incredible to see how much we’ve grown as a team. And off the ice we really bonded. It’s been such a fun experience here, living in apartments, cooking together, doing team activities exploring Montreal. We really bonded and it’s been a very special month.”

The story of Laura Fortino is a special one. 

In 2023, she decided not to declare for the inaugural PWHL draft in order to go and play in Italy, aiming to play with Team Italy at the 2026 Olympics. And she succeeded. It’s going to be Fortino’s third Olympics, as she won gold in 2014 and silver in 2018 with Team Canada. But in 2022, she wasn’t invited to the Olympics try-outs. 

Now, if there’s one player with Team Italy who knows all too well about centralization, it’s Fortino. Those words, coming from her, means even more.

“My Hockey Canada experience was an incredible journey and definitely something I bring to this team with my leadership in that way,” Fortino added. “Helping to guide these girls to this Olympic journey, the pressure, the day-to-day that goes on. And I think this month was a glimpse of what we did with Hockey Canada for almost eight months living in Calgary. So, it was very beneficial and I’m so happy we did this.”

French Connection on the Ice

The Quebec-Italy links aren’t just off the ice. On the ice, two players were actually born in Montreal and played hockey in the province of Quebec before. 

Defender Kristen Guerriero, 26, played with Dawson College before going to St-Lawrence University where she graduated in 2022. She then played in Romania, Switzerland, and Italy, in order to be eligible for the 2026 Olympics.

“It's really special to be here with our team, we've really bonded as a team and for me, it means a lot to be in Montreal,” said Guerriero, whose grandfather was born in Italy. “It brings back a lot of memories and I am very proud to be here. It's been many years since I last played hockey in Montreal and I consider myself lucky to be here. It’s an honour for me and my family to be able to represent Italy.”

Kayla Tutino, 33, made a comeback last year to take a chance at participating in her first Olympics. Former captain at Boston University, where she played with Marie-Philip Poulin, she was also part of the Montreal Canadiennes of the old CWHL, before going into coaching. In 2024, she came back to play in Italy. 

“It means a lot, I’m really proud, being an Italian native of Montreal. We have great support with the national team and a great environment to prepare for the Olympic Games.”

Sunday School in Montreal

According to both of them, Tutino speaks better Italian than Guerriero. 

As far as Eric Bouchard, he does speak three languages, but Italian is not one of them.

“I am trilingual with French, English, and Spanish, but I don’t speak Italian. The language of communication within the team is English. But I’m making an effort to speak a few words in Italian. There are terms that are somewhat similar to Spanish. Duolingo helps me a bit and the girls also help and correct me when necessary. Some players have more difficulty with English, but with them, I try to speak more slowly, and overall, it’s perfectly fine.”

One player has also decided during centralization to give Italian lessons. Franziska Stocker, a veteran of the senior team since 2015 who also played in Finland, Switzerland, and Sweden, took upon herself to start those lessons, having Coach Bouchard among her students. 

“We have Italian lessons as a team, for the players whose first language is English,” explained Tutino. “On Sundays. One hour per week. It’s part of spending time together, which we do a lot, and it helps with team spirit.”

Practising with the Montreal Victoire

Being in Verdun for the centralization also allowed some players to have special experiences. 

Just recently, when the PWHL was on an international break, the Montreal Victoire needed an extra goalie because both Ann-Renée Desbiens and Sandra Abstreiter were playing with their national teams. 

Since Tricia Deguire, who was cut at training camp, wasn’t available, the team asked Gabriella Durante and Martina Fedel to share those practices. 

“It was an amazing experience,” Durante said of her time with the Victoire. “Ever since the league formed a couple of years ago, I have been keeping my eyes on it, watching it. Coming out of university, you kind of feel it’s in reach and stuff. It was a great opportunity and I’m super thankful. It was a lot of fun.”

At only 24 years old, 25 by the time the Olympics begin, Durante will be one of the two starting goalies with Team Italy. Born in Calgary, she played from 2019 to 2024 with the University of Calgary, before going to play in Italy, mandatory for non-Italian-born players to qualify for the national team. It will be her first experience with the team. 

The other starting goaltender is Martina Fedel. Born in Italy, the 23-year-old played in Sweden as a teenager, before going to the University of Guelph for five seasons. She has been a member of Team Italy since 2022 and was also in Montreal last year when Team Italy held a short camp there.

