Tommy Purdeller would love to be the first Italian-born and raised player drafted to the NHL.
Considered by some in his home country as the top Italian prospect in years, the 18-year-old is cutting his teeth in North American hockey with the Peterborough Petes.
It’s also his goal to represent his home country when Italy hosts the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Petes 2022 CHL Import Draft selection, 15th overall, chose hockey in a nation where soccer reigns supreme.
“Of course in Italy soccer is sport No. 1 but I live in the northern area of Italy in the mountains where they play a lot of hockey,” Purdeller said. “I started hockey because of my brother. He was my idol as a kid and I always wanted to be like him.”
Michael Purdeller, who is nine years older than Tommy, played two seasons in Italy’s top professional hockey league. He is now playing in the second division.
When Tommy was 12 he led his home club to a tournament win in Germany and was spotted by management for the Red Bull Academy in Salzburg, Austria. Two years later he moved to Austria.
“Red Bull is one of the best academies in all of Europe. They have a lot of facilities,” he said.
It wasn’t a difficult decision to move away from home at 14.
“I already had it in my head that I wanted to be a professional hockey player. If I had not moved away from my home team I think I would have stayed there Moving to Austria I think was the best decision I have made in my life so far,” Purdeller said.
During his final year in Austria he played for Red Bull’s second pro team.
It was during the Division II World Junior Hockey Championships where Purdeller helped Italy to a third-place finish that he began hearing interest from North America. He was named the top forward for the tournament.
“My agent had contact with a couple of CHL teams and I ended up here, which I’m very grateful for,” he said.
“I’d already been away from home for four years. Of course it was a little further away and with a time difference but I handled it really well. My family support is really good. My parents and all my siblings stand behind me and made it easy for me.”
A delay in getting his release from Austria caused him to miss training camp and the start of the OHL pre-season. After he got his release he suffered a shoulder injury in the final pre-season game and missed the Petes first 11 games. He’s been back for 12 games and has produced six goals and nine points including four goals in his last four games and seven points in six games.
Coincidentally, Italy’s national team just hired two former Petes coaches — Mike Keenan and Mike Pelino — to coach their team through to the Olympics. Pelino says Purdeller is on their watch list.
While Purdeller’s focus is on the moment, he acknowledges that the Olympics are a goal.
“I think that’s every kid’s dream. It would be a really cool thing to do but I’m looking season-to-season,” he said. “I do want to play there in 2026. I think it would be so amazing to play against tough teams we would never normally have a chance to play, maybe against a couple of good players, NHL players. It would be so unforgettable.”
It’s also his goal to be Italy’s first homegrown NHL player.
“That would mean the world to me and be a huge accomplishment,” he said.
The Petes host the Flint Firebirds at 7:05 pm Thursday at the Memorial Center
.