Italian goalie Stefan Demetz shines in Canada

The Canadian International Hockey League is pleased to announce that Stefan Demetz of the Batchewana Attack has been named the first-ever winner of the Frontier Hockey Goaltender of the Year award for the league.

The Bolzano, Italy, native had an outstanding season with the Attack, posting a 21-0 record while recording a goals-against average of 1.32, a save percentage of .945 and five shutouts.

"Stefan is not only an outstanding goalie but a true gentleman on and off the ice” said John Palmerio the general manager of the Batchewana Attack.

“He comes to practice day in and day out and competes in practice as if it were a game. His strong goaltending has lead the Attack to their very impressive record of 29-0-1. When I was told by owner David Maciuk that we had signed a goalie and he was from Italy, I had to do a double take and said, seriously, Italy? Being Italian myself, Italy isn’t known for their hockey or the players they have produced. Stefan came in here and changed my mind very quickly. He’s a big tall kid and covers a lot of net and the opposition and as you can tell by his stats, finds it very difficult to put the puck past him”

Palmerio said that Demetz has a great future ahead of him and it was a pleasure having him on the Attack and an even a greater pleasure of getting to know the young man behind the mask. “Stefan is very deserving of the Frontier Hockey Award that he has just been awarded,” he said.

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