Tomas Tragust one of few Italian born goalies to make the national team

Canadian born netminders over the years such as Jason Muzzatti, Adam Dennis, Adam Russo, Daniel Bellissimo, and Frederic Cloutier have all gotten their Italian passports after playing in the Italian League for a number of years and represented Italy at international competitions. It made it tough for goalies like Tragust and Bernard to breakthrough and be the starting goalie for their country. This competition that these Canadian-born netminders brought however certainly made Tragust and Bernard better goalkeepers than they would have been if they were on their own.

Tragust got to work alongside former NHL netminder Jason Muzzatti at one World Championships and he told me that itself was an incredible experience for him just to be alongside someone that played in the NHL that was on his team and working with him in practices. Another experience that Thomas relishes is when he got the chance to attend a Buffalo Sabres development camp.

Right now, Tragust is playing in the Italian League and hopes to be playing for the National Team once again next year when they go up against the best countries in the world at the 2017 IIHF World Championships.

EuroHockey.com asked Thomas Tragust some questions.

How did you start playing hockey and at what age? After my brother had started to play hockey I followed what he was doing and started myself when I was six years old.

Why did you become a goalie? Because we had no goalie on our team so I gave it a try and liked it.

Describe your playing style?Calm butterfly style goalie.

What are your goals in hockey? I play to win every game I play.

What have been some of the best games in your career/Best moments? Best games I had was during the 2009 World Championships in Poland (Division 1B). I had a 0.50 goals against average and .982 save percentage during the tournament. Also my best moment was at the 2006 World Championships and my games against Slovenia and Latvia.

Italy isn't exactly known as a hockey country, do you see hockey getting more popular in your country? I hope so! We have a lot of good players coming up so hopefully we will be able to stay in the Top Level World Championships for good soon.

Talk about your time with the Buffalo Sabres organization and the season you spent in North America playing with the Texas Tornado of the NAHL? The two weeks with the Buffalo Sabres was a great experience for me and to see how hard the NHL players work out there and to work out with the pros was amazing. Texas was also a very good experience! I learned a lot about hockey, the language, and set up new friendships.

Do you have any regrets in your playing career?There are always some situations where you have to make some difficult decisions, but all in all I'm very fine with my career so far.

Did you know at a young age that you were talented at this sport? People told me!

What did you learn from Jason Muzzatti? He's definitely a person to look up to. It's too bad I only had the chance to play with him at one World Championships.

Talk about the memorable game you had with Slovenia at the 2006 Worlds? It was a great moment for me. I was sitting on the bench and the coach told me to go in the net after we were down 0-3. It looked like we were going to lose and get relegated, but then we came back and we managed to tie the score and the game ended 3-3! It was huge because it meant for Team Italy to continue playing in the top World Championships.

What has it been like playing in the Italian/Austrian League for most of your career?

How nice is it to represent the National Team on such a regular basis? I'm always proud to represent the National Team, and as long as they need me, I'm in.

What are your hockey plans for next season and going forward?As always I try to give my best and to be a solid goalie for my teammates!

FAVOURITES:
NHL Team: Buffalo Sabres
Childhood Idol: Martin Brodeur
Video Game: NHL 16
Movie: Rocky
TV Show: The Simpsons
Pump-Up Song: Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
Activity Away From the Rink: Soccer, Cycling

Tweets by @eurohockey