“Practising with the Montreal team was really cool,” Fedel said. “The level was fast and players were so skilled. It was probably one of the most fun practices I have ever been to. I had to compete for every puck. This whole centralization is so professional, we get treated like professional athletes and Montreal is so beautiful!”

Getting Challenged

After playing two games against the Montreal Carabins and the Concordia Stingers, Team Italy was looking to have a better competition. If in December of last year those same games where a lot tighter – Italy defeated Montreal 4-1 and Concordia 3-2 in overtime – this year was one-sided for Team Italy. They won 7-0 against the Carabins, and a whooping 10-0 against Concordia. To be fair, the Carabins game was a controlled scrimmage with both teams playing 3-on-3 during the third period. 

This is not a knock on the Carabins and Stingers programs. Since Bouchard took over, he also defeated Norway 4-0 and Austria 2-0. It just shows how quickly the team progressed. 

“I found them very intense, very task-focused,” said Carabins’ head coach Isabelle Leclaire. “They really bought into Eric's vision. They do the requested details well. I know Eric's coaching and I can see that the girls are following the plan to the letter. It was fun to watch.”

However, before the team was to split for the holidays, Coach Bouchard needed his team to be challenged.  

His idea was to add another game to the schedule, this time trying to get some kind of an all-star team from different colleges, including the NCAA. 

Since most women playing in the NCAA are back in Quebec to spend time with their family for the Holidays, Bouchard and his team reached out to as many players they could, players they know from the summer camps held at Centre 21.02. And to the delight of Bouchard, everyone agreed right away. 

That’s how they were able to get Clarkson’s Sena Catterall, Minnesota’s Sienna D’Alessandro, UConn’s Méghane Duchesne-Chalifoux, Harvard’s Zoe Boosamra, Quinnipiac’s committed Clara-Mai Van Houtte-Cachero, former Concordia Stinger Léonie Philbert, who now plays in Italy, as well as U Sports players such as Bishop’s Gabrielle Santerre, Daphné Boutin, Naomi Côté and many others. 

They also added Montreal Victoire reserve players Claire Vekich and Tamara Giaquinto to the team. Fun fact, Philbert arrived from Europe on Tuesday, and still agreed to play that game the very next day. Bouchard was actually touched to see all those players taking some of their free time to come and help his team. 

When the World Anti-Doping Agency Helps

In order to make sure the team would get challenged even more, the idea was to create an environment where the team wouldn’t be at 100% of its capacities. Some decisions were made by choice, others by luck.

With the game being held on Wednesday, Bouchard held two intense practices on Monday and Tuesday, draining his players as much as possible. 

The team was already missing its captain, Nadia Mattivi, who is recuperating from an injury that happened weeks ago, but they were also missing some of its best players, such as Franziska Stocker, who was sick, Matilde Fantin, arguably the team’s best forward, who had to go back to Penn State where she plays this season, as well as Justine Reyes, who played with the Connecticut Whale in the old PHF and who had to go back with MoDo in the SDHL.

And if this wasn’t enough, the World Anti-Doping Agency showed up an hour before the game to test some players, disturbing them in their mental preparation. Usually, the Agency tests after the games, but since it wasn’t a scheduled one, they thought it was just a regular practice. 

Bouchard and his coaching staff couldn’t be more contented, though. He wanted his players to be tested and it was just the perfect storm for that to happen.   

Coached by McGill’s head coach Alyssa Cecere, and with Gabriella Durante in the nets, Team Quebec took a 2-0 lead. But Team Italy showed some resilience and came back to tie the game. Toronto’s reserve player Kristin Della Rovere was really the star of Team Italy. Her physique and hockey skills will be an important part of Team Italy’s offence. 

Time’s Up

The game ended 2-2 after a 5-minute overtime period. 

No shootout session. Why?

It was a little after 4 p.m. and two beer league teams were waiting to get on the ice. Nothing describes the struggle women's hockey had to endure more than that. 

But that will be a story for another time.

In the meantime, Team Italy concluded the first part of their centralization and will be back in Montreal on January 5 for three more weeks. They will play against the Carabins, the Stingers, and national champions, the Bishop’s Gaiters before leaving for the Olympics.

And just to show the level of commitment from Eric Bouchard and his coaching staff, Bouchard, Tremblay, and St-Laurent spent their Saturday doing airport lifts, making sure every player – and their hockey equipment – would make their flight on time. 

Will Team Italy shock the hockey world?

No one knows. But on and off the ice, they are sure making all the right things to do so.