Growing up in Canada, it is the dream of many young people to win a professional hockey championship.
Miniota’s Brad Cole did just that this past hockey season – with a bit of a twist. The son of Pat and Delbert Cole helped the Rittner Buam claim the Italy Series A championship.
“I didn’t grow up thinking I was going to win an Italian championship,” Cole said with a laugh.
From day one when he joined the team, Cole said it was the squad’s goal to win the championship. He enjoyed the process of the team following through on that. The squad, based in Northern Italy, swept its first two playoff series and then won the finals in six games. Winning the championship on the road sparked a celebration unlike any Cole had experienced before.
“When we won, all of our fans were on the ice. … (After we won on the road) they all came back to our rink and they were in our locker room,” he said.
The team had a celebration parade. There was a ceremony where the whole minor hockey program was on stage and introduced with the championship squad.
When speaking about his team’s success, Cole said “We had a really good group of guys, which everybody says when they win a championship, but we really did.”
The 6-foot-4 Cole provided a strong defensive presence for Rittner Buam. He also posted the second highest points total of his pro career. Cole accumulated six goals and 28 points with 68 penalty minutes in 39 games. The team also included former Reston resident Brendan Cook.
In addition to succeeding on the ice, Cole enjoyed his time off the ice in Italy. The team was based in the town of Klobenstein, a community of about 7,000, in the municipality of Ritten, which is Renon in Italian. The majority of people there speak German. The Ritten is a ridge in the southeast of the Sarntal Alps. Cole said he has never seen mountains like that before. As profiled previously in the Empire-Advance, his parents visited him during the season.
“I really like playing in new arenas and new atmospheres,” Cole said of his time in Italy.
It was another interesting experience in a nine-year professional career that has been full of them. After a four-year Western Hockey League career with three teams, Cole spent a trio of seasons with the Calgary Flames organization. He played the majority of three seasons in the American Hockey League – the NHL’s top farm league. Over the past six seasons Cole has suited up for teams based in South Carolina, Slovenia, Austria, Alaska, and Italy.
In regards to his last half dozen seasons, Cole said “Hockey has been a way to see the world and to see different cultures.”
While Cole still enjoys going to the rink, he also has other interests. He owns some real estate, has some farm animal, and even is trying his hand with bees. In an early July interview, Cole noted that he is looking into career opportunities both in and outside of hockey.
