Da Rin retires as Italy head coach after 17 years, Babey takes over Norway

After 17 years at the helm, Massimo Da Rin stepped down as the head coach of Italy’s Para ice hockey team and passed off the baton to Mirko Bianchi leading into the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games. 

Da Rin has coached Italy since the inception of the programme prior to the Torino 2006 Paralympics, leading the team to five Paralympic appearances, two top-five finishes at the World Championships, and a European title in 2011.

Da Rin will be replaced by Bianchi, who grew up playing in Italian hockey leagues and has been an assistant coach for Italy’s national Para ice hockey team since 2016.

“I am happy with this opportunity that FISG has offered me and I will do my best,” Bianchi said. “I know the group and the other teams well.

“[Da Rin] has brought great professionalism within the team which had led to incredible results. I owe a lot to him from a professional and personal point of view. He has taught me a lot and has always supported me. I have enormous respect for him, and I sincerely hope to be up to par with his coaching and to bring improvements to the group.”

From Canada to Norway 

On the other hand, Ken Babey has been announced as the new head coach of Norway’s Para ice hockey team after previously leading Canada’s national team from 2015-2022.

Babey coached Canada to a World Championship gold medal in 2017, and Paralympic silver medals in 2018 and 2022, as well as a spot in the gold-medal game in all the World Championships during his seven-year tenure.

After Norway failed to qualify for the Winter Paralympics this year for the first time in history, changes needed to be made to change fortune for the future.

“Both players and coaches are very positive and enthusiastic about this move, and we have confidence that Ken will inspire and motivate our players to become better versions of themselves both on and off the ice,” said Espen Hegde, head of sport at the Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation and former national coach of Team Norway.

“This is without a doubt a major investment for us, and we hope this will attract attention around us and show how aggressive we are towards the future.”

In addition to coaching Para ice hockey, Babey spent 27 years as the head coach of the men’s hockey team at the Southern Albert Institute of Technology, winning 534 games, nine conference titles and one national title there. 

Babey, who played junior hockey with the Saskatoon Quakers before a shoulder injury forced him to end his career, was inducted into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015.