Fabio Hofer has been an important pillar at the Swiss club EHC Biel for many years. With “laola1.atThe Austro crack spoke about his sporting future and also about his decision to no longer play for the national team.
The Lustenauer is now 35 years old and can look back on a long career. In 2010 he made his debut in the Salzburg team at EBEL level, until 2018 he stormed in the domestic league – in 2010/11 he was also supposed to win the championship title with the Mozartstadters in the Salzach.
But not everything was rosy during his time at Salzburg. Above all, the then head coach Pierre Page received criticism: “He told me that he would promote me. That sounded good, but in the end it wasn’t the case. It was just talk about him, he did that with a lot of players,” said Hofer, who played for RBS for a total of four years, three of them under Page. “He wasn’t able to exploit the full potential of many players, even though they were very good. Many then quit or went somewhere else and showed that they could play ice hockey.”
Become a top performer
The move to Upper Austria followed in the summer of 2014. Hofer stormed for the Black Wings Linz for the next four years and developed into a real leader there. Especially in the 2017/18 season he showed what he was made of with 55 points in 54 games. Hofer finished the team’s internal scoring race in fourth place behind Corey Locke (70), Brian Lebler (65) and Dan DaSilva (also 55).
With these achievements, the Vorarlberg native also brought him to the attention of clubs from abroad. In 2018 he ventured into the Swiss National League, and after two years for Ambri-Piotta he moved to his current employer, EHC Biel-Bienne. The winger has been storming there for six seasons now. Remarkable: this year Hofer equaled his best points season in the NL with 39 points, and his 19 goals are even an NL career best.
The crowd favorite is under contract with the team from the canton of Bern for a few more seasons – this does not expire until 2027/28. What comes next? “If I’m fit, my body doesn’t cause any problems, I feel good and Biel is still interested – then I would extend it. If my body no longer supports it, it will be my last contract.” However, the father of two children does not completely rule out a return to Austria.
National team not an issue
A commitment to the Austrian national ice hockey team is definitely off the table. In recent years there have been repeated inquiries as to whether the legionnaire would accept a call-up. Dominic Zwerger, who will play for Biel next season, also tried to persuade the Lustenauer, but he stands by his word: “I made the decision in 2019: As soon as the first child comes, I will retire from the national team. That’s what I did – and it won’t change anymore.”
Image: facebook.com/ehcbofficial
